Stress and the Immune System
Almost 80% of all Doctor visits are related to stress. Your immune system is actually an interaction
between your cells and cellular products. Your white blood cells called leukocytes, which are the main fighter cells of your immune system and are made up of three kinds; lymphocytes, monocytes, and granulocytes. Each type of cell has a separate function. Lymphocytes are subdivided into B cells, T-helper cells, T-suppressor cells, and natural killer cells. B cells are responsible for the production and secretion of antibodies. T-cells are responsible for making contact with the antigen. The other T cells are responsible for regulating the immune system; T-helper cells boost whereas T-suppressor cells decrease. The psychosocial state of a person can have direct impacts on their immune system.
Internal factors like stress can have been suggested to cause a deficient immune system because of the way the body response to dealing with problems. The abilities of the immune system are lessened after frequent bouts of stress. The immune system is slowed to be able to continuously function.
Your mood also plays a role in the immune system effectiveness. Having a positive attitude seems to correlate with an increased ability of the immune system in fighting diseases. There were cases where patients who had fear before surgery, had a longer healing time.
Even in relatively less dangerous health problems, mood can have an effect. A study with the common cold and emotions showed that participants with happy emotions exhibited a greater ability to fight off the cold when given a squirt of the rhinovirus (Jones, 2003).
A study done on students in an academic environment during exam time produced some convincing results. In the study, the level of T-cells and responses to mitogens was lower. Secondly, there was a...