How sick can someone get because of stress?

Yes, all that. The body is pretty good at manifesting illness in response to emotional or mental stress. That’s why many people look to traumatic childhoods as a factor in heart disease and cancer.

So yes, a stressful event can cause a “stress flu”.

One of my co-workers had a stress- (and somewhat self-) induced heart attack, and mind you, he’s only 23–24. If this question is about you, please don’t stress yourself out too much. Just do the best you can, worrying will not change the outcome.

@jordym84 It’s not about me, I wish it was. It’s about someone I love and am worried about.

They can get as sick as they can imagine.
But they can also get well as they imagine .
it is human nature to think the worst in situations, but also we have capacities to
turn things around by imagining healthy outcomes too.
It is a choice.

Stress isn’t in and of itself a medical problem—it’s the mind and body’s reaction to a difficult situation, and person deals with that stress differently, both positively and negatively. But definitely, stress can trigger all sorts of physical and psychological symptoms including hives and shingles, heart palpitations, night sweats and nightmares, and I suppose if one had a bad heart it might even cause, well… I won’t scare you any further.

I know how it feels to be in your shoes—I daresay most of us do—and I really have no other advice other than to tell yourself “This too will pass.”

Can you get away from the books for even a short time, and give your mind and body something to do for fun?

Everything you said and more.

Underlying conditions can make this really bad. My ulcerative colitis was aggravated by stress. The week I took the SAT in high school, I began a flare up that culminated in a near death experience 3 months later.

Nothing is worth that.

Very sick, except for the fever part.

When someone is stressed their immune system can respond differently.

Sometimes the person may really actually get sick because they forget to do regular handwashing.

Not to mention the fact that the symptoms of stress alone have potential health risks since stress can cause someone to be extremely overwhelmed, with loss of sleep, lack coping skills potentially making wrong decisions.

The trick is knowing when too much stress is enough.

When I was in medical school most of us got what we called med school flu or finals flu. We were so stressed out about our tests that we felt nauseated and diarrhea was rampant (hey, public toilets!).

Long term, all of that stress can damage your body because of all the chemicals your body produces/releases that aren’t normally there or are there, but in lower or higher doses.

Yeah, I get nausea from stress. I’ve never thrown up but I get a weird queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Also, as @nofurbelowsbatgirl mentioned, it’s easier to get sick since the immune system is often undermined.