STRESS
MAKES YOU SICK

Topics: Anxiety; Illness; Peace; Security in God; Stress; Trust; Worry

References: Psalm 55:22; Matthew 11:30; 1 Peter 5:7

In times of emotional stress, a hormone, neuropeptide Y (NPY), is released into the body. This hormone undermines the body’s immune system and literally makes you sick.

That’s what a team of Australian researchers at Sydney’s Garvan Institute scientifically confirmed in 2005. According to Fabienne Mackay of the institute, “During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY, and it gets into the bloodstream where it inhibits the cells in the immune system that look out for and destroy pathogens in the body.

“That stress makes you sick is no longer a myth; it is a reality, and we need to take it seriously.”

—“Australian Scientists Find Proof That Stress Makes You Sick,” Breitbart.com (December 4, 2005)