How does stress affect the body? And what can we do about it?

The word “stress” almost certainly carries a negative connotation when you hear it.

And in many cases, that makes sense. Our experience with it often involves the feeling of needing to accomplish too much at once — finishing a college paper on time, caring for a young child while working from home, etc.

From a strictly biological standpoint, though, stress is actually protective. The fight-or-flight response to stress will trigger behavior in a mouse that helps it stay safe from becoming prey for a circling hawk, for example.

But it’s when stress becomes chronic that it starts to affect the way the body adapts to it.

What is chronic stress?

Chronic stress is the feeling of your body regularly being in that fight-or-flight state. Although that response is meant to keep you safe, you’re not built to endure it all the time.

Some examples of situations that cause chronic stress:

• Marital discord
• Caring for a sick loved one
• Bereavement
• Financial hardship

Chronic stress can also come from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can be triggered by a single, traumatic event.

How does chronic stress change the body?

Your body’s immune system has two arms to it — the innate and the adaptive.

The innate immune system is the first to respond to germs and other threats. It responds the same way to all intruders and includes things like skin and mucous membranes that naturally keep toxins out of the body.

The adaptive immune system is a secondary line of defense against infection and targets specific threats that the innate system failed to neutralize. It can take longer to respond because it needs to recognize new threats before responding.

When stress is present, it can create inflammation that activates the innate immune system but suppress the adaptive. This is why people under chronic stress are more susceptible to things like the flu.

Having chronic stress does not increase your likelihood of being infected with an illness like the flu, but it will diminish your body’s ability to fight that infection. So, for example, if you are in a state of chronic stress when you get your annual flu shot, your immune system won’t build the same antibodies as someone who was not experiencing that level of stress. This could mean you go through that flu season getting sick more often.

What can I do to alleviate chronic stress?

The shortest explanation for how to relieve stress is to focus on what is in your control.

That can look like any of the following:

• Improving your diet and exercise routine
• Rest
• Meditation
• Therapy
• Engaging in hobbies you enjoy

The benefit of these activities is that they center your needs and help distract your brain from trying to process outcomes that have not happened yet. It’s not uncommon to worry about how a stomachache might turn out to be a serious health problem, but in the absence of that diagnosis, that worry will simply create anxiety.

If you find that you cannot make room for these activities in your life, or they’re not working, talk to your doctor. You may be a candidate for anti-depressant medications that can help.