15/12/2023
Cleveland Clinic icon
Health Essentials logo
December 1, 2023
Yes, There Is Such a Thing as Stress Sickness
From nausea, weight gain and eczema, stress can affect your immune system in many ways
person holding a thermometer with stress thought bubbles above head
For most of us, stress is just a part of life. It can last for a few hours, like the time leading up to a final exam. Or it can be more long-term, like when taking care of an ailing loved one
Whatever the cause, no one enjoys the feeling of stress. But can stress actually make you sick?
In short: Yes. In fact, along with causing eczema, unwanted weight gain and nausea, stress can even weaken your immune system. “Eliminating or modifying different stress factors in your life is vital to protect and increase your immune response,” says clinical immunologist Leonard Calabrese, DO.
Dr. Calabrese offers insight on how stress impacts your immunity and what you can do to minimize the effect.
The link between stress and your immune system
Believe it or not, stress isn’t all bad. In fact, acute stress is the part of us that helps protect us and make us more alert.
When you start feeling stressed, it causes your body to produce greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol. In short spurts, cortisol can boost your immunity by limiting inflammation. “But over time, when your body reaches chronic stress, your body can get used to having too much cortisol in your blood. And this opens the door for more inflammation,” Dr. Calabrese explains.
In addition, chronic stress decreases your body’s lymphocytes — the white blood cells that help fight off infection. The lower your lymphocyte level, the more at risk you are for viruses, including the common cold and cold sores. This is when you can start experiencing a “stress-ind
