> Emotional and Mental Health > Stress

Head Colds
by author Curtis Foreman

A friend of mine told me recently that her boyfriend had come down with a cold. It was the first time he had been ill in their five years together, she said, even though before they began dating he used to spend two or three weeks every year seriously ill with a cold or flu.

I asked why she thought he had been more susceptible to colds in the past, and she replied, "I think he’s happier now. He just doesn’t want to get sick, so it doesn’t happen."

It turns out that my friend is right - and new medical research can prove it.

In a recent study, psychologist Sheldon Cohen of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University set out to test the theory that unhappy people are at greater risk for disease. He interviewed 334 healthy volunteers and divided them into two groups: those who tended to describe themselves as happy, enthusiastic, and relaxed, and those who were more likely to describe themselves as anxious, hostile, and depressed.

When the two groups were given nasal drops containing a rhinovirus, the virus responsible for the common cold, Dr. Cohen and his colleagues made two interesting discoveries. First, the happier participants showed greater resistance, meaning that even when they were infected with a cold, they developed fewer symptoms than the other group. Second, the unhappier participants, even those who were not actually infected, were more likely to report cold symptoms.

Dr. Cohen is one of a growing number of psychologists working in the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), the branch of medical science that explores the complex relationship between emotions and immunity.

PNI researchers have long known that people undergoing psychogenic stress - the type of long-term stress associated with events like divorce or the death of a family member - are more susceptible to a variety of illnesses. New research confirms that feelings like grief, loneliness, and anxiety can create physical responses that suppress immune-system health.

So there you have it: your emotional health has an effect on your body’s ability to resist illness. But what can you do to stay healthy if you are experiencing a difficult time emotionally or if your emotional habits are less than perfect?

Communicate. When you are feeling down, resist the impulse to brood by yourself. Share your feelings, positive or negative, with the people you love. This can be difficult, but numerous studies show it is one of the best ways to understand and work through or regain control of your emotions. Journal or letter writing is another way to explore feelings.

Identify emotional habits. "Positive emotions really are a style, a dispositional characteristic," says Cohen. "That doesn’t mean that certain situations can’t cause perturbations. But people tend to return to a stable level." In other words, happiness grows out of habits. If you have a fight with your spouse and then make up the next day, your overall health and happiness may not suffer&but if you go to bed angry every night, a pattern is developing that will likely threaten your emotional and physical health.

Have the courage to face your problems. When we are afraid or unwilling to address problems, we often seek comfort in coping behaviours that allow us to avoid those problems. If you’re overeating, using drugs, or watching a lot of TV, you may be using these behaviours to escape unresolved issues.

It can be frightening to face up to something you’ve been avoiding - so don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Friends, family, or professional counsellors and coaches can help you identify and solve the problems in your life.

Take responsibility for your health. The story of Norman Cousins, author of the book Anatomy of an Illness, is an inspirational example of how assuming ownership of your emotional health can have dramatic consequences for your physical health. In 1964, Cousins was hospitalized with an unusually aggressive case of ankylosing spondylitis, a painful, progressive, rheumatic disease that can actually fuse the bones of the spine. With the connective tissue in his spine disintegrating, within a week he was barely able to move. Doctors gave him a one-in-five-hundred chance of making a full recovery.

Horrified by the battery of tests and medications to which he was subjected, he declared, "A hospital is no place for a person who is seriously ill." Taking matters into his own hands, he checked himself out of the hospital and into a hotel where, instead of painkillers, he took vitamin C, watched Marx Brothers’ films, and laughed himself to sleep each night. Within eight days, he made an astounding recovery and was able to return to work.

So take action, and take responsibility for your physical and emotional health. A little laughter may just make you healthier and even if it doesn’t, it still feels good. As Woody Allen once said, "Man consists of two parts, his mind and his body, only the body has more fun."

Essential Emotional Factors

"The body has a mind of its own." -Mason Cooley

PNI researchers have identified some surprising emotional factors that contribute to a healthy immune system.

Social support: People with few personal ties are four times more likely to develop a cold than those with a fuller social network.

Writing style: People who write about emotional events from a variety of viewpoints make fewer visits to doctors than people who tend to write from a single viewpoint.

Sense of coherence: People who are able to make meaningful connections between life events have more responsive immune systems than those who cannot.

Curtis Foreman, a former high-school educator, now finds happiness as a professional writer and editor. You can learn more about him and his work at www.foreword.ca.

Source: alive #256, February 2004