Stress and Illness

I really do believe that it is important for us to deal with stress in our lives. I also believe that too often stress is a forgotten factor in our health. I think stress can make us sick. This article says, “Long-term stress changes the hard wiring of our brains. It breaks down our immune systems and causes illness.” This article seems to agree with that statement, although it suggests that short-term stress might boost the immune system while long-term stress might undermine it.

There are many stressors in our lives, both positive and negative. Here are scales for adults and children that may help you evaluate how much stress you have in your life.

I remember when I stopped smoking. That was stressful process. Stopping smoking involved learning to deal with the stress of wanting to smoke – but learning to deal with it in a healthy way, i.e., by not giving into it – learning to lower my stress level without using a cigarette to temporarily lower my stress level.

We are all subjected to stress on a daily basis. According to this article, “Stress can cause migraines, stroke, eczema, a weak immune system, and many other diseases.” So as you can see, it is very important that we all learn to deal with or manage our stress.

I have thought about self-hypnosis and biofeedback for a long time. I may investigate them further to see if they might help me deal with stress in my life.

BTW, when Dr. Dean Ornish talks about reversing heart disease, one of the major components of his program is stress management.


exercise, biofeedback, hypnosis, health, heart disease, immunity, immune system, illness, migraine, smoking cessation, smoking, stress, stroke, Ornish, Dean Ornish