Medical Illness and Stress

Medical illnesses often have a stress component.  Illnesses will flare up at times of emotional stress.  Psychological stress impacts the physical body.  Psychological stress uses up different nutrients, it alters our habits, it changes appetite and sleep patterns, it changes the immune system. 

There are ways to evaluate the impact of stress on the body.  By evaluating the stress someone is exposed to, it's possible to develop a plan to manage the stress better and to reduce the medical symptoms.  Tracking when symptoms occur can clearly document for someone the link between the stressful experience and the physical manifestations of stress.

A number of medical conditions have a stress link.  These are as common as neck and back pain, difficulty sleeping, or headaches, to less common problems of gout, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, and increased susceptibility to colds or flu.  Working with a health and medical psychologist can help to document the links between stress and physical symptoms, devise a treatment plan to manage the symptoms better, devise a plan to manage the stress better, and to decrease the actual illness in the process.