Do inflammatory diseases increase when stress goads the immune system into overdrive?
Yes. Any kind of autoimmune disorder like multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis is exacerbated by stress. So are inflammatory processes like allergies and asthma. Stress produces elevated catecholamines that, in turn, increase the production of inflammatory cytokines. The same healing process that helps us fight a wound or a pathogen can work against us if we have too much stress and start to produce an immune reaction against our own bodies.
