The link between stress and illness

Preview

Why do recent widowers have more colds and flu than control subjects? Why do hostile people have more heart disease than benevolent people? For some diseases, such as asthma, the contribution of an emotional component is well known. However, for many physical illnesses, the role of stress has only recently been recognized. Dr Sutherland explains what stress is, how it produces physiologic changes, how it is measured, and what research has discovered about its effects.