Discover how stress, emotions, and psychosomatics impact your immune system. Learn how to protect your body from autoimmune diseases with MriyaRun.
This material is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical, psychological, or psychotherapeutic advice. If you are experiencing an acute psychological condition or need professional support, please contact a doctor, psychologist, psychotherapist, or crisis service.
The Immune System and Psychosomatics: How Our Emotions and Stress Talk to the Body
Our body is an incredibly complex, intelligent, and sensitive system that continuously listens to what is happening both outside and inside us. In the context of psychological health and self-work, we often pay attention to thoughts and behavior. However, true transformations are impossible without understanding how our emotions and stress physically affect the body.
Today, we will delve into the anatomy of our internal defense, drawing on fundamental materials from Anna Labunska's author's course "Psychosomatics for Our Own".
The Architecture of Internal Security
The word "immunity" comes from the Latin "immunis," which means "free from something" or "insusceptible." The main mission of the immune system is to recognize a wide range of pathogens (from viruses to parasites) and distinguish them from our own healthy tissues. It protects us from infections, toxins, and malignant cells.
This protection is provided by an entire network of organs:
- Central organs: red bone marrow and the thymus, which are responsible for the formation and maturation of cells.
- Peripheral organs: the spleen, tonsils, and about 600 lymph nodes, acting as a kind of "customs," creating barriers to infections.
The main agents of this system are leukocytes (white blood cells). When an inflammatory process occurs in the body, their number increases (this condition is called leukocytosis) to effectively destroy the enemy.
Among leukocytes, lymphocytes (25-40% of the total number) play a special role, divided into two main groups:
- T-lymphocytes: Provide cellular immunity. They are able to detect and destroy mutant (cancer) cells through phagocytosis—the process of capturing and digesting foreign particles discovered by I. I. Mechnikov.
- B-lymphocytes: Provide humoral immunity. Upon encountering an antigen, they turn into plasmacytes that produce antibodies (immunoglobulins)—protein molecules that neutralize toxins. It is they who form immunological memory, allowing us not to get sick repeatedly or to endure the illness easily.
Body Memory: From Vaccines to Immune Tolerance
Immunity can be natural (innate or acquired after illness) and artificial. The era of artificial active immunity began in 1796 when Edward Jenner gave the first smallpox vaccine, using cowpox to protect humans.
But the most delicate mechanism of our immune system is immune tolerance. This is a state in which the body perceives a foreign antigen as its own and does not react to it aggressively. This "tolerance" is critically necessary so that the system does not attack its own tissues, as well as for a normal pregnancy.
When this internal compass breaks, problems arise:
- Autoimmune diseases: A hyperactive immune system loses the ability to distinguish "self" from "non-self" and begins to attack the body's own proteins. This leads to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune thyroiditis. This is influenced by both endogenous (stress, genes, hormones) and exogenous factors (infections, smoking, vitamin D deficiency).
- Allergy (Hypersensitivity): This is an excessive reaction to safe substances when the body mistakenly perceives them as a threat. Upon contact with an allergen, histamine is released, causing itching, vasodilation, and constriction of the airways.
Psychosomatics: How the Brain and Stress Control Immunity
The most interesting part for us, as explorers of our own psyche, begins at the level of system interaction. The immune system is deeply integrated with the nervous and endocrine systems. Some scientists even call immunity our "sixth sense" or a sensory organ capable of perceiving signals from foreign proteins.
The intensity of these signals is regulated by our brain. The brain structures responsible for responding to stress (the hypothalamus and amygdala) directly control the activity of the immune system as well.
How exactly does stress affect our ability to defend ourselves?
- Moderate stress: In healthy individuals, short-term stress causes a moderate secretion of hormones, which strengthens the immune defense. This is a mobilization of forces.
- Chronic or severe stress: Prolonged tension leads to immunosuppression (suppression of immunity), up to the development of immunodeficiency states. This increases the risk of oncological diseases due to the suppression of natural antitumor defense. Moreover, an inadequate response to stress can "break" the mechanism of recognizing self and non-self, becoming a trigger for autoimmune diseases.
Point of Support: From Awareness to Action
Your body is a metaphor for your psychological boundaries. How we react to stress, how we digest grievances or anxiety, directly translates into physical reactions at the cellular level.
To help your immune system do its job effectively, it is necessary to reduce the level of background, toxic stress. Systematic work with your own states is ideal for this. Using a structured practicum workbook, you can bring your automatic stress responses to the level of consciousness. By recording your triggers, analyzing emotions, and planning ecological reactions, you are literally reprogramming your brain's functioning—and thus, giving your immune system the signal to relax and operate in a healthy, rather than emergency, mode.
Remember: psychological hygiene is not just about a good mood. It is about the literal, physical protection of your body. Explore yourself, respect your boundaries, and let your body be your ally.
Insight from MriyaRun
The body is a mirror of our psychological boundaries. When we live in a state of chronic anxiety, "swallow" toxic resentments, and ignore our own emotional needs, our immune system is forced to work itself to exhaustion. It either loses the strength to fight real viruses or, losing its bearings, begins to attack itself.
Psychological hygiene and the ability to digest one's emotions are not abstract philosophical concepts. This is the literal, physical protection of your body. By learning to manage your thinking, you give your immune system the "all clear" command, allowing it to function in a healthy recovery mode.
Self-help tools from our catalog:
To translate this knowledge into a practical plane and reduce the level of background stress, we have created special tools. You can explore them in the MriyaRun catalog:
- CBT SHIFT: Reboot Series — foundational practicum workbooks based on cognitive behavioral therapy. This is a step-by-step 77-day system that helps identify automatic destructive thoughts, process anxiety in an ecological way, and reprogram your stress responses. An ideal tool for reducing the tension that hits the immune system.
- Gratitude Diary — a specialized practicum workbook designed to shift the focus of attention. Regularly recording gratitude is scientifically proven to reduce cortisol levels, help the nervous system relax, and restore a sense of inner support.
- RedLines: Emotional Detective Game — an emotional intelligence simulator. A deep understanding of your own emotions and the ability to build healthy boundaries is your first barrier against external stress. The ability to say "no" to a toxic environment on time directly protects your internal resources.
- MriyaRun: Journals, MAC Cards and Self-Reflection
- Self-Discovery
- Psychosomatics & Immunity: How Stress Affects the Body