Is Stress Making You Sick?

I read recently that stress can age your cells by 10 years, which is startling to consider. But what is even more astounding is what several people shared with me in the last two weeks. All have serious diseases, and they are convinced they got sick because they overdid things for years and didn’t stop despite high levels of stress. One of them has Multiple Sclerosis (MS); one has Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and another has Raynaud’s – a circulatory auto immune disease. I personally lived with debilitating episodes of chronic fatigue that forced me into bed for three months at a time repeatedly for ten years. I now understand, looking back, that prior to each episode I was dealing with severe levels of stress.

While it may seem preposterous that you could manifest these diseases from taking on too much stress, it is less outlandish to believe that stress affects your auto immune system and puts you at greater risk for any number of diseases that you may be susceptible to under the right conditions. We all know that the better our immune system, the better we are at avoiding colds and the flu. I would add: the better we are at avoiding life altering diseases. Have you gotten ill after highly stressful events or long periods of chronic stress? Or do you have a serious disease and wonder if stress contributed to your current condition? If not, consider yourself lucky and forewa
ed.

Yet while we can warn you to slow down and not follow in our footsteps, the more important warning will come from your own body. Looking back, I can see that I had warnings that I chose to ignore. I was continually nauseas for more than a year and had severe back spasms regularly. When I got sick, I was often very sick for up to two weeks. I didn’t bounce back from things well. The gal who has MS also had several warnings, including a day when she couldn’t see out of one eye. She drove to work anyway.

None of us understood what our bodies were trying to tell us, nor did we change our lifestyles to take care of ourselves when we took on too much or got physical warnings. We kept up our crazy pace and focused on what we thought was more important.

My stress was due to working insane hours, burning the candle at both ends and trying to be in a relationship that was emotionally draining. I just kept plugging away at both. The person with ALS only got 4 hours of sleep a night for years prior to her diagnosis, was under constant stress and never stopped. Her body took care of that and brought her to a complete stop. The gal with MS found herself in a wheel chair and dependent on others to pick her up and help her function. After living a type-A lifestyle on high adrenaline and urgency she too was brought to a standstill. The woman with Raynaud’s had a high stress, high travel job and worked extremely long hours from early morning to late at night. Not any more. Can you see yourself in one of us? What is your life like now and what is your body trying to tell you?

We have all had to change our way of thinking and living after receiving wake up calls too serious to ignore. More importantly, we are now focused on making ourselves a priority and paying attention to our needs and what matters. The women with MS and Raynaud’s have nearly recovered to the point of normal functioning after several years of changing their attitudes, beliefs and choices. Fitness, wellness and emotional wellbeing are central to their healing. My story is very similar, and I haven’t had an episode the past six years since I resolved to change my lifestyle and focus on my fitness, health and stress.

I am perhaps the most fortunate. My illness pales in comparison to theirs. But I don’t let that lull me into complacency. My body will let me know when I push the envelope too far, and I now know better than to ignore the warnings. This week stop to consider if you are pushing your envelope to the point of getting your own wake up call. If so, hope that it is just a warning and not the real deal.