Cassell, Immune system and relationships by Adyn Cassell

Sterling 1

adyncassell1 — 2025-02-18 14:57:15 UTC

“Relationships can act as a buffer against life's stresses, which, over time, can have measurable effects on your health. When stress strikes, knowing that you have a supportive network you can turn to reduces your cortisol levels, helping to keep your immune system strong. Cortisol, if chronically elevated, can wreak havoc on the body, leading to issues like heart disease and diabetes. But in communities where social ties are strong, such stress-related issues are less common. This isn't just anecdotal; it’s grounded in scientific evidence” (Streling 1).

Wachob

adyncassell1 — 2025-02-18 14:58:02 UTC

“In that sense, it’s not surprising that social isolation can make you more prone to illness. In one study, researchers even found that people who were socially isolated were 45 percent more likely to get sick with a common cold. It doesn’t take a Nobel Prize to figure out that the opposite is probably true—meaningful connection with others can improve our immune systems. In an article in Psychology Today, Emma Seppälä, PhD, wrote, “Social connection strengthens our immune system (research by Steve Cole shows that genes impacted by social connection also code for immune function and inflammation), helps us recover from disease faster, and may even lengthen our life.” It’s no surprise that love is powerful medicine” (Wachob 1).

Harvard Womens Health Watch

adyncassell1 — 2025-02-18 14:58:31 UTC

The quality of relationships matters. For ex-ample, the University of Pittsburgh’s Healthy Women Study recently found that among women at mid life, those who were in highly satisfying marriages and marital-type relationships had a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease compared to those in less satisfying marriages. Other studies have linked disappointing or negative interactions with family and friends with poorer health” (Harvard Womens Health Watch 1).

Connection

adyncassell1 — 2025-02-18 15:13:35 UTC

Both of these quotes explain that having strong and healthy relationships can reduce heart disease and having people you can turn to and lean on for things, reduces your stress and increases your overall health.

Connection

adyncassell1 — 2025-02-18 15:17:59 UTC

These both connect because it describes how women who are in health satisfying marriages, are at reduced risk for diseases and issues with their health, in relation, if you are socially isolated, without a support system/ significant other/ family, it puts more stress on a person and makes it harder for them to recover from illness and issues.

Connection

adyncassell1 — 2025-02-18 15:22:02 UTC

These connect because Wachob gives ideas that when we are socially isolated, we loose meaningful connections with others and when we do not have people to turn to, we lack in cortisol levels, which leads to more stress and that leads to wrecking our bodies' immune system.