PSYCH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Coronary Artery Disease, Psych, Sympathetic Nervous System
Document Summary
Over the long term, stress tends to negatively affect health; in particular, people who have very stressful jobs tend to have many health problems due to chronic stress. This also leads to unhealthy coping methods, such as alcoholism. Stress tends to disrupt the immune system, which is the body"s mechanism for dealing with invading micro-organisms. Studies have shown that short-term stress boosts the immune system, while chronic stress weakens it. The immune system is made up of three types of specialized white blood cells, known as lymphocytes. B cells produce antibodies, which are protein molecules that attach themselves to foreign cells for identification. T cells are involved with attacking intruders directly. Natural killer cells are potent at attacking viruses and tumors. Brief stressors decrease the ability of lymphocytes to fight infection, while long-term stress leads to decreased lymphocyte productin. Therefore, people who are more anxious tend to be more susceptible to illnesses and infections.
