Stress Affects More Than Your Immune System
Mind-body Connection an Integral Component to Disease
Mar 17, 2009
Many studies and a great deal of research have demonstrated a powerful connection exists between the mind and the body - what goes through your mind has a profound effect on your body.
Some people would argue that stress or rather distress can make you physically ill. According to some studies, stress and anxiety have a profound effect on your immunity and may shorten your life expectancy.
Take for example the research done in 2004 from Ohio State University on the psychological impact of counseling for breast cancer patients. Researchers found counseling boosts immunity in breast cancer patients, bringing further validity to the concept that the connection of the mind and the body is an integral component of disease and healing.
The Ohio study discovered regular psychological counseling for breast cancer patients may do more than just lower their stress and anxiety. Researchers explained with the right kind of intervention it can also mean healthier diets, reduced smoking, and a stronger immune system.
The study's findings were published in the September 1, 2004 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and was the first to come from a long-term study at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) on the impact of stress on immunity among breast cancer patients.
For nearly three decades research at Ohio State has been investigating the links between psychological stress and a weakened immune status.
More recently, a study reported in an article "Mechanism Behind Mind-body Connection Discovered," ScienceDaily, July 16, 2008, indicated researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) suggested cortisol is the culprit behind premature aging of the immune system in stressed-out people. They noted the stress hormone cortisol suppresses immune cells' ability to activate their telomerase.
Immune cells end in protective caps called telomeres that are shorter in the elderly and in persons suffering chronic stress.
The UCLA study revealed how stress makes people more susceptible to illness. The findings also suggested a potential drug target for preventing damage to the immune systems of persons who are under long-term stress, such as caregivers to chronically ill family members, as well as astronauts, soldiers, air traffic controllers and people who drive long daily commutes.
This research was published in the May 2008 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
Currently, much of the Ohio State work is now shifting to studies on how to intervene with stress in hopes of slowing the weakening of the immune system in highly stressed people. That said, mind-body connection research is ongoing around the globe.
