The dog ate the sofa, your brother-in-law needs a loan, the transmission’s shot, your son’s been expelled from high school and your boss is looking at you funny.

Meanwhile, you can’t sleep, you’ve developed acne, you’re gaining weight, your heart rate is soaring and to make matters worse you feel a cold coming on.

When it gets to be too much, your body starts clanging like a fire alarm as a surge of stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, saturate your bloodstream in a fight-or-flight response that can be a good thing in the face of danger or a bad thing the rest of the time.

Experts have long suspected what you probably know through experience—that chronic activation of the stress-response can lead to disease. And now there appears to be proof—stress can make you sick after all.

A recent study conducted at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, Australia has found a direct association between functioning of the brain and the immune system.

“Stress is a biological reaction to a life situation—could be excessive work load or pressure, balancing work and family life, fear of flying, a job with huge responsibilities such as pilots of airliners or air traffic controllers, a job with danger, loss of a loved one, financial problems, competitive sport, sickness. Stress is a part of our lives. It takes different forms for different people and different cultures. Whatever the cause of stress the biological response in the body—at least one of them—is the production of neuropeptide Y (NPY), a brain/nerve-derived hormone, which can suppress our immune defenses and make us more vulnerable to infections and diseases,” says associate professor Dr.Fabienne Mackay, lead Garvan researcher.

NPY is released into the bloodstream during periods of stress, helping to activate immune cells on the hunt for invading pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Then a secondary group of cells are summoned; called TH1 cells they also rely on NPY to attack and obliterate the invaders. In highly stressful situations, however, an excess of NPY actually interferes with the ability of TH1 cells to do their job.

Simply stated, normal immune function appears to be compromised as a result of stress, creating an opportunistic situation for pathogens to do their worst.

Is fatigue a stressor creating the potential for disease?

“Fatigue is a vague term. It depends what we mean by fatigue. Fatigue from outdoor exercise is probably fine. Fatigue as stress-related is probably not very good,” comments Dr. Mackay.

There is some evidence, which indicates that stress may actually rob us of years of life.

Research conducted at the University of California involving mothers of chronically ill children as well as mothers of healthy children, suggests that chronic stress, as experienced, for example, by caretakers of sick kids, can shorten the lives of immune cells.

Dr. Mackay says it’s premature to conclude that stress drives the seeming epidemic of auto-immune diseases—however, Garvan’s research may hold an important key to treating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, arthritis and other auto-immune disorders.

“NPY suppresses immune cells. As autoimmunity is driven by pathogenic immune cells that are over-activated, we think, in fact, that we can perhaps use the inhibitory action of NPY on immune cells to design a new treatment that could suppress hyper-activated pathogenic immune cells in autoimmune patients.”

In the meantime, she advises, people should be aware that the link between stress and disease is no longer a myth.

“Work the best you can to limit stress in your life. Change your lifestyle through yoga and using other relaxation methods, however, there will always be limitations. I tend to get stressed trying to arrive on time to my yoga class and fit this in to my busy schedule, which defeats the purpose. We think that the future of our research is possibly a new medication that can be given to individuals who have no choice but deal with stress or can’t control it and help them prevent the adverse side effects. Conversely we can also use what we know to treat autoimmune diseases.”

Stress Redress:

Sue Cleland, (www.anxietyhelp.com.au) is a social worker and director of the Anxiety and Stress Management Service of Australia and the founder of Social Anxiety Australia. Cleland once suffered from social anxiety disorder—after receiving treatment, she developed the following governing precepts, which help her keep stress and anxiety at bay:

• I now believe that everyone is 100 per cent responsible for their own thoughts and beliefs in life which affects the way people feel and behave.
• I now know that there is always more than one way to perceive any given situation.
• I also believe that it doesn't matter if not everyone I meet takes a liking to me or likes what I say.
• I believe there is no such thing as perfection, it is only someone else's standard.
• I believe there is no such thing as a mistake, only an experience that did not work out as I would have liked.
• I am no longer dependent on others to make me feel good.
• I believe in myself and my own self worth.
• I now believe that people are not to fear and I am not being judged all the time.
• I have adopted a philosophy of flexibility in everything I choose to do or say, I am also flexible with other people in my life.
• I now have the power to make choices in my life that are right for me and the belief that I can achieve whatever I set out to.
• I recognize the importance of a healthy balanced life that addresses my needs in the area of nutrition, exercise, rest, socializing, time on my own, intellectual stimulation, recreation and spirituality.

“The research will take years and our finding is only the tip of the iceberg,” concedes Dr. Mackay. “But we have opened an entirely new door and really exciting therapeutic possibilities will emerge from this.”