Sick and Tired: How Stress and Immunity Play Tug of War to Wear Us Out

Apr 24

Spring has sprung. The weather is warning, the sky is brightening… and you’re dragging. You’re run down. You can’t get your energy back, no matter how much sleep you get. You seem to catch any bug, germ, or crud that goes around. Each time you’re down for the count, the important goals you set for yourself slip farther from your grasp. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Understanding how stress and immunity are connected is key to feeling better in mind and body.

Stress Hates Your Guts

For a deep dive into the tug of war between your immune system and your stress response, I recommend The Autoimmune Cure by Dr. Sara Gottfried. In it, she explains the PINE [Psycho-Immune-Neuro-Endocrine] system. These interconnected systems communicate with one another at lightning speed to alert us to potential threats and challenges in our environment.

When we encounter stressors, multiple hormones are released:

The hypothalamus releases Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH).
The pituitary gland releases adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
The adrenal gland releases cortisol.

This hormone dump affects our bodies in ways we recognize: fast pulse or racing heart rate, reduced appetite, hyperawareness, clammy hands, sweating, edginess, irritability, and difficulty sleeping. When we say we “feel stressed” or “feel anxious”, we’re noticing how stress hormones impact our body. They also affect our immune system, much of which is regulated in our gut.

Up to 80% of our immune cells are in our gut. When stress hormones are strongly stimulated (by acute trauma) or regularly released (by chronic stress), our gut and our immune system pay the price.

Research shows that too much CRH can make the intestinal lining more permeable. That can cause undigested food and other chemicals to enter your bloodstream before the body has the chance to properly break down and absorb them, which triggers an immune response.

You’re on the Trauma Treadmill

Getting stuck in this cycle can make us more susceptible to illness, especially if our immune system can’t recover before it’s activated again. To get ourselves well, we can learn to recognize how we respond to stress and find a way to turn off the Trauma Treadmill so we don’t respond to all the little stressors with the same emotional intensity (and physical consequences).

Dr. Gottfried describes the 4 responses to stress and trauma like this:

Fight: When you face a perceived threat aggressively
Flight: When you flee from danger
Freeze: When you’re unable to move or act against a threat, like a deer caught in the headlights
Fawn: When you behave pleasingly in an effort to avoid conflict

Our PINE system remembers how we respond to fear, stress, anxiety, or emotional wounds, even if the initial events or triggers are fuzzy for us. Our bodies are trying to help us survive (which is great), but in this hypervigilant state, we can’t process and heal from what’s upsetting us (which is not great). That means our hormonal hierarchy and metabolic stability can get thrown out of whack without us having a clear idea of what’s causing all this chaos.

So what can we do?

Sometimes it’s helpful to work backwards, starting with our trauma response. Let’s say I notice I’ve been bending over backwards for someone at work, even though I can stand her. Why the heck am I doing that? Well, I don’t want her to fly off the handle. Looks like she’s triggering my Fawn response. If I can learn to manage and move beyond that response with greater awareness, I can turn my stress response “off” a lot quicker.

Break Free and Get Stronger

When we’re perpetually activated and dysregulated, breaking free from our trauma response is a lot more complex than understanding one frustrating person, or one stressful incident. Personalized support and guidance can help us stay on track to greater wellness and wellbeing, especially when we’re confident our whole selves are cared for.

Holistic counseling and coaching incorporate all the body-mind’s interconnected systems into any efforts you make to strengthen yourself physically, psychologically, emotionally, or spiritually. If you’re ready to stop letting stress rule the day and wreak havoc on your body, we’d love to help. Call/text (615) 390-9122 or email sonya@synergyclinic.co to book a free discovery call. Start feeling better, stronger, and more resilient, no matter what comes your way.