“Stress is making me ill”

[kistanbul]

I’m trying to understand how many people think that when someone says that they’re not at work because “stress has made them ill”, that means that someone is staying off work because they feel stressed v stress has flattened their immune system.

The background is I just keep getting hit by bad colds/flu/infectios and can’t work. I think it’s the impact of stress on my immune system, but worried if I say that it will be interpreted as “I don’t want to go to work because recent changes aren’t working for me”

Feeling under the weather for some time can in itself cause considerable stress, which can make you feel worse.

Being stressed out up to the eyeballs can cause physical symptoms and make you ill.

So basically, it can be either way round, and the end result is that the person is signed off sick with stress. Why do you ask?

Oh, and by the way, I don't think stress is a mental illness.

I was asking because I’ve been ill on and off since September and I think it’s because I’m stressed at work and not having time to recover before going back into stressful environment.

I want to talk to my boss about potentially moving to a role with a different team (any team!) to remove the primary cause of stress (team leader keeps underestimating how long jobs take and putting me under unreasonable deadlines) so I can recover. Our boss is aware of the issues but I’m supposed to advise my manager to prevent her making poor decisions. However she seems to resent advice from a subordinate and i keep getting ill so im not there when she agrees to barely deliverable projects.

Trying to work out how citing stress will be received.

I’ve just been told by a neuro surgeon that he thinks I am suffering from stress. I have been unable to hold my head up, all sorts of weird symptoms in my body, mostly around my neck. It was a new job and a house move together that broke me. I don’t know how I’m going to put myself back together. I did tell my bosses as I was signed off for a week or so and haven’t experienced negativity but I think it depends what your colleagues are like. Could you end up with a disciplinary for repeatedly having time off if you don’t? Not much help I’m sorry but plenty of sympathy.

My understanding is that stress/anxiety causes us to produce cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid, which suppresses the immune system. That leaves us more likely to catch things. Problem is, then we feel like we're getting behind on stuff and stress more. But lots of other things come into play so it's not really provable in an individual situation. Public facing role, more infections, get the bus to work, more infections. Low levels of some vitamins, more infections. And don't get me started on having a child in nursery 🙄

Do you take vitamin d? It’s something I am trying.

I’ve been ill more than not since October and I’m not stressed at all. I’m sorry you’re so stressed and not remotely trying to minimise what you’re going through but there are also a shit ton of awful bugs around at the moment and I know a lot of people who are catching something before properly getting over the last thing and they’re people who are usually in good health.

I really hope you can make some changes at work and are on the mend soon.

Even without chronic stress causing a surpressd immune system as Rambling away described (which I've been through myself...thats not fun at all!), an acute episode of really intense stress can make you feel really ill.

Again presumably because of having elevated stress hormones which can't be good for our bodies at all? Had a really really bad, very stressful couple of days last year and I woke up the next day when I was meant to be back in and just felt generally so unwell and nauseous (but nothing specific, just didn't feel good at all) and I knew I wasn't going to be able to do my job well or properly if I went in...I could hardly stay upright when I got out of bed. I then had a few regular scheduled days off which meant I could rest and I felt a lot better after having that time off to relax and de-stress from things.

I think I would always rather do that, then letting the stress get so bad that I end up needing to take a prolonged period of time off because it's shot my immune system completely.

I do take vit D. I’ve had blood tests and there’s no vitamin deficiencies or anaemia.