It may seem as a no-brainer but . . . Australian scientists find proof that stress makes you sick . . . the connection between stress and illness has long been suspected and recent studies have shown a stronger implied causal link. Here it is, if you’re stressed you have a very strong predisposition toward illness . . . a whole slew of illnesses. The evidence had always been circumstantial in the past, highly suspected but no direct link. Now there is much stronger evidence that this is indeed the mechanism at work. Stress makes you sick.

Australian researchers said they had scientifically proven a long-suspected link between emotional stress and illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer. The group from Sydney’s Garvan Institute found that a hormone released into the body during times of stress, neuropeptide Y (NPY), undermined the body’s immune system and literally made you sick. “Until now there has mostly been circumstantial evidence of a link between the brain and the immune system, but now we have that connection,” said the institute’s Fabienne Mackay. “During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY and it gets into the bloodstream, where it inhibits the cells in the immune system that look out for and destroy pathogens in the body,” she said. “That stress makes you sick is no longer a myth, it is a reality and we need to take it seriously.” The group’s findings were published in Monday’s edition of the Journal of Experimental Medicine and the researchers said they hoped their work would lead to new kinds of therapeutic intervention. Herbert Herzog, another of the scientists, said neuropeptide Y had been known to affect blood pressure and heart rates, but discovering its impact on the immune system opened up new doors for tackling some illnesses. “That makes you more vulnerable when you for example have a cold or flu and even in the more serious situations such as cancer can be enhanced in these situations,” he said on ABC radio. Other illnesses with a link to stress include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes and lupus, the researchers said. Mackay stressed that it would take years to develop drugs to counter the affects of NPY and that the best short-term solution for people was to combat their stress. “The best thing to do is to remove stress from our lives just by reorganising the way we live, changing our lifestyle and using things like yoga and relaxation to the best of our ability,” she said.

Of course while Mackay and team now move toward developing drugs that deal with the effects of stress and NPY, there are already noninvasive holistic methods that have already been shown to be extremely effective for relief of stress. Hypnosis, meditation, guided imagery, and experiential focused trance are all quite powerful methods the folks can use to help overcome the effects of stress.

See my webpages at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for a number of free MP3 downloads as well as my hypnocast for more instructional approaches. I also have audio products available and those in Taipei wishing to schedule in-person sessions should feel free to contact me for details on trance services.

All the best,
Brian

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw] Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.briandavidphillips.com