Can Stress Make You Sick?
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Have you noticed that illness interrupts life at the most inconvenient times, like when you are at your busiest, right before a big event, or while navigating a challenging situation or circumstance? The endocrinologist Hans Selye thought that stress-related disease was a progression of events (Everly & Lating, 2019, p.72) (Tan & Yip, 2018). He called it generalized adaptation syndrome or GAS (Tan & Yip, 2018). Let’s look at Selye’s model for how stress leads to illness.
1. Alarm: The alarm stage is the body’s reaction to a psychological or physiological stressor (Campbell et. al, 2013). It is experienced as increased energy from the release of epinephrine, also called adrenaline. Adrenaline increases heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate, instigates the release of sugar from the liver for increased energy, stimulates muscle contraction for strength, and can produce anxiety (Campbell, et. al, 2013). Cortisol sustains the stress response. It also diminishes the immune response. The stress response keeps you alive when you must run from danger or fight. However, the physiological response is the same even without danger. Reading a sign that says, “Next service station in 45 miles,” and suddenly noticing you are about to run out of gas can prompt the same physiological response as running into a grizzly bear while hiking through the woods, running into an unpleasant neighbor, and running interference between bickering family members. All stressors evoke the stress response.
2. Resistance: During resistance, the body mobilizes its resources to deal with the stressor (Everly & Lating, 2019), continuing to release epinephrine and cortisol. When exposed to long-term stressors, the body is constantly flush with stress hormones, perpetuating dysregulated blood sugar, muscle tension, high blood pressure, elevated heart and respiration rates, and decreased immunity. Eventually, the prolonged stress response causes exhaustion (Everly & Lating, 2019, p.72).
3. Exhaustion: Symptoms of illness are evidence of exhaustion. The body cannot maintain metabolic activity at the level needed to deal with the stressor. The impact of extended periods of stress depends on the individual. Prolonged elevated epinephrine and cortisol levels can damage the cardiovascular system, leading to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke (Katella, K., 2024). Type 2 diabetes can develop from prolonged dysregulation of blood sugar (Mifsud, et. al, 2013). Neck and back issues can emerge from non-stop muscle tension (Trivedi, K., 2019). The long-term dampening down of the immune system increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases, like cancer.
It is critical to understand that Selye was not speaking about dramatic stressors. He was referring to typical everyday psychological and physiological stressors that impact the body, like arguments, exercise, and even medication. Other researchers, like psychologist Sheldon Lachman theorized that the manifestation of illness happens when the stress is intense and/or chronic (Lachman, 1972). Stress is part of living, but it does not need to lead to illness. Learning to identify, reduce, and manage stressors is one component of a healthy adaptive response to stress. The antidote to stress is relaxation. By cultivating relaxation as a daily practice, the mind and body learn to flexibly adapt to changing situations and circumstances, promoting health and well-being.
References
Campbell, T. S., Johnson, J. A., & Zernicke, K. A. (2013). General Adaptation Syndrome. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1135
Everly, G. S., & Lating J. M. (2019). A clinical guide to the treatment of the human stress response (4th ed.). Springer
Katella, K. (2024, February 12). Yes, stress can hurt your heart: 3 things to know. Yale Medicine. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/stress-affects-your-heart
Mifsud, S., Schembri, E. L., & Gruppetta, M. (2018). Stress-induced hyperglycaemia. British Journal of Hospital Medicine (London, England : 2005), 79(11), 634–639. https://doi.org/10.12968/hmed.2018.79.11.634
Tan S.Y., & Yip A. (2018). Hans Selye (1907-1982): Founder of the stress theory. Singapore Medical Journal, 59(4), 170–171. https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2018043
Trivedi, K. (2019, March 20). Easy tips to relieve stress-related neck and back pain. UT Southwestern Medical Center. https://utswmed.org/medblog/stress-back-pain
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