As cold and flu season starting earlier than usual in many parts of the country, a biochemist and immunologist is drawing attention to a factor she says many people overlook when they fall ill: emotional stress and unresolved trauma.
Dr. Judith A. Swack, the originator of the Healing from the Body Level Up methodology, said psychological stress can suppress immune function and trigger low-grade inflammation, making the body more vulnerable to colds, flu and other seasonal illnesses. The timing matters because an early start to the season means more people may be exposed to circulating viruses while their defenses are compromised.
Swack challenges the common assumption that winter illness is simply a matter of a virus going around. "Many people catch upper respiratory infections in winter. They assume it's just a virus that's going around," she said. "It has been my experience, however, that people get sick for only two reasons: They are physically run down (i.e. not enough rest, nutrition, or exercise) or, more commonly, they had a traumatic shock 24-72 hours prior."
Those shocks can take many forms, according to Swack: unexpected bad news, revisiting a painful place or memory, family conflict during the holidays or financial stress. Such experiences can activate the body's fight-flight-freeze response, and elevated stress hormones including cortisol can temporarily reduce immune activity, creating an opening for viruses already circulating in the body to gain the upper hand.
Swack also notes that many people do not consciously recognize the emotional events that trigger a stress response, and that unresolved trauma can continue to activate the nervous system long after the original event has passed. That persistence, she argues, is why addressing stress matters beyond any single cold season.
She is the author of Clear Trauma Now: The Powerful Solution for Getting Unstuck and has scheduled a "Clear Trauma Now Live Healing Webinar" for Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, 12 and 19 from 7 to 9 p.m., with details available at hblu.org/live-healing-experience. More information about her work is available at HBLU.org.
The implications extend to readers, employers and health systems heading into a potentially long flu season. Swack's message points to daily habits that support nervous system regulation and simple mind-body techniques people can practice after upsetting events to restore calm, suggesting that protecting immune health may involve managing stress as deliberately as washing hands or getting a flu shot.
