How Stress and Illness Interact With Immune Symptoms
Why this happens
When the body is under stress, it releases hormones that change how the immune system behaves. In the short term, this can dampen certain responses, but ongoing stress raises the body's baseline level of inflammation, and for someone with an immune condition, that can be enough to tip things toward a flare.
Stress also affects the habits that help keep symptoms stable. Poor sleep, missed medication, irregular meals, and reduced activity all make symptoms worse in their own way, even before the direct biological effects of stress come into play. The two things reinforce each other, which is why a stressful period can feel like everything unravelling at once.
It’s also worth knowing that stress doesn’t always show up as an obvious event. The ongoing pressure of managing a chronic condition, appointments, uncertainty, the mental load of it all, isitself a form of stress, and it counts.
What this means
A stress-related flare is real and biological, not imagined. Stress is simply one of many triggers, and recognising it is about understanding patterns, not assigning blame. Reducing stress where possible can help, but it isn’t a replacement for medical treatment, and not every stressor is within anyone's control.
What could help
- Priorities sleep: it’s one of the most effective buffers against the impact of stress on the body
- Build in recovery time after particularly stressful periods, rather than pushing straight through
- Keep medicines consistent and using reminders during busy or difficult times can help
- Track when flares follow stressful periods, there can sometimes be a delay of days or even weeks, so logging both helps spot the pattern
- Let your doctor know if you’re going through a prolonged stressful period, they may be able to suggest closer monitoring or a temporary adjustment
Above all, be kind to yourself. Flaring during a hard time doesn’t mean you have failed. It means you are human.
Understanding the link between stress and symptoms can take away some of the confusion and a lot of the self-blame that often comes with an unexpected flare.
This article is for general information purposes only and doesn’t constitute legal, financial or benefits advice. For advice specific to your situation, please speak to a qualified professional or contact an organisation such as Citizens Advice, who may be able to assist you further.
References:
'Chronic Stress and Autoimmunity: The Role of HPA Axis and Cortisol Dysregulation ' (2025) https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26209994
'Stress as a risk factor in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis’ (2006) https://doi.org/10.1159/000104855