Your digestion shuts down. Higher level brain functions shut down. All kinds of hormonal and regulatory functions grind to a halt so your body can put every ounce of its energy toward the single important issue at hand – surviving an attack. And included in those hormonal and regulatory functions is the immune system.

2. More On Stress and the
Immune System

3. I know, I know, I’ve said before
that I haven’t experienced
personally a correlation
between stress and canker
sores, but there’s always more
to it than my own experience.

4. Others swear up and down that
stress brings out their sores
without fail. Then there’s the
wealth of knowledge out there
about the effect stress plays in
our immune system.

5. And canker sores being an auto-
immune response… there may
be something to this.
So here’s the thing about
stress: Like most functions in
the human body, it evolved over
time with a specific purpose –
to keep your butt alive.

6. Once upon a time when we
were grazing in the savannas
and living in caves, the ability to
drop everything and react to
something like a lion (or bug-
eyed lizard people) attacking
you was essential for survival.

7. We’ve all heard of the fight or
flight response, where a
person’s body goes into survival
mode in emergency situations,
pumping our bodies full of
adrenaline and bringing
about amazing stories of people
jumping 10 foot fences and
lifting cars off their parents. .

8. But it’s not just a rush of
adrenaline that brings out the fight
or flight response, it’s a whole host
of changes in the body, starting
with a redistribution of energy.

9. Your digestion shuts down. Higher
level brain functions shut down. All
kinds of hormonal and regulatory
functions grind to a halt so your
body can put every ounce of its

10. toward the single important issue
at hand – surviving an attack. And
included in those hormonal and
regulatory functions is the
immune system.That’s essentially
what stress is – your body’s
reaction to challenges in our lives.

11. The problem is, the fight or
flight response was only made
to last for mere seconds or
minutes in our lives, but the
stress we experience today –
jobs, kids, money, in-laws – are
long-lasting stressors that go on
and on for years.

12. The effect of this has been
everything from heart disease
to irritable bowel
syndrome. And yes, I’d say
anything that is linked to the
immune system would see a
profound effect.

13. And yes, I’ll come out and say it…
that includes Recurrent Aphthous
Stomatitis — the auto-immune
condition that brings about
recurrent canker sores.

14. If you want to learn more about
the effects stress plays on the
body, and want to let off a little
stress in the process, check out
this great infographic/cartoon
from Cracked that lays it out in
wonderfully profane detail.

15. For more details
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