Anxiety and the Immune System

[Chemar]

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/10/28/an...ystem/3212.html

[Ronnas]

Interesting! Thanks for the post!

Ronna

[guy123]

Interesting. From what it sounds like, anti-anxiety drugs will not increase immune system function, however. That would be treating the symptom.

[kim]

Guy, I think I first read of psyc. drugs having powerful anti oxidant properties from Dr. Walsh of Pfieffer Institute. You can search this topic and get quite a few idea's. Just wanted to point out that there may be a connection there too. I just copied this one quickly.

 

Behavioural Pharmacology - Fulltext: Volume 19(7) October 2008 p ...Recent evidence suggests that antidepressants may have antioxidant properties. However, the therapeutic potential of antioxidants as antidepressant drugs ...

[guy123]

Guy, I think I first read of psyc. drugs having powerful anti oxidant properties from Dr. Walsh of Pfieffer Institute. You can search this topic and get quite a few idea's. Just wanted to point out that there may be a connection there too. I just copied this one quickly.

 

Behavioural Pharmacology - Fulltext: Volume 19(7) October 2008 p ...Recent evidence suggests that antidepressants may have antioxidant properties. However, the therapeutic potential of antioxidants as antidepressant drugs ...

 

You've just given me something else to research

[lynsey]

I watched an excellent National Geographic Special on Stress: Portrait of a Killer.

Maybe I'm not exactly accurate, but I classify anxiety as a constant state of stress.

It is very very dangerous to our health, and we need to learn more about it.

See:

 

http://www.nypemergency.org/moxiepix/b2_3.gif

 

also

 

http://killerstress.stanford.edu/

 

When it is aired again, it is definitely worth watching. One important thing I learned is that when we

are under stress, it affects everything in our bodies. We don't produce hormones, we don't ovulate,

it shuts down many of our normal body functions because we are in a state of fight-or-flight. It's

probably one of the most damaging things we can do to ourselves.

Wish I had seen this program years ago.

[guy123]

I watched an excellent National Geographic Special on Stress: Portrait of a Killer.

Maybe I'm not exactly accurate, but I classify anxiety as a constant state of stress.

It is very very dangerous to our health, and we need to learn more about it.

See:

 

http://www.nypemergency.org/moxiepix/b2_3.gif

 

also

 

http://killerstress.stanford.edu/

 

When it is aired again, it is definitely worth watching. One important thing I learned is that when we

are under stress, it affects everything in our bodies. We don't produce hormones, we don't ovulate,

it shuts down many of our normal body functions because we are in a state of fight-or-flight. It's

probably one of the most damaging things we can do to ourselves.

Wish I had seen this program years ago.

 

I wonder how high anxiety evolved, however. I read something once suggesting that possibly OCD was a survival mechanism (for example, maybe the prehistoric people who were constantly paranoid of being attacked by predators took better precautionary measures and ended up surviving, while the more laid back prehistoric people who didn't care as much were lazy and didn't take as many precautions and were therefore killed).

 

But for something as bad to your entire body as high anxiety, I wonder how that survived through the ages.