2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
One might say that diseases are genetically inherent in everyone and are inherited. Another will say that the sick person was not attentive enough to himself and neglected the rules of hygiene. There will certainly be someone who will say that "all diseases are from the nerves." Every opinion has a basis and is correct. In this article, we will look at the psychological aspect of the disease caused by the infection.
Why, under equal conditions, does one person get sick and the other does not?
That's right, it all depends on immunity!
It is about immunity, how to increase it, that will be discussed in this article.
In order to understand this issue, it is necessary to remember what stress is and how it affects the human body.
I propose to consider the phenomenon of stress, in the theory of Walter Cannon and his follower Hans Selye. Scientists have shown empirically that stress is a natural healthy response of a living organism to changes in the external environment. A stress response is a kind of adaptation to change. If the animal reacts to real changes in the outside world: increase / decrease in air temperature, attack by a predator, physical pain. Then a person is able to unconsciously form a stressful reaction with one thought about a possible danger. Those. it is enough for a person to think about the possibility of getting sick and his body can begin to react as if he were already sick. As if he was facing real death.
W. Cannon and G. Selye described three stages of stress development and two main reactions to stress.
The main stages of stress development: anxiety, adaptation, exhaustion.
The reactions are “hit” and “run”.
Selye conducted experiments on mice, but, in the future, the topic of stress was studied by many scientists, and there is a fundamental evidence base that the same thing happens to people as to animals. The difference is made by a variety of socially acceptable human reactions that mask the animal reactions "fight" or "run" and the fact that a person can bring himself, almost to death, with his thoughts alone. Robert Sapolsky, a contemporary stress researcher, has written many books on stress. The Psychology of Stress is one of the most famous.
What happens to the human body when it begins to experience stress and what does the immune system have to do with it?
The stress response begins with a stimulus. In this article, we are talking about an epidemic and how to protect yourself from infection or to increase your chances of coping with the disease if an infection occurs. Let me remind you that the stimulus can be both real malaise and the news of the possibility of getting infected, which a person has heard.
So, the stimulus, in the form of information, affects the human sensory organs, which transmit this signal to the cerebral cortex. Here, depending on personal characteristics, the information is divided into "good" or "bad". If "everything is bad", then the body prepares for "war". This means that all his resources are sent "to the front". Energy is needed to fight the enemy or in order to escape from danger. The heart begins to pump blood to the legs and arms. At the same time, hormones are actively produced: adrenaline, norepinephrine, cortisol. The work of the digestive, immune, reproductive systems is inhibited. The load on the cardiovascular system increases. Everything is done so that a person takes active actions, spends this energy. For a modern person, it is very problematic to spend energy for its intended purpose. Fighting and shouting is embarrassing, running is strange. In society, it is customary to suppress, restrain one's actions and feelings. Where does this energy, which is already there, go? In most cases, she goes into an internal dialogue, to "wind up" herself. This, in turn, creates even more anxiety and fear. It turns out a vicious circle, which leads to a state of chronic stress and, further, nervous exhaustion. Nervous exhaustion causes somatic (hypertension, stomach ulcer, bronchial asthma, neurodermatitis, diabetes mellitus) and mental (depression, personality disorders) diseases.
An important factor in the fight against chronic stress is knowledge of psychology, self-regulation skills, and constant replenishment of the internal resource.
The first thing that is important to remind yourself when you receive any potentially dangerous information is that at a given moment in time, nothing threatens you. There is no danger at this moment. Then, pay attention to the manifestation of stress in your body, and:
- regulate your breathing by breathing deeply, inflating your stomach;
- if your mouth is dry and there is no way to drink water - imagine that you are absorbing a slice of lemon sprinkled with sugar (saliva will immediately appear);
- Feel support with your feet (you may want to sit down or lean on your back).
If you reduce the first signs of stress, you can stop the growing stress response. You will have the opportunity to take effective action to solve the problem.
Scientists have found that it is immunity that contributes to the fact that you either do not get sick at all during an epidemic, or the disease will pass as quickly as possible and without complications.
This part of the article describes four points, by completing which, you can increase your immunity.
1. Thymus gland.
At the top of the chest, in the place where the ribs are attached to the spine, there is a small organ called the thymus, which produces T-lymphocytes. T-lymphocytes perform a protective function for our body. Here is a simple exercise that will help increase the number of T-lymphocytes and some other hormones involved in the formation of immunity. This exercise is performed by sports teams before the match.
Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, feel support under your feet. Perform simultaneous movements: with the fist of your right hand, hit the thymus gland, with the palm of your left hand, hit the thigh of your left leg. Do the exercise for a couple of minutes.
2. Hobbies.
Consider if you have an activity that an "adult and serious person" would consider a waste of time and money, but which you really enjoy. This is your hobby. It would be a mistake to believe that you first need to solve all the problems, and only then you can do something pleasant for yourself. Both business and fun must find time in their daily life. By engaging in creativity, you gain a resource in order to more effectively cope with life's difficulties and illnesses. Imagine yourself as a banker putting a deposit in his bank. A hobby is one of the types of investing in yourself.
3. Find joy in every moment of the present.
Sometimes you feel anxious, fearful. At the same time, you understand that at the moment there is nothing you can do to change the situation. Shift your focus from fearful thoughts to your surroundings. Look around and find something that you will be pleased to see. Find what you like. It can be a soft blanket, cozy clothes, a painting with a beautiful landscape. Or maybe you want to smell your favorite perfume. This exercise should be done not only during a period of acute stress, but also every day, as often as possible. Celebrate all the beautiful things that life gives you. Switching attention does not solve problems, but provides a resource for solving them in the future.
4. Find a pleasant sensation in the body.
Bring your attention to your body. Find the most pleasant sensation in your body. Concentrate all your attention on it. Now, start enhancing this sensation, making it even more enjoyable. Imagine that this "pleasantness" increases and expands, spreads throughout the body. This exercise is used in psychotherapy for various psychosomatic diseases, for physical pain. It acts as a pain reliever.
So, to summarize: with prolonged exposure to a stimulus (stressor), chronic stress develops, which depletes all the body's resources and reduces the activity of the digestive, immune and reproductive systems. During an epidemic, we are saved, first of all, by immunity. We can, to a certain extent, regulate immunity on our own.
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