{"id":80588,"date":"2023-10-25T08:11:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T13:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=80588"},"modified":"2024-04-06T04:02:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T04:02:03","slug":"the-immune-system-stress-connection","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"The Immune System Stress Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

*This is an article from the\u00a0<\/a><\/em>Fall 2023\u00a0issue of Contentment Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Cynthia Ackrill, MD, PCC, FAIS<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of us grow up and move through our days not really thinking about our immune systems, or for that matter, the miraculous powers of our bodies and minds to repair themselves. We\u2019ve all cut ourselves shaving or slicing and dicing. Sure, we wash it (<\/span>the important part<\/span><\/i>!), maybe slap on some antimicrobial goop and a Band-Aid, but that\u2019s not what does the healing \u2014 our bodies do that part. Almost immediately, a multitude of specialized cells swoop in to stop the bleeding, defend against any foreign substances, create a temporary barrier, and over the next few days build bridges to mesh the sides of the wound back together. It\u2019s an impressive orchestration of chemical signaling and cellular activity\u2026 until it isn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Like our immune system, our stress reaction system is also there to protect us from the dangers of the world. 24\/7 the brain stays on high alert, scoping out any possible threats from escaped tigers to cars cutting us off to sneers on our partner\u2019s face. At any whiff of danger, the chemical cascade of the sympathetic nervous system is activated to make sure we are \u201cready\u201d to defend ourselves \u2014 our hearts speed up, clotting cells gather, blood is sent to the large muscles of escape, even our senses are made more keen \u2014 all to help us fight or flee. This system is perfect for acute danger \u2014 we wind up safely in the other lane before we can even say, \u201cYikes!\u201d But\u2026 when it\u2019s chronically triggered, especially by thoughts or things out of our control, it can wreak havoc with the workings of all the other systems and our health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It makes sense that these 2 systems are communicating in their work to help us survive a challenging world. In fact, all the systems of our incredible bodies need to communicate and coordinate for our well-being \u2014 and the vast majority of this full symphony is going on well below our level of awareness. (If you want to understand this on the nitty-gritty chemical level, check out Dr. Lewis Coleman\u2019s impressive rendering of how emotions, stress, and immunity interact in the winter 2021-2022 issue of\u00a0<\/span>Contentment<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Remember the old song, \u201cthe knee bone\u2019s connected to the thigh bone\u2026?\u201d After decades of medical advances, drilling down and separating out the workings of different parts of the body, it\u2019s time to reconnect to pieces. These reductionist paths were necessary to figure out the chemical details of things like nerve signaling, blood pressure regulation, how our bodies handle sodium, etc. And these approaches led to advances in diagnosis and treatments we never thought possible \u2014 from cancer treatments to irradicating polio (almost?). But they also made it easy to lose track of several things:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The whole: the importance of the connection, communication, and coordination of\u00a0<\/span>all<\/span><\/i>\u00a0the parts and systems, including the social systems and environment. Each system can affect the workings of the others. And\u2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The powers our incredible minds and bodies have to prevent disease, self-heal, and orient to health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It\u2019s time to pay attention to the wisdom of the whole and embrace the impressive powers we have to support our best functioning and overall health. We all know that when we are over-tired, we make more mistakes (our brains misfiring under stress). And we know that when we get run down, we are more prone to catching a cold from someone. On the flip side, when we are sick and our immune systems are working overtime, we don\u2019t handle stress as well. Now the science is catching up to our wisdom and giving us solid proof that we can make choices and create thought and behavior habits that help our minds and bodies thrive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In my early days as a physician, I never really understood why so much of the practice of medicine focused on waiting for something to go wrong (like blood sugar too high) and then \u201ctreating\u201d it. I have always been drawn to wanting to know more about how to make it go \u201cright.\u201d I was fascinated by how a person\u2019s mental state and attitude influenced their whole experience and often their outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    I also learned (too much of it first-hand) about the interactions of stress and immunity. It\u2019s no secret that medical training is stressful. As an intern I was also struggling with infertility. Sadly, in a \u2018just buck up\u2019 culture, I was shamed for stressing about it. (Can you say, \u201cMore stress?\u201d) Well, a couple of decades later, we now understand how stress can cause inflammation and how inflammation can interfere with fertility \u2014 duh! In fact, my poorly managed stress kept my immune system on overdrive until I am one of the 1 in 10 people dealing with autoimmune disease (a result of the immune system over-working to attack normal cells). And having an autoimmune issue is stressful. I\u2019ve been forced to figure out the connections and employ all the tools I can to both handle stress more effectively and especially to embrace self-compassion along the way. (Yes, I am one of those people who learns to teach what they needed most!)<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Recently, it\u2019s been exciting to see more focus on \u201cwellness\u201d approaches, especially those such as functional medicine that emphasize the interactions of all the human health systems. Thanks to Covid, it\u2019s also now much safer to openly discuss stress and learn effective ways to create less of it, leverage some of it for good, and learn practices to counter its negative effects. I\u2019m thrilled people are finally realizing that what we put in our bodies matters \u2014 that food can actually turn genes on or off! And, as exciting as this shift is, I also think we need to be very careful \u2014 the marketing and profits of the associated $1.5 trillion (!!!) market can overwhelm or cloud both real science and wisdom.<\/span><\/p>\n

    So, what can you do?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Firstly, read\u00a0<\/span>Contentment<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Magazine regularly. I say that because yes, it is near and dear to my heart, but also because it\u2019s hard to sort out the deluge of information thrown at us daily: news that sensationalizes a tiny study about the \u201cnew, next best supplement\u201d to relentless advertisements to the recommendations of well-meaning friends. We need to find resources we can trust to vet for real science. (Of course, there are many others.) Ask your doctor what to trust. Don\u2019t take in too much at once.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Brainstorm what areas of your life would benefit from some tweaking. Pick one that sounds not too hard to experiment with. Keep a light, compassionate heart as you do this \u2014 it\u2019s not about getting everything right, it\u2019s about slowly shifting to patterns that give you more ease and health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Appreciate your wisdom more. What do you know works for you?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Keep an open mind and continue learning \u2014 we all need regular inspiration and motivation. Behavior change or creating new habits is not easy. We need regular \u201cattention to our intention\u201d to create new brain pathways to support the thought and behavior patterns we want for our best life. Consider hiring a coach to be on your team. Humans were literally not designed to go it alone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Build your toolbox of ways to best manage the challenges of life. Then practice them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    6. And don\u2019t forget to celebrate every little success\u2026 that helps your brain and your immune system do their best work!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Reference<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Coleman, Lewis.\u00a0<\/span>Contentment<\/span><\/i>\u00a0magazine, How Emotional Stress Can Kill You.\u00a0<\/span>www.stress.org\/how-emotional-stress-can-kill-you<\/span><\/a>. Access date, August 1, 2023.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
        \n
        \n
        \n

        ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h3>\n

        \"\"Cynthia Ackrill<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is a leader in the field of leveraging stress for optimal\u202fproductivity, health, and happiness. With a background in primar<\/span><\/span>y care and advanced training in\u00a0<\/span>applied<\/span>\u00a0neuroscience (a look under the hood!), certification in wellness and\u202fleadership coaching, she combines the science of human performance with wisdom, humor, and heart to address the critical relationships between\u202fthinking styles, behavior choices, performance capacities, leadership\u202feffectiveness, health, joy, and deep career\/life satisfaction. She\u00a0<\/span>served as editor of the American Institute of Stress\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Contentment<\/span><\/span>\u00a0magazine,\u00a0<\/span>is on the faculty\u202fof multiple leadership\/coaching programs, and contributes widely to the\u202fmedia, including Katie Couric,\u00a0<\/span>CNN,\u00a0<\/span>Today Show and Huffington Post.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
        \n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

        \n
        \n
        \n

        Contentment Magazine<\/h3>\n

        The dictionary defines \u201ccontent\u201d as being in a state of peaceful happiness.\u00a0 The AIS\u00a0magazine is called Contentment because we want all of our guests and members to find contentment in their lives by learning\u00a0about stress management and finding\u00a0what works best for\u00a0each them. \u00a0Stress is unavoidable, and comes in many shapes and sizes that makes being in a state of peaceful happiness\u00a0seem like a very lofty goal.\u00a0 But happiness is easy to find once you are able to\u00a0find ways to manage your stress and keep a healthy\u00a0perspective when\u00a0going though difficult times in life.\u00a0 You will always have stress, but stress does not always have\u00a0you!<\/p>\n

        Subscribe to our FREE magazines and begin your journey to a happier, healthier and longer life!<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
        SUBSCRIBE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        *This is an article from the\u00a0Fall 2023\u00a0issue of Contentment Magazine. By Cynthia Ackrill, MD, PCC, FAIS\u00a0 Most of us grow up and move through our days not really thinking about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":80590,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[139,159],"tags":[136,137,138,617,141,652,653,143,155,147,175,165],"class_list":["post-80588","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-life-blog","category-stress-in-your-body","tag-ais","tag-american-institute-of-stress","tag-anxiety","tag-body","tag-health","tag-immune-system","tag-immunity","tag-mental-health","tag-research","tag-stress-management","tag-stress-reduction","tag-stress-relief","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Immune System Stress Connection - The American Institute of Stress<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Immune System Stress Connection - The American Institute of Stress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"*This is an article from the\u00a0Fall 2023\u00a0issue of Contentment Magazine. By Cynthia Ackrill, MD, PCC, FAIS\u00a0 Most of us grow up and move through our days not really thinking about […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The American Institute of Stress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-06T04:02:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"379\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/\",\"name\":\"The Immune System Stress Connection - The American Institute of Stress\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-25T13:11:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-06T04:02:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":379},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Immune System Stress Connection\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/\",\"name\":\"The American Institute of Stress\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The American Institute of Stress\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AIS-logo-C.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AIS-logo-C.svg\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":432,\"caption\":\"The American Institute of Stress\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Immune System Stress Connection - The American Institute of Stress","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Immune System Stress Connection - The American Institute of Stress","og_description":"*This is an article from the\u00a0Fall 2023\u00a0issue of Contentment Magazine. By Cynthia Ackrill, MD, PCC, FAIS\u00a0 Most of us grow up and move through our days not really thinking about […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/","og_site_name":"The American Institute of Stress","article_modified_time":"2024-04-06T04:02:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":379,"url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/","name":"The Immune System Stress Connection - The American Institute of Stress","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png","datePublished":"2023-10-25T13:11:36+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-06T04:02:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Research-Roundup-2018-7.png","width":600,"height":379},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/the-immune-system-stress-connection\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Immune System Stress Connection"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/","name":"The American Institute of Stress","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#organization","name":"The American Institute of Stress","url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AIS-logo-C.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/AIS-logo-C.svg","width":1440,"height":432,"caption":"The American Institute of Stress"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/80588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}