Anxiety and Our Immune System

You take a daily multivitamin, even a Vitamin C boost when you feel a sniffle, but avoiding something else in your life is a better way to improve your immunity.

“Stress and anxiety have a tremendous impact on our immune system,” said, David Tolin, Ph.D., director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at Hartford Hospital. “We know excess levels of stress produce hormonal changes that lower the body’s resistance to colds and other infections.” Even yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, and so on...

Did you know there are different types of stress? But, only one really throws us for a loop, as far as our immune system goes and that one is anxiety.

When we experience such stress (anxiety) whether it’s the loss of a job or a personal tragedy – our body responds by sending defense signals to the endocrine system, which then triggers the release of various hormones designed to prepare the body for an emergency. In doing that, the hormones, particularly cortisol, also depresses the immune system. Increased levels of cortisol, in fact, can decrease white blood cells and inflammation, while increasing tumor development and growth and the overall rate of infection. Even our vaginal health is affected by stress and anxiety.

If you’re experiencing stress, ask yourself a few of these questions. If you answer yes to even just one of these this may be a sign that your body is responding to that stress and you need to try and intercept it.

• Do you feel edgy and cranky, picking fights with family, friends, or coworkers?
• Are you feeling agitated all the time?
• Is your stomach tied in knots?
• Are your sleep patterns disrupted so you’re either sleeping too much or not enough?

Please it is very important to take control of these situations and stay in tune with our bodies, we only have one, we need to take care of it.

When we begin to feel stress coming on here are a few tricks to try and decompress...

1. Breath, taking deep breaths, and being present in our minds help clear bad energy.

2. Leading a healthy lifestyle, getting regular exercise even if it is just getting out and walking, enjoy some fresh air...

3. Eating a balanced diet goes hand and hand with exercise, we are what we eat, remember?

4. Sometimes talking about it helps, maybe it's a close friend or a counselor, whoever it is talk...

Especially in these COVID times, it is very important to take these steps to keep our anxiety down, it will help with our mental and physical health.