Is this article saying my pain is caused by stress or emotions?

No. This article describes how emotional state amplifies or dampens pain signals that originate from a real physical source. The pain generator, whether it is a joint, a nerve, or inflamed tissue, is still there. Emotional state acts on the volume control for that signal through specific circuits like the periaqueductal gray and RVM. Addressing the emotional and inflammatory layer does not mean the physical layer is being dismissed.

Why does my pain feel worse on some days even when nothing physically changed?

Two mechanisms drive this. Increased connectivity between the default mode network and salience network can pull pain-related threat signals into your ongoing self-focused thinking, and glucocorticoid receptor resistance can leave cortisol circulating without effectively shutting down inflammation. Both of these fluctuate with your stress load, which is why identical days on paper can feel physically different.

Does this mean medication won't work for me if my pain has an emotional component?

Medication still works on the target it was designed for. Anti-inflammatories still reduce inflammation in tissue, and nerve-targeting medications still reduce nerve signal transmission. What they were not designed to do is reach brainstem circuitry, glial activation in the central nervous system, or brain network connectivity. That is why addressing the emotional and inflammatory layer alongside your current medication, rather than instead of it, tends to produce a more complete result.

What can I actually do to influence this brainstem pain circuit?

Structured mindfulness training, consistent breathwork, cognitive behavioral therapy, and consistent sleep have measurable effects on amygdala reactivity, prefrontal regulation, cortisol output, and glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity. These are not generic wellness suggestions. Each one targets a specific mechanism described above, and each requires consistency rather than a single session to produce a measurable shift.

How do positive emotions actually reduce pain, not just distract from it?

Genuine positive emotion activates the ventral tegmental area and increases dopamine signaling, which triggers release of your body's own opioid molecules, beta-endorphins and enkephalins. Those molecules bind to the same mu and delta opioid receptors that prescription opioids target, in the same PAG and RVM circuit described earlier in this article. This is a direct neurochemical effect, not a psychological distraction from the sensation of pain.

What To Do When You Get Sick: Support Your Immune System, Don't Suppress It

Jason Winkelmann

1 minute ago

6 min read

Be Smart. Support Your Immune System, Don't Suppress It

Your immune system is one of the most advanced things in the known universe. Think about it, it is the result of BILLIONS of years of evolution. As sophisticated as modern medicine and science is, we could just never develop something to rival it.

So why do we insist on suppressing it so much?!

Here's the thing, symptoms are not caused by the virus or the bacteria; they are produced by your immune system to kill and expel the pathogens. Suppressing symptoms means you are suppressing your immune system; you know that one of the most advanced things...

I say this because all the standard treatments are designed to suppress your symptoms, not boost your immune system. Silencing them may feel better today, but it can drag the illness out and leave you more vulnerable next time.

Now it would be naive to suggest you can avoid every illness, so this is what I like to do. I like to think of each time I'm sick as a training session. Give your immune system what it needs and it learns from the infection and comes back stronger. Waste the opportunity and expect to get sick again.

What To Do in the First 24 Hours

Day one is where you win or lose this thing, so the second you feelsomethings not right, change your plans.

• Sleep. Cancel what you can and go to bed. Your productivity the rest of the week will be so much better because of this. Sleep is when your immune system does its heavy lifting, and being awake just takes energy away from it. In one study people who slept under six hours a night were about four times as likely to catch a cold.

• Heat. Your body raises its own temperature on purpose, because heat activates heat-shock proteins which make your immune cells work faster. So give it a hand with a sauna or hot bath for 15 to 20 minutes, with hydration before and after. Skip it if you have a high fever, are dehydrated, or are pregnant.

• Magic socks. Don't knock it until you try it. Everyone's surprised it works. Before bed get some cotton socks wet with cold water and wring them out. put them on and cover with dry wool socks and, yep, go to sleep like that. Your body floods your feet with warm blood to fight the chill, and draw congestion from your head. The socks should be warm and dry in the morning.

• Warm fluids. Water, tea, and broth keep mucus thin and replace what fever and sweat remove.

• A light fast. Your body shuts off your appetite when you are sick, on purpose. Energy expended during digestion is energy your immune system is not getting. A 12 to 24 hour fast on broth and tea is reasonable for a healthy adult. It is not for children, pregnant or nursing women, people on diabetes medication, or anyone with a history of disordered eating.

What To Eat and What To Skip

• Eat: Protein. Your immune system is built of protein. Organic bone broth is an easy to digest option.

• Skip: Sugar and sweet drinks, alcohol, and heavy carbohydrate foods. Sugar slows immune function and feeds pathogens.

Supplements Worth Taking

• Zinc. Zinc is necessary forregulating immune cell development, signaling, and inflammatory responses, and it gets in the way of viruses copying themselves. Take zinc bisglycinate, 15mg three times per day.

• Vitamin D. Vitamin D switches on the germ-killing proteins in your immune cells and keeps their response from overshooting. Take 20,000IU liposomal vitamin D3 per day.

• NAC. NAC thins mucus so your airways can clear, and it gives your cells the raw material for glutathione, a protective compound your immune cells depend on. Take 500mg N-acetylcysteine three times per day.

• Echinacea. Compounds in echinacea appear to activate immune cells like macrophages and natural killer cells. Choose a standardized Echinacea purpurea extract. Take it at the first sign of symptoms at the dose on the label, for up to 10 days. Skip it if you are allergic to ragweed or daisies.

Supplements To Skip While You Are Sick

• High-dose antioxidants (vitamin E, beta-carotene, green tea or resveratrol extracts). Your immune cells use oxidants as a weapon, so flooding your body with antioxidants is like taking the ammo away from your own soldiers. Antioxidants from food are fine.

• Fish oil. It calms inflammation, which is great long term, but you need strong inflammation to fight an infection. Consider pausing it while you are sick, unless it was prescribed to you.

• Multi-symptom cold medicines. They stack several suppressants into one dose.

Let's Bust a Few Myths

• "Tylenol is harmless." It is the most popular fever reducer in the country, and it is not harmless to your immune response. In a study of volunteers infected with a cold virus, acetaminophen was linked to a weaker antibody response and more congestion, and in a flu study people who took it shed virus for 7.8 days compared with 6.1 on placebo. Your body also burns through glutathione to process it, the same protective compound your immune cells depend on. It is also America's leading cause of acute liver failure, frequently from accidental overdose. If a fever is keeping you from sleeping or drinking, or it is very high, it is a fair tool. Any fever in an infant needs a call to the doctor.

• "Green snot means you need antibiotics." Green or yellow mucus just means white blood cells have shown up to the fight, and they carry an iron-containing enzyme that tints it. Color cannot tell you whether an infection is viral or bacterial. What matters is how long it lasts and whether you are getting better.

• "Vitamin C will save you." It is more marketing than medicine. Taking it every day shortened colds by only about 8 percent in adults, around half a day, and taking it after symptoms start showed no consistent benefit. It's still an important nutrient, it just isn't the heavy hitter we were made to believe.

Antibiotics: When They Are Necessary and What Not To Take With Them

Antibiotics are miracles when you need them. The problem is how often we use them when we don't. They only work on bacteria, and most colds, flu, sore throats, and bronchitis are viral. The CDC estimates that at least 30 percent of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the US are unnecessary. The downsides are real: gut damage, microbiome damage, diarrhea, resistance, and, for the fluoroquinolone class (Cipro and Levaquin), an FDA boxed warning for tendon rupture and nerve damage.

They are essential for bacterial infections like pneumonia, confirmed strep throat, urinary tract infections, cellulitis, and meningitis. If you are prescribed one, take it exactly as directed.

If you do have to take one, know this. Calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc can block fluoroquinolones (such as ciprofloxacin) and tetracyclines (such as doxycycline) from being absorbed. So stop these supplements for the duration. And don't be the person who doesn't finish their course of antibiotics.

When To Get Checked

Get evaluated promptly for trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, a stiff neck with fever, a fever above 103 degrees Fahrenheit or one lasting more than three days, or symptoms that get better and then suddenly worse. Infants, older adults, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system should be checked sooner.

The Bottom Line

Getting sick is not your body failing. It is your body training. Rest, warmth, light food, a few smart supplements, and antibiotics only when you truly need them give your immune system what it needs. You will get sick again, but whether each illness leaves you stronger depends largely on what you do while you are in it. If you seem to catch everything that goes around, our Naturopathic Medicine team can help you find out why.

Written By:

Dr. Jason Winkelmann

Naturopathic doctor, Chiropractor, Chronic Pain Specialist, and Educator

Sources

• Wang et al., 2016, Cell: fasting metabolism in bacterial and viral inflammation

• Yale News: Listening to the body, effects of fasting on infections

• Hemila, 2017: zinc lozenges and the common cold, meta-analysis

• Martineau et al., 2017, BMJ: vitamin D and acute respiratory infection

• De Flora et al., 1997: NAC and influenza-like illness

• Schwerbrock et al., 2009: fish oil and influenza in mice

• Hemila and Chalker, Cochrane: vitamin C and the common cold

• Graham et al., 1990: aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen in rhinovirus infection

• Foxman et al., 2015, PNAS: temperature and rhinovirus defense

• Prather et al., 2015, Sleep: sleep and susceptibility to the common cold

• Fleming-Dutra et al., 2016, JAMA: inappropriate outpatient antibiotic prescribing

• FDA: fluoroquinolone safety communication

• Sanchez et al., 1973: sugars and neutrophil phagocytosis

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