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Stress can basically be defined as being "forces from outside our bodies that cause our hearts to beat faster, our blood pressure to rise, and our muscles to become tense." People who are under stress are usually grumpy, and may even be mentally depressed. A certain amount of stress in our lives is good for us. It's called "positive stress." It helps us jump out of bed in the morning and quickly get ready for work when we've overslept and are afraid of being late. It can also inspire us to spruce ourselves up and pay more attention to our mates when an attractive blonde moves in next door. Some stress in a relationship is healthy and good. But too much stress affects our immune system function in adverse ways, especially if you already have a disability.

Too Much Stress in Marital Relationships Slows the Healing Process
According to a study performed by The Ohio State University Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, the relationship stress that results from having just a 30-minute argument with your spouse will slow down your immune system so much that it delays the healing process by one day. Researchers reached this conclusion after they studied and tested 42 married couples who had been together a little over a decade.

Basically, on the first trip to the lab, tiny blisters were made on the couples' arms. Each person then was instructed to talk about their mate and what characteristic their mate has that they would like to change. The session was calm and optimistic, and the relationship stress was low. The research team monitored the blisters to see how quickly they healed.

On the second trip to the lab, additional blisters were made. This time, instead of chatting positively, the spouses were instructed to talk about a subject they and their mates strongly disagreed on. Again, the time it took for the blisters to heal was tracked. The results showed the blisters on the antagonistic married couples who experienced higher levels of relationship stress healed slower than the couples who displayed less animosity.

Feelings of Insecurity in Close Relationships May Suppress Immune System Function
Another study performed by Dr. Angelo Picardi from the Italian National Institute of Health in Rome and his team found that women who are insecure about their close relationships have suppressed immune system functions.

Specifically, Dr. Picardi and his team studied "attachment insecurity" and its effect on adult females' immune system functions. The symptoms of this trait include difficulty with trusting and depending on other people, even though there are deep emotional attachments to them. These same women had problems dealing with close relationships. They worried that the people they loved would terminate their relationships.

Basically, 61 physically-fit females were studied. The women who experienced problems with developing close, trusting relationships exhibited signs that their immune system functions were weaker than normal. Lab tests showed that the "killer" cells in these females' immune systems were less effective than the women's systems who didn't exhibit problems with insecurity.

The test results agreed with other determinations that chronic stress hinders your immune system function. Still, Dr. Picardi was reluctant to say for sure that people who suffer from chronic stress are more prone to getting diseases.

However, the research did indicate a correlation between attachment insecurity and two immune system disorders that affect a person's skin: Plaque Psoriasis causes red, inflamed patches to appear on a person's skin. The patches are covered with scales. Alopecia Areata is a skin condition that causes round, bald patches to appear on a person's body, most often on the scalp. Research shows that both conditions are caused by disorders in the immune system function.

Sources:
http://medicine.osu.edu/ibmr/
http://www.abc.net.au
http://www.world-science.net/

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