Q&A Ask Dr. B.

Larry Berkelhammer, PhD

This question & answer column is for people living with chronic health challenges, who want to learn to increase the odds of improving their health by learning to live with mastery & wellbeing.

I invite you to post your questions in the comments box below and I will answer them on a future Friday in this column.

I post to this blog three times per week. Monday posts are articles I’ve written. Wednesday posts are interviews—mostly video. Friday posts now consist of your questions about living better with chronic health challenges, and my answers to them.

I’d like to share the following question with you because it has often been asked of me at workshops and presentations I’ve offered.

Q. You mentioned in your talk about the connection between stress and health; would you say more about that? 

A. If you are exposed to a pathogen such as a bacterium, virus, or fungus, and you are in perfect health, you will not get sick. However, any form of physiological stress, such as pathological alterations in blood pressure, glucose, acid/base balance, or trauma results in impaired immune function. Regardless of whether the stressor is exogenous (outside the body) or endogenous (within the body), immune function declines. The most common source of physiological stress is emotional distress. For that reason, this website is devoted to cultivation of the life-skills that help people reduce emotional distress.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about how to live better with chronic health challenges?  Each Friday, I will answer your questions in Chronic Illness Q&A with Dr. B.

Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box and you’ll see my response to you in an upcoming Friday post.