The Impact Of Stress On Your Immune System

Stress is a physiological state produced by a change in environment that’s perceived as threatening, challenging, or damaging to a person’s dynamic balance of equilibrium. For example, if you feel unable to meet the demands of a new situation, the change or stimulus that evokes this state is a stressor. Obviously, the nature of the stressor can be variable, and each person will handle these stressors in different ways. Experiencing stress can have a serious impact on your immune system, so it’s important to learn to adapt and adjust so that you’ll have the energy and ability to meet new demands.

The immune system is an exceedingly complex system. Its purpose is to defend the body from invasion by any foreign object or foreign cell type, such as cancerous cells or allergens. The immune response detects foreign bodies by distinguishing non-self substances from self substances and destroying the non-self entities. The entrance of non-self substances into the body evokes the production of antibodies that attack and destroy the foreign bodies. When you experience stress, your body increases its production of the hormone cortisol, which impairs the function of this delicate process.

However, stress doesn’t only affect your stress response. Research findings have shown that the immune system is connected to the neuroendocrine and autonomic systems, and that the wide variety of stressors people experience may result in changes in autonomic activity. Clearly, it’s important to identify stress in your life, determine how it may be affecting you and find ways to reduce the amount of stress you’re under.

The following is a list of signs that stress may be affecting your immune system:

You catch colds more than usual.
You have a lower resistance to infection.
You have difficulty sleeping at night.
You frequently suffer headaches.
You experience heart palpitations, or irregular heart rhythms.
You feel extremely lazy or lethargic.
You experience stress-related gastrointestinal symptoms.

The following is a list of potential negative impact of stress on your immune system:

You’ll have a decreased response to vaccination against influenza and other conditions
You may accelerate the progression of various age-related diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and osteoporosis.
Stress increases your susceptibility to upper respiratory infections, such as cold, coughs and the flu.
Your risk of obesity is increased.
You may experience an exacerbation of immune system disorders, such as HIV, herpes, AIDS, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, viral infections and certain allergies.

If you realize that stress may be taking a toll on your physical and mental health, try taking the appropriate measures to eliminate or minimize the problem:

Practice relaxation techniques, such as muscular relaxation, yoga or meditation.
Exercise more often. Aerobic exercise facilitates the distribution of oxygen in the body, lowering stress levels.
Learn how to better manage your time.
Try to develop a strong social support system through friends, family, and colleagues. Having good friends who can help you when you’re overwhelmed with tasks can go a long way towards relieving stress.
Find hobbies that you enjoy and set aside time to do them.
Try to establish appropriate, realistic goals that will help you feel a sense of pride of accomplishment.
Keep in mind that not every stress relief technique works for everyone. The most important thing is to experiment and find out what works best for you.