By Mark Tyrrell
Creative Director of Hypnosis Downloads

Your immune system is amazing. It consists of a wide and complex array of different defense mechanisms, all designed to keep you healthy or get you healthy; to keep you safe from those pesky microscopic invaders commonly known as ‘germs’.

Staying safe and well is a major purpose of all organisms. To do this, you need to be protected.

Your immune system: layers of protection

Firstly, there are many barriers, chemical and physical, which make up what we might call ‘body traps’ to prevent germs getting into the body. These include the skin and the mucous lining of your airways. Other defense mechanisms include coughing, vomiting sneezing and itching. Secondly, there are a whole host of specialist cells that actively attack germs, neutralizing or destroying them in the blood stream.

Microscopic door men

Germs that make into the blood stream may be engulfed by big white blood cells called phagocytes – which literally means ‘cell eaters’. These phagocytes are alerted when areas become infected. When your phagocytes attack germs, they engulf them in a pouch in their membrane. Once engulfed, the invading germ is broken down or digested by enzymes and the threat is neutralized - hence the term ‘cell eater’.

Intelligent, discerning door men

Actually, the story is more involved than this. Many germs are actually rather similar to harmless bacteria and even human body cells. So if your immune system was set up simply to wipe out all germs it might actually end up damaging the body itself.

So your immune system has a series of weapons designed to target particular invaders. This is called your ‘adaptive immune system’. It is based on white blood cells, your lymphocytes, which roam through your blood and the lymph system looking for trouble.

There are two kinds – B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes. Your B cells use antibodies to target bacteria such as cholera and your T cells are more important in the war against viruses. But your immune system is even cleverer than this!

For example, there are thousands of different B cells circulating in the blood, each armed with antibodies against a particular germ. But there are only a handful of each until a particular enemy is identified. If this ever happens (you might be lucky and never encounter that disease) they multiply dramatically at once and release hordes of the right antibodies. Some of your B cells are called ‘memory cells’, which go on multiplying even after the germ has been vanquished. So if the germ returns, there are antibodies ready and waiting for it. Pretty remarkable.

Your immune system - hunting out and neutralizing the threat

Many germs, like viruses and parasites, try to hide inside or take over body cells. It is the task of your T cells to identify and destroy these invading cells. There are two types of T cells in your body: so called ‘killer cells’ and ‘helper cells’. Helpers are the cells that find and identify the invaded cells and send out the alarm. Killer T cells are the special forces, the ones which move in and destroy the invaders.

Stress and immunity

Stress has been found to weaken the immune system, so deep relaxation -- even without the hypnotic element -- will itself still have major benefits if enjoyed regularly.

More specifically, hypnosis can actually strengthen the disease fighting capability of these two types of immune cells I’ve been talking about. It’s going to be fascinating to see what positive impacts listening to this session is going to have for people.

Mark Tyrrell is the Creative Director of Hypnosis Downloads

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