Why do we get sick when we’re no longer stressed?

Sick on Holiday

Is there anything worse…. (yes, but still meh)

I don’t know about you, but for me, getting sick while on vacation is almost like clock-work. I bet the universe laughs at me because I never seem to get truly sick while on service in the hospital.

I work-work-work and yes, I start to feel a little run-down, and so I take my vitamins, and I find that I’m able to suppress that hint of an illness that I could feel creeping up. I count down the days until my next vacation, planning out fun and relaxing events, or grand adventures. I just can’t wait for that time to relax. Of course, a few days into my holiday, IT HITS, like a slap in the face. I get sick.

I spent the Christmas holiday with my family chasing the northern lights in northern Canada (spending some time in Vancouver and then Whitehorse), and granted it was frigidly cold at times, we were well prepared and always cozy. We interacted with people from around the world, and there were a few people under the weather, so I definitely could have caught something from someone, but in my mind, I expect myself to be so invincible. Despite my precaution though, the illness, whatever it was, presented, and it was so profound, so achy, so sore, so exhausting, that once I recovered, I decided that I needed to do more research. I’ve never had the flu before, and if this was the flu, my Lord, it was gnarly. I could barely taste or hear for days, and the cough and fatigue lasted WEEKS! Once I recovered, I decided that I needed to do some research. My question: Why do I fall ill when i’m less stressed?

Answer: May factors influence ones susceptibility to illness, and among many things include virus type, R0, immune status, co-morbidities etc. But right now, I want to discuss “the let-down effect”. This is a period in time when people become ill after a particularly stressful time. The let-down effect is also seen with migraine sufferers, people with autoimmune diseases, asthma etc.

During stress, we release certain hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which trigger the immune system to be “on”. Increase in stress hormones can actually make you feel stronger (think fight or flight), and once the stressful period has passed, the body relaxes and there is a down-regulation of the immune response, including a drop in cortisol, and noticeable decrease in that “strength”. I think the fact that I’d been working long hours in the hospital prior to my holiday, sleeping less, and having increased stress eventually led to my relatively immunocompromised state and made my body the perfect target for the viral illness.

Dr. Nieca Goldberg (NYU Langone - Women’s Health) states that “during a stressful period, have a plan that calls for breaks as you go through it”. Moments of mindfulness, breath work, meditation, yoga, exercise, and guided imagery can all take you out of high stress states for a while, thereby decreasing the likelihood of a big let-down effect. This is especially important for people who are at baseline immunocompromised and therefore at greater risk for catching whatever bacteria and viruses might be floating around, especially during the winter season when we find ourselves spending more time together in close quarters. You may not be able to completely avoid an illness, but the severity could be reduced.

So, I need to be more mindful about my stress states, and actively work to relax despite the stress. Wish me luck.