With the cold and flu season starting earlier than usual in many parts of the country, biochemist, immunologist, and mind-body healing pioneer Dr. Judith A. Swack is drawing attention to the role that emotional stress and unresolved trauma play in the body’s ability to fight off seasonal illnesses.
Psychological stress can suppress immune function and trigger low-grade inflammation, making the body more vulnerable to cold, flu, and other seasonal illnesses, according to Swack, who originated the Healing from the Body Level Up™ (HBLU™) methodology.
“Many people catch upper respiratory infections in winter. They assume it’s just a virus that’s going around,” Swack says. “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.”
Swack points to common triggers such as receiving unexpected bad news, revisiting a painful place or memory, coping with family conflict during the holidays, or facing financial stress. These experiences can activate the body’s fight-flight-freeze response, and elevated stress hormones, including cortisol, can temporarily reduce immune activity, creating an opportunity for viruses already circulating in the body to gain the upper hand.
The implications extend beyond the individual cold or flu case. If unresolved trauma keeps the nervous system activated long after the original event has passed, the resulting strain on immune defenses may contribute to a cycle of repeated illness that standard advice about hand-washing and rest does not address. Swack argues that many people do not consciously recognize the emotional events that trigger a stress response, which can make the link between stress and sickness easy to miss.
She is author of “Clear Trauma Now: The Powerful Solution for Getting Unstuck” and is scheduled to present a “Clear Trauma Now Live Healing Webinar” on Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, 12, and 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. Details are available at hblu.org/live-healing-experience.
Swack’s work focuses on practical techniques to calm the nervous system, including daily habits that support nervous system regulation and simple mind-body techniques people can practice after upsetting events to restore calm. She is also the originator of HBLU, an approach that integrates biomedical science, psychology, hypnosis, NLP, applied kinesiology, energy psychology and spiritual techniques with her original research on the structure of complex damage patterns.
As flu season arrives early, her message places emotional health alongside rest, nutrition, and exercise as factors that shape who gets sick and who does not. More information about her work is available at HBLU.org.
