For a couple decades now, scientists and public media have been talking about pyschoneuroimmunology, PNI — that funny field at the intersection of what we think and how the chemicals in our body respond to make us healthy or ill. We’ve all heard how stress, depression, anxiety, and anger repress our immune systems. Concepts like “my job is killing me” or “my relationship’s giving me ulcers” may actually be true. Bad thoughts, unhealthy relationships, and the ensuing feelings of lacking control can all contribute — as much as a fatty diet — to cardiovascular disease, throwing off both your immune system and the endocrine system. A major pathway that makes us ill in the face of our upsets is via the excessive release of stress hormone norepinephrine, for which high levels in the bloodstream will cause plaque buildup and, without stress reduction, will result in complete blockages: namely, heart attacks, strokes, and arteriosclerosis.
However, not all hope is lost! Some people (about half the subjects in one study) had no physiological or mental indications of very high stress even over the course of several months of a challenging period. In this study of business managers, those who felt the stress became clinically ill. However, others who 1) saw the new demands as a Challenge, 2) retained their sense of Control despite it all, and 3) showed extreme Commitment to their work survived without the deleterious effects. These latter copers have become known as the C-type, for their three stress-reducing C epithets.
And, as we all know, positive experiences, such as interactions with close friends and reconnecting with family, can actually significantly boost our immune systems. In addition, we can further reduce our cortisol and norepinephrine levels by letting our flight or fight response do something active — run, box, or even just kick around the bouncy balls the Wellesley S.M.I.L.E.S. have left out on Sev Green. So, as we all go into finals, remember to run around with your friends, laugh, call home, Commit yourself to your work, remember You Have Control over when and how you take your exams, and think of this final period at Wellesley as a welcomed Challenge to prove who you are and what you can really tackle.
Good luck!
Qualification: All of my facts came from a book on Poisonous People by Harriet Braiker and not from the direct scientific journals. If you’d like to read more about how to reduce your stress and take back your life, however, I recommend her works. They are available from the Wellesley Public Library (you need a piece of mail from your Wellesley address to prove your MA residence for a library card) except now since I’m already hoarding them.
Zoe, this is a really interesting post! and PNI, what it interesting field!! Thanks for providing some useful tips for keeping healthy over the next week. Much appreciated!
I have always observed that often I or others get sick during stressful periods. It was not until recently that I had a better understanding of why. When we’re stressed, our HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal) system is activated. (This is the system that is responsible for the “fight or flight” response.) It was evolutionarily helpful back in the days when we actually were fighting tigers. But in the current time, it can become a major health risk when over-activated. Thats why activating it in small amounts like through exercise is important. The HPA response releases cortisol to the body. In order to do so, it recruits a lot of energy in order to deliver a lot of cortisol. But when this energy is used to supply the body with cortisol, it does not go towards making proteins such as immunoglobulin. It has been found that people who are highly stressed have low levels of immunoglobulin and therefore their immune systems are compromised, which makes them vulnerable to getting sick.
Thanks again for the post, here’s to staying healthy and tackling exams while viewing them as a Challenge!
Thanks for explaining the cortisol mechanism! I didn’t know that much until your comment.