Chronic, unrelieved stress leads to deaths of despair, which can kill tens of thousands. Patients with serious chronic illnesses often progress to a state of persistent inflammation, immune suppression, and a breakdown of tissues (catabolism), especially muscles.

A study using adult rats subjected to restraint stress for seven or 14 days examined the effect of chronic stress and found persistent inflammation and organ damage. Researchers found persistent elevation of the stress hormone norepinephrine over seven days, but eventually the adrenal glands burned out and the levels fell, just as we see in humans with adrenal exhaustion from chronic stress. There was also a significant rise in inflammatory factors, especially interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is also a major indicator of impending death in serious COVID-19 cases.

Another major inflammatory cytokine, TNF-alpha, was slow to rise, but by day 14 it was 227 percent higher than normal.

C-reactive protein — another measure of inflammation — also increased significantly. An examination of the animals’ livers showed intense inflammation during the first seven days with a rapid fall thereafter.

Of great concern was the observation that the cellularity of the bone marrow significantly decreased during the first seven days, and then increased significantly.

At this stage, the blood was flooded with primitive red blood cells and white blood cells — a sign of stress and immune suppression. If stress persists at this stage, it can result in multiple organ failure that leads to chronic critical illness or death.

A number of natural compounds can protect the body from damage caused by stress. These include taurine, nano-curcumin, nano-quercetin, nano-ashwagandha, nano-vitamin C, vitamin E (especially tocotrienols), luteolin, CoQ10, L-carnitine, R-lipoic acid, nano-EGCG, nano-bacopa, nano-grapeseed extract, butyrate, and probiotics.