Doctors have acknowledged that the stress of preparing for holidays and family gatherings can be so intense that it can trigger some illnesses.

Stress aggravates autoimmune diseases, neurologists report a difficult time for migraine patients, and cardiologists emphasize that most heart attacks occur on Christmas Eve.

Diseases that appear on holidays

Emotions, work, lack of sleep affect the state of the body. Holidays – a difficult period of the year for people with depression and increased anxiety.

During the period before and after the holidays, many patients with neurological problems appear. This was stated by the head of the Neurology Clinic SPSK4 and the head of the Polish Neurological Society, professor Konrad Reidak.

Strong emotions can aggravate migraines and even epileptic seizures.

Also, during the holidays, accidents occur more often: burns or cuts, because people forget to be careful, the expert says. There are patients who have problems with the spine; they have a psychosomatic basis.

Stress also makes psoriasis, or intestinal inflammation, worse. The holidays are also a difficult time for heart disease sufferers.

Swedish researchers analyzed the medical records of more than 283 thousand patients hospitalized with a heart attack. They are much more common on the evening of Christmas Eve.

“The reasons are different: the nervous atmosphere during this period associated with preparations for the holidays, as well as in connection with family meetings, during which family clashes and disputes occur,” doctors explain.