The Toll of Stress on Your Immune System

Article overview:

• One study found that people with significant stress may have more autoimmune disorders.
• Prolonged stress increases the body's cortisol levels and can lead to weight gain, increased blood pressure, impaired memory, and impaired immune function.
• To help, you may need to take a short break from the news and read a relaxing book, meditate, stretch, get some fresh air, or take time to enjoy a hobby or creative project at home. Look for supplements that contain valerian root, kava kava, ashwagandha, or L-theanine.

Stress weakens your immunity

We all know that stress can affect us and cause headaches, anxiety, insomnia, and other health problems. In fact, Jon Barron has discussed the mind-body connection for many years and explains in a chapter in his book Lessons from the Miracle Doctors, The Thought that Kills, how our mental state can be our physical doom. And now, new research is providing further evidence that stress can be extremely harmful, causing serious damage to the immune system.

Stress research on autoimmune diseases

The study, conducted at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, found that people with significant stress may have a higher chance of developing an autoimmune disease. These results were based on a comprehensive assessment of the medical records of men and women who lived in Sweden between 1981 and 2013. The subjects were 106,464 adults seeking treatment for a stress-related psychiatric problem, and the control groups were 126,652 of their siblings and more than one million unrelated individuals, none of whom had a stress-related disorder.

Among participants with stress-related problems, who had an average age of 41 years to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, were much more likely to develop 41 types of autoimmune disorders than their peers or siblings with no history of psychiatry. Certain psychiatric diagnoses were associated with a significantly higher risk of autoimmune dysfunction than others, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients having an increased likelihood of developing more than one autoimmune disease, including celiac disease, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition, some types of autoimmune diseases correlated more closely with high levels of stress in the subjects than others. For example, the risk of celiac disease was greater than that of rheumatoid arthritis.

PTSD & Autoimmune Diseases

While the study was not intended to prove that mental stress directly leads to the development of autoimmune diseases, it did show a strong association between the two. Similar associations were found in previous research, such as a 2015 study at the University of California at San Francisco that found an association between veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan who were diagnosed with PTSD and higher rates of autoimmune diseases.

Long term damage from stress

While we don't know all about how stress affects the body, we understand enough to be sure that it will take a harmful toll over time. Prolonged stress increases the body's cortisol levels. This hormone is linked to a number of problems, including weight gain, increased blood pressure, memory problems and impaired immune function. Cortisol helps regulate inflammation throughout the body. If it doesn't work properly, systemic inflammation can develop. Inflammation can contribute to or accelerate the progression of many diseases, from the common cold to cancer.

In addition, chronic stress often leads to unhealthy behavior changes. When faced with the serious illness or death of a loved one, potential job loss, or any other major life stressor, chances are you will lose sleep, slow down your exercise routine, and possibly not be as conscientious about what you eat. All of these factors can also make a difference over time, and potentially also help create the conditions for an autoimmune disease.

Ways to Relieve Stress

So what can you do to protect yourself? Since there is no way to avoid stress in your life these days, your best protection is to learn ways to deal with it and isolate yourself from its effects as much as possible. This means that you are living a lifestyle that will help you optimize your health, both mentally and physically, so that your immune system does not become jumbled when a stressor occurs. There are also many natural stress reduction methods that are effective. First, you may need to take a short break from the news and read a relaxing book, stretch, get some fresh air, or take time out to enjoy a hobby or creative project at home. Eating blueberries, using a dietary supplement that contains herbs like valerian root, kava kava, and ashwagandha, and nutraceuticals like L-theanine, not to mention daily meditation and regular physical activity, are great ways to reduce and relieve stress Harm it can do to you.