Immune System Responses to Stress

Introduction

Psychological stress is ubiquitous in human life. Perceptions of stress and stressful events are known to influence the function of our immune system, and the field of psychoneuroimmunology seeks to understand that relationship. Although much is left to be understood about how psychological stressors such as caregiving can influence physical health through immune functioning, empirical evidence has made great progress in showing that exposure to stressful stimuli may lead to deleterious long-term effects in immune functioning that has implications for broader health outcomes such as disease risk and mortality.

Conceptualization of Stress

Stress can be conceptualized as anything that disturbs the body’s normal physical or mental equilibrium. These stressors may trigger the “fight or flight” response of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In early parts of human history, this physiological response would have been beneficial in helping...