Stress and Disease

Excessive stress is linked to a wide range of diseases, both physical and mental. People who are under great stress are more likely to have ulcers, heart attacks, or infections, or to die suddenly. In addition, they are more apt to have accidents or athletic injuries.

Mental illnesses linked to stress include schizophrenia and depression. People under stress are more likely to be hospitalized with these diseases and to attempt suicide.

Numerous studies have established the link between stress and diseases. Researchers have found, for example, that people are far more likely to become ill during the year following a divorce. They have also found that the death rate among widows and widowers is very high during the first year of widowhood. In fact, 10 times as many widows and widowers die during that year as do other people in the same age group.

In addition, the stressful Type A personality pattern is believed by some to be a major cause of heart disease. In one study, more than 3,500 men were observed over a 10-year period. It was found that those with Type A behavior were almost three times more likely than those with Type В behavior to develop heart disease. Not all scientists accept the idea that personality in itself contributes to heart disease, however. They point out that other risk factors, such as cigarette smoking and high blood pressure are more common among Type A per­sonalities. Thus, the personality itself may not cause heart disease. Rather, it may be the risk factors associated with the personality that do.

Individual Responses to Stress

Why should one person under stress develop an ulcer and another asthma? Why should one student get the flu or a cold during exam week, while others get headaches or feel tired? And why are most students not sick at all?

Part of the reason seems to be that certain people inherit certain weaknesses. One person might have inherited defective genes that make her or him more likely to have an ulcer. Another might have a genetic defect in the ner­vous and cardiovascular systems. In times of stress, the blood flow to that person's head may change and cause headaches. Yet another person may have a defective respiratory sys­tem. Stress may cause that person to have colds.

Anybody who is ill is under some stress, of course, since disease itself is a stressor. And the way people react emotionally to a disease can affect the course of the disease. Some people, for example, feel angry or afraid when they suspect that they have cancer or heart dis­ease. Their anger or fear makes them put off seeing a doctor. By so doing, they reduce their chances of being treated successfully.

Psychosomatic Illness

You may often hear someone say about an illness: "Oh, it's only psychosomatic." Psychosomatic refers to bodily (somatic) illnesses brought on by a person's psychologi­cal stress. Some people think that a psychosomatic illness is not real, that "It's all in the mind." Nothing could be further from the truth. Psychological factors can affect physical health. By the same token, physical factors can affect a person's psychological state. The following two examples illustrate the interplay between psychological and physical stress and a person's mental and physical well-being.

Evelyn loves science and does well in it. So well, in fact, that she won a statewide competi­tion in physics. Just after that, she noticed that her best friends at school became very cool toward her. She began to worry about being liked. She felt lonely, and even doing well in her schoolwork didn't make her feel any better. She developed what seemed to be a perpetual case of the sniffles and a nagging cough that wouldn't go away.

Evelyn was suffering from psychological stress. Just when she thought she would be most happy, she was most miserable. Her psychological stress led directly to a weakened physical state and a nagging, unpleasant ail­ment.

Jeff, on the other hand, is in good physical health and has no problems with his friends. He is on the first-string basketball team, and the city championship is coming up. At this time, his mother injures her back in a fall. His father, a salesman, is on the road. This means Jeff has an extra work load at home. He has to do all the laundry and shopping and prepare meals for himself and his little sister. He has to do all of this after coming home from a hard practice. Then he has to do his schoolwork after he has finished that.

He feels pressured. Even though he under­stands that his mother needs him, he still gets irritated. One night he yelled at his sister and walked out of the house slamming the door. He knows things will ease up when his mother re­covers, but that doesn't help his mood. He finds himself impatient with everyone, and even his teammates are beginning to resent it.

Jeff is experiencing several outside stressors: the upcoming game, his extra work load, and his regular schoolwork. These have created physical stress for him. He is tired all the time, and his short temper is a result. Thus, we see that physical stress can lead to a change in psychological state. Jeff is normally a vigorous, secure young man. Now he is a tired, grumpy one.The point to remember is that there is no split between the mind and the body. The ancient Romans used to say "mens sana in corpore sano." This means "a sound mind in a sound body." They understood that if either one was ill or under stress, the other would be affected also.