Having a cold

A number of years ago, before I had graduated college I was talking with my therapist, a psychiatrist, and mentioned that I thought the recent cold and rain had caused me to have a cold. He reminded me that the weather doesn’t cause illness. I was well aware that colds are caused by viruses, but still felt that my cold was associated with the unpleasant weather. If the weather was not related to colds, then why did cold and flu season occur during the fall, when the temperatures drops (and at least in DC where I was living) there tended to be more rain?

So now in my professional capacity as a therapist I think I understand the connection, at least partially. How we feel affects the immune system. This appears to happen on two levels. The first one is that when we feel bad it affects our brain chemistry, which in turn affects our immune functioning. Specifically, the amount of catecholamine neurotransmitters decreases, at least during prolonged mental discomfort. This is turn cause an increase in endorphins, which in turn decreases immune functioning. The second level appears to involve our endocrine system. During times of stress (real or imagined threat) our body allocates resources to address the threat—primarily through the flight or fight response. Immune functioning is not a high priority when under attack, so the cortisol the body releases suppresses immune functioning so that more of our resources can be directed at getting ourselves out of threat. As a consequence, the viruses and bacteria that we may normally fight off well get an advantage and we become more likely to become ill.

Granted, I am not a medical doctor and this is a simplistic explanation. However, it is worth considering that in the 20 years since my therapist told me that the cold and rain couldn’t cause my cold, we have discovered that my reaction to the unpleasant weather most likely made me more susceptible to the virus that caused my cold. I hope that we all take this into consideration as the cooler weather approaches—take care of your mental health and your physical health will follow.