Let’s start by understanding what stress is. The term "stress" was originally used in engineering to describe pressure on materials. Originally, stress was studied under the umbrella of physiology, i.e., the workings of the human body, which indeed has a major role in our reaction to perceived stress.
Stress is anything present, anticipated, perceived, sudden or delayed occurrence causing a mismatch between our expectations and reality. In this article, we will delve deeper into how stress affects our body, especially the immune system.
Moving towards the biological aspect of stress. Understanding it goes back to our primitive times. We have evolved through the passages of life-threatening circumstances along with phobias, drives, curiosity, and desires. There might be times when you feel goosebumps or gut feelings during certain circumstances.
At present times, stress might translate to making a living or getting a job. Which we relate to our survival and we adopt a fight or flight response. A response caused by stressors i.e. factors causing stress or stress stimulus alerts our body to go in a chain reaction of hormones which does two things: Enhance or support systems that will help mitigate sudden stressors whether it be acute or chronic stress and suppress processes or systems that won’t aid in immediate stress response.
You might now be wondering- Does our immune system shut down? The answer is yes and no. Yes, with the perspective that our body temporarily enhances immune function by activating white blood cells, which will work to help with stress response and other functions of the immune system are suppressed. On the other hand, our body needs a minimal level of security while we are in a fight or flight response. However, our immune systems collapse if we experience chronic stress over long periods. We will explore this phenomenon in the upcoming section, but before that let us understand a few causes of stress.
Stress falls under the purview of a single cause and multiple effects. Let us understand a few causes of stress as follows:
Physiological stress includes exposure to cold or cold temperatures, extreme pressure on body parts, joint pain, and more.
Psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, fear of missing out, self-esteem, future estimations, and unexpected occurrences add to causes of stress.
External causes include the environment we live in consisting of people, noise, green cover around your home, etc.
Internal factors of stress can be your upbringing, how you value things, your principles and your moral compass.
We, humans, are good at understanding co-relations, whether it be forecasting rain or predicting an astronomical event. For a simple instance of cold, we will self-medicate by buying medicines from the chemist. It is always better to seek expert opinion and take measures of prevention in the form of health insurance if you are experiencing stress.
It is time to wear a scientific hat, more of a biological one as we will now understand how stress affects the immune system in action. When we experience stress, our body releases glucocorticoids and other stress-related hormones to temporarily heighten our immune system. Given this process, it kills various sub-types of white cells and pushes our immune system to stop all long-term protective expenditure and converts into a laser-focused response, designed for special operations.
Further, if you experience stress for a prolonged period along with a high level of glucocorticoids, the immune system will tank down. Long-term major stressors drive the immunity down to 40 to 70 % below baseline. This is because of two major reasons:
Thus, an immune system below baseline will increase our risk of contracting diseases.
Below are the effects of stress on our immune system:
Short-term stress pushes the body and immune system to extremes whereas long-term stress suppresses the immune system.
Cortisol suppresses the immune system by reducing inflammation and inhibiting the activity of white blood cells.
Stress reduces white blood cell count and antibody production, weakening the body's ability to fight infections.
Chronic stress triggers persistent inflammation by overactivating the immune response, increasing the risk of disease.
Acceptance is the psychological first-aid. If you are experiencing some health discomfort, the first task is to be aware that it is happening to you. Similarly, we must understand that when we are stressed, it may be a psychological, conditional, or reflex response and we need to be aware of its symptoms. Below are a few common signs that stress is weakening your immunity.
Cognitive symptoms include forgetfulness, negative thinking, a pessimistic outlook and many more.
Emotional symptoms include anxiety, mood swings, depression, a sense of isolation, etc.
Physical symptoms include headache, laziness, sleep disturbances, digestive issues, etc.
Behavioural symptoms include procrastination, social withdrawal, nervous behaviour, restlessness, etc.
Our body works on the principle of stress-response and recovery model. Hormones work on their own to solve the immediate risk of stress encountered by perceived brain information. Amidst all this what can we do in the state of induced or encountered stress?
A few points below might help you in the long run:
Until and unless you are in a life-threatening situation, you can change the environment, i.e. place yourself in a much more relaxed environment.
Exercising is a good stress management technique. Provided the fact that you do it regularly. It can be an effective stress buster.
During stress, our body is on high alert and pushes us to our limits. Thus, it is necessary to eat enough calories per day with a proportionate share of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. So whenever we go under stress we have enough reserves and immunity to bounce back and return to a normal state.
Humans are social creatures and we all are bound to be stressed over a certain period. Communicating it with our near and dear ones, may it be your friends and family will help you mitigate your stress.
You should reach out for professional help via the person you believe the most and can rely on or by directly contacting a mental health professional to help you understand what you are going through.
Everyone manages stress differently. There is no specific mantra to this. This does not mean you need to give up if general stress-busters are not working for you. Experiment and find what works for you.
The government and IRDAI have mandated mental health parity. As of late 2022, all health insurers must cover mental illness. However, there are a few catches, such as hospitalization due to mental illness is generally covered, and outpatient therapies are generally not covered under health insurance.
Insurance can recognize medical diagnoses stemming from stress such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD but, stress itself is not a claimable category. It is necessary to check the policy wording regarding mental health and the clauses regarding the same to understand the coverage.
Stress has not only become a sub-product of our lifestyle, but it is also accumulating in our subconscious through little instances. Remember the time when you are frustrated and you might be rude to another person. This is one of the trivial examples of stress that we accumulate.
A simple thing to do is hit a pause. Understand your stressors, emotions, and goals on a day-to-day basis. Remove what adds to your stress. Reroute it in such a way that you can develop a calm reflex action to stress. No one can promise that you can avoid stress. However, you can manage your mood to manage your stress. Little things go a long way, may it be exercising, watching sunsets, buying a health insurance policy, or taking time for yourself and your family. This will help you reduce stress and improve your immunity system.
Ans: Yes, acute stress can weaken your immune system.
Ans: Acute stress will affect your immune system by suspending the long-term protection function of your immunity system and activating it to you from the immediate stressor.
Ans: While you are under chronic stress, the immune system shoots up and is at high alert. However, during acute stress, the immune system tanks down the baseline.
Ans: Common signs of stress affecting the immune system include fatigue, restlessness, overthinking, procrastination, feeling low and withdrawal from activities.
Ans: Yes, stress can influence the body’s inflammatory response.
Ans: Yes, the impact of stress on immunity can vary with age.
