How Mental Health Affects Your Immune System

When you are focusing on your immune system, you may think they only factors are 
diet and exercise. Though these can be huge factors in how your immune system 
handles issues in the body, they are not the only things to change. You also need to 
focus on your mental and emotional health as well. If you do not see the connection 
these two aspects must your immune system, consider the following ways that your 
mental health can affect you.

Anxiety Symptoms

One of the leading ways that mental health can affect your immune system is through 
anxiety symptoms. The symptoms of anxiety, such as fatigue, can lead your body to 
mimic the symptoms of a cold or flu. That sends your immune system into overdrive. 
This means that it is focusing on what it believes to be a cold or flu instead of other 
issues in the body. When a real issue occurs, the immune system is broken down from 
focusing on the false cold that your body is triggering due to anxiety. 

Inflammation

When you have mental health issues from depression and anxiety, you may start to 
notice issues such as body fatigue. This body fatigue can lead to issues of inflammation 
and swelling in your muscles and joints. This is usually due to the body becoming tired 
and then reacting by not wanting to move as much or just feeling drained. The 
inflammation can lead directly to your immune system trying to counteract the 
inflammation and pain caused by that inflammation. This overload on your immune 
system as it tries to counteract the inflammation can cause the system to be fatigued 
and reduced in effectiveness. 

Sleep Issues

When you have mental health issues, you may find yourself sleeping a lot. This is likely 
due to depression and the effect that depression has on your body. Even though you 
are sleeping a lot, you may still feel tired. This is because the sleep you are getting is 
not deep sleep and is therefore not restful. Your body is not getting the rejuvenation it 
normally would from sleep. That means your digestive system, immune system, and 
other systems of your body are not resting either. When it does come time for your 
immune system it will be too fatigued to do any good, thus leading to increased illness. 

Constant Tension

Mental health issues such as anxiety and tension can lead to having your body tense all 
the time. This leads to migraines, tension headaches, lack of sleep, and the feeling of 
aches and pains throughout the day. As you start having multiple symptoms from the 
constant tension, your body will try to react. This reduces the effectiveness of your 
immune system and overall makes illness more likely. 

These are only a few of the ways that your mental health can have a direct effect on 
your physical health and directly to your immune system. By taking on some daily habits 
focused on giving you better mental health, you can counteract the issues with your 
immune system and help it to function in a more stable manner. 
