How Does Stress Affect My Immune System?

Stress is part of life — it is how our body reacts when we are under some type of pressure, whether emotional, mental or physical. Sometimes our stress responses to situations can save lives — when our fight or flight mechanism takes over and we react to the situation instinctively.

The everyday stresses that we all feel can have both positive and negative effects on us — and a recent paper on our reactions to daily stress has added to the knowledge about the health implications due to our response to daily stressors. So relax, sit down and read about how that annoying phone call could help to make you ill.

Eustress and distress

Psychologists refer to eustress and distress as two types of stress — eustress is considered ‘good’ stress and distress is known as harmful stress. What is important to remember is that it is our reaction to a situation that can determine whether stress is good or potentially harmful — but that chronic stress, good or bad, can lead to potentially serious medical conditions.

Stress can be beneficial and even enjoyable in some situations. The stress felt before a first date or a rollercoaster ride help to make the occasion special. However, while some people react well to the stress felt before exams, that same stress can also cause some people to perform badly and become ill through anxiety — an example of how stress affects people in different ways.

Stress and Illness — A Question of Inflammation

Research has shown that people who suffer from psychological stress are more likely to be ill — and this is linked to the inflammatory response. Our body controls the inflammatory response (the body’s response to attack or stimuli) using hormones, but stress has been shown to affect a hormones ability to regulate the response. This can lead to illness.

Research has found that more people exposed to the cold virus after a stressful event developed cold symptoms than those that hadn’t experienced a stressful event. This is linked to the immune cells and hormones — sent to regulate the inflammation due to the cold virus invaders — not being able to communicate as they normally would.

But we can fight back — by staying calm.

Keep Calm — Help your hormones

A team from Penn State University has recently published a study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity showing that daily positive events help to reduce inflammation, and hence reduce the body’s susceptibility to illness.

The researchers found a correlation between those participants who reacted negatively to stressors and increased levels of inflammation. Nancy Sin, an author on the paper said in a PSU press release ‘It is how a person reacts to stress that is important.’

There is some evidence that your ability to deal with stressful situations is genetic as discussed in the story: Stress gene 'increases chance of heart attacks'.

To reduce the stress levels in your life take a look at this NHS Choices site. Stay calm and count to 10.