If you experience allergy symptoms, then you know how annoying they can be. Allergies can make your eyes itch, your nose run, cause coughing and sneezing, and just generally make you feel unwell. For many people, allergies occur at certain times of the year and just have to be tolerated. But this isn’t always the case. Studies are showing that there’s a strong link between stress and allergy symptoms. And this is a problem if you have Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) because it means that you’re more likely to have allergies that they will negatively affect your overall condition.
Allergies are brought on by an overactive immune system. Your immune system is designed to protect you against invaders. When a virus or infection gets into your body, your immune system attacks and destroys it. You wouldn’t last very long if you didn’t have an immune system because the world is full of harmful substances that would kill you.
But when you have allergies, it means that your immune system is overactive and reacting to harmless substances. This can include everyday objects like pollen or cat hair. When you breathe in these allergens, your immune system sees them as a threat and releases chemicals to kill them. And these chemicals cause common allergy symptoms such as:
The worse your immune system reacts to the allergens, the worse you’ll feel. Many people experience allergy symptoms every year, usually in the spring. But it turns out that there’s a link between stress and allergy symptoms that could impact your experience. If you’re stressed, then it can make your allergies worse. And allergies can also cause stress, which is a problem when you have AFS and when you don’t.
There is a strong link between stress and allergy symptoms and this link goes both ways. Having allergies is extremely stressful psychologically. You may feel generally unwell, have problems breathing, sleep poorly, and have trouble concentrating. This will affect every aspect of your life and can amplify your emotional reaction to your illness. This means you may find your symptoms more annoying than usual or have an exaggerated emotional response to them. Both of these reactions will increase your stress levels.
But allergies will also have a physical effect on your body that will increase your stress levels as well. The symptoms of allergies can be exhausting. They will impede your sleep and make everyday actions a struggle. And if you take allergy medications then you may also have to contend with side effects such as fatigue, irritability, and appetite changes. This will further impact your energy levels and your stress levels.
And finally, stress can actually worsen your allergy symptoms as well. This has to do with the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response and how your body copes with stress.
When you experience stress, it sets off a chain of reactions throughout your body. The hormone cortisol is released from the adrenal glands in an attempt to keep you safe during stressful times. This hormone makes your heart pound, your blood pressure rise, and encourages more blood to your brain and heart. Fat and sugar are also sent into the bloodstream to give you the energy to fight or flee.
This is all essential when you’re running from a threat. But when it occurs in reaction to allergy symptoms, it can cause problems. Histamine is also released into your body when you’re stressed. This is the chemical that causes allergy symptoms. This means that stress, whether it comes from the allergy symptoms or from another source, can actually make allergy symptoms worse.
Stress can also impede immune functioning. Ongoing high levels of cortisol can affect the cells of your immune system, leading to increased susceptibility to viruses and bacteria. You may find yourself getting sick, which will only increase your stress levels and worsen your allergy symptoms.
The multiple links between stress and allergy symptoms highlight how important it is for you to manage your stress if you want to feel healthy. This is even more important if you have AFS and high-stress levels.
Your body isn’t designed to cope with chronic stress. The ongoing high demand for cortisol can cause adrenal fatigue and result in AFS as well as imbalances throughout your body’s circuits. The modern world is full of chronic stressors, which is why so many people these days suffer from ongoing problems as a result. When you have AFS, any additional stress such as allergy symptoms can worsen the underlying imbalances. Your general poor health and the stress that AFS causes may also worsen your allergy symptoms. But the problems can go further than that too.
The human body is made up of interconnected circuits that are reliant on each other for proper functioning. The circuit most relevant to the issue of allergies is the Inflammation Circuit. This is designed to protect your body against infection and invaders by causing inflammation. But when you have AFS or are chronically stressed, this circuit can become unbalanced and result in chronic inflammation. And this can be very damaging.
The Inflammation Circuit is made up of the gut, the microbiome, and the immune system. As AFS progresses, it causes imbalances and malfunctions within this circuit. And each of the problems suffered by one part of the inflammation circuit affects the balance of the whole circuit and the individual systems as well. Chronic stress causes the over activation of the immune system, which results in ongoing inflammation throughout the body. This decreases gut health, which is often already compromised because of the problems associated with AFS. Declining gut health will cause the immune system to create more inflammation in response. This is a vicious cycle of poor health and functioning that will have a negative impact.
As AFS progresses and the Inflammation Circuit becomes more unbalanced, it will have an impact on both your levels of stress and allergy symptoms. Immune system hyperactivity often occurs with AFS, which may worsen your allergy symptoms. Many people with AFS also develop food sensitivities or new allergies due to the immune system hyperactivity and malfunctioning.
Most people try to relieve allergy symptoms with medications such as antihistamines. These can sometimes be effective, but they can also cause side effects increasing your stress levels and impact your ongoing health.
Whether you decide to try medications or not, you should also apply natural strategies to reduce your allergy symptoms. This means reducing your exposure to pollen and other allergens. You can do this by wearing a mask, staying inside when pollen levels are high, and keeping your windows closed. You should also clean out your air conditioning ducts and filters to remove old pollen.
Once you’ve done this, you should also reduce your stress levels as this will naturally decrease your allergy symptoms. Some effective and gentle strategies for that include:
Everyone is different. What’s stressful for one person might be normal for someone else. That’s why you need to identify your sources of stress and eliminate or reduce them where possible.
Exercising regularly will lower your blood pressure, your heart rate, and your cortisol levels, hopefully helping to relieve your stress and allergy symptoms all at once. But you need to be careful if you adopt this strategy when you have AFS because it can cause exercise intolerance. Your body can be too tired and stressed to cope with any more stress. If you have AFS, make sure that you discuss exercise with a medical professional who’s aware of your condition and the effects it can have on your body.
When you’re stressed or tired, you need to avoid using stimulants to replace your energy. This means cutting down on caffeine and smoking. You should also avoid alcohol.
There’s no shame in needing help sometimes. If you’re struggling with stress and can’t see a way out, then ask for help from friends or colleagues. You can also see a medical professional or a counselor if you need expert help.
Inadequate sleep can be incredibly stressful for your body. So, make sure you’re getting at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night.
It sounds obvious, but you need to take time to relax every day to reduce your stress levels. Try yoga, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or just take some time out to play or do something creative. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel afterward.
You don’t have to just put up with allergy symptoms every spring. By understanding the link between stress and allergy symptoms, you can identify triggers that will bring on or exacerbate your symptoms and hopefully avoid them. Some effective ways to start reducing your symptoms include:
If you experience allergy symptoms and want help to reduce or eliminate them, then contact the team at +1-626-571-1234 or click here to use the Ask The Doctor System.
There is a strong link between stress and allergy symptoms. Stress causes the release of histamine into your system, which may worsen your symptoms. It can also impair your immune system function, which will make your more susceptible to associated problems.
