Re: OT: How stress makes us ill

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

To my point of view, you aren't giving stress (or how we

handle stress) enough credit. <g>

I'd say that stress & our reaction to it absolutely

determines whether we are healthy or whether we

have health problems. And as for GD and GO, I

think that stress is the #1 factor... " cause " .

Also, I think the only way we can get over GD or

GO (into remission) is to get to where we can

effectively handle stress.

And I'm no example...as for most of my life I

really thought that the " better people " were those

who could take on more & more things and

be on the go all of the time. I'm learning now

that I have to remind myself daily to " slow down " .

That's not easy for me, as my " identity " was

created out of me trying to be perfect in everything

from graduate school, to career , to swimming

champion, to relationships, etc., etc., ad

nausea. (it was an exhausting way to live).

Best to all,

Ron

>

> Hi all,

>

> I guess I have to accept that stress can get to us. My local

paper just published the results of a study at Ohio State showing

that stress increases blood levels of a chemical, Interleukin-6,

that's " associated with several diseases, including heart

disease, arthritis, osteoporosis[!], type 2 diabetes, and certain

cancers. " My guess is that if it affects arthritis, it probably also

affects Graves'.

>

> The study followed caregivers of spouses with dementia (they

were about age 70 at the time and more than half died during the

six-year study). They were under constant stress, but

" Researchers said even a short-term stressful event like an

argument can lead to changes in the body's disease-fighting

immune system. "

>

> To make things worse, the researchers pointed out, people

under stress try to relieve it by doing things that increase the

levels of this harmful chemical--smoking, overeating, lack of

exercise and sleep. The article was reported by the Associated

Press; the researchers are Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and

Glaser; findings appeared this week in Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences.

>

> Best wishes,

> B.

>

>

>