Quote:-  Health psychologist Andrew Baum defined stress as "a negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological, and behavioral changes that are directed toward adaptation." Scientists can actually measure the body's stress response – the actions the body takes to fight through arduous situations ranging from difficult life events to infections.
In most stress responses, the body produces chemicals called pro-inflammatory cytokines. They activate the immune system, and without them the body would not be able to fight off bacteria, viruses or fungi. Normally the stress response is helpful because it preps your body to deal with whatever challenge is coming. When the danger passes, this response is turned off with help from anti-inflammatory cytokines.
However, if the stress response cannot be turned off, or if there is an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, the body can be damaged. This extra wear and tear due to the inflammation from a heightened stress response has been termed allostatic load. A high allostatic load has been associated with multiple chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This partly explains the focus on taking anti-inflammatory supplements to prevent or treat disease.
Short-term stress hurts too
An inappropriate stress response can do more than cause chronic illness down the road. It can also make you more susceptible to acute infections by suppressing the immune system.
For example, when mice are subjected to different environmental stressors, there is an increase in a molecule in their blood called corticosterone, which is known to have immunosuppressive effects on the body. This type of response is mirrored in research on humans. In a study of middle-aged and older women, stress from being instructed to complete a mental math or speech test was associated with higher levels of similar immunosuppressive molecules.