Eliminate Stress and Colds During Holidays

       

Eliminate Stress and Colds During Holidays

Is there such a connection between stress and the immune sytem? This is what I’m going to explore and answer in this article. Being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome at an earlier age of fifteen my immune system health deterated and it seemed that I was always sick with a cold or the flu. This of course affected my energy and my want to go outside to be a part of the world. So I spent a lot of time in bed and had unhealthy thoughts floating in my mind like, “I’m never going to be healthy again.” And you guessed it; this affected my energy even more.

After I began journal writing daily I came to notice that most times I received a cold was soon after I perceived a situation to be stressful, espcially around holidays. Having a background in biology it was natural for me to research stress. In my findings I found that the stress hormone cortisol helps to suppress the immune and inflammatory response in the body during a fight and flight response, so no wonder my immune system wasn’t healthy and I was a more susceptible to catch a cold or any other viruses. It was clear that was a major trigger point for the tiredness I felt and that if I was going to remain healthy, without continuous colds, then stress needed to be reduced in my life.

For instance during the holiday season I would wind up sick and tired after the holidays and found myself in bed the week after Christmas day. Keeping my mind present on the activity that I need to do now, this hour, and not on all the things that I need to do prior to Christmas like the shopping, Christmas parties, and cooking, it has helped me to get through the Christmas holiday’s with more enjoyment, less stress and colds, and this created a stronger and healthier immune system.

Things you can do to prepare for any holiday:

1. Begin Early: I will make a list of everything I need to do to prepare for that holiday, so it is out of my mind on paper. Then I will see how many weeks are to that holiday and break down the activities. Lastly I will assign each activity to a week, especially if shopping is involved. This will allow you time to get someone else to do your shopping or when you are out shopping for that week you can pick it up, so you aren’t rushing out to get something when needed.

2. If you are baking, pick a receipe that you can freeze or make a head of time. Christmas time I love to make cookies, which I enjoy doing with my daughter Emily, who is four years old.

3. Rest the day before a special event, so you can enjoy it and for the Christmas season I will set a goal to have everything done by 18th of December, so I’d be well rested to enjoy all the events during the week of Christmas and have energy left over to ring in the New Year.

Being aware of the connection between stress and the immune system has decreased the amount of colds I receive during the year, but also I have the energy to enjoy special occasions like the one coming up very soon. Have a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2010 with healthy thoughts and immune system.

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