Are You Allergic to Your Emotions?
Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash.
Several years ago, before I was working in the health space, I noticed something interesting. My best friend would get terrible migraines as a result of the stress she experienced at work. Sometimes, to the point where she was completely debilitated and would have to simply lie on the floor when she got home in a pitch black room.
You might not think of a headache as an allergic reaction, but some of the underpinning mechanisms can be the same. I already knew at this point that stress and trauma could impact the immune system, but I never even thought to connect our emotional states with conditions like allergies, asthma, or even migraines before.
I know better now. Everything that happens in our body is connected to everything else. And our nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are no exception.
Understanding the Link Between Emotional Stress, Mast Cells, and Physical Symptoms
In a memorable interview on the Huberman Lab podcast, author and social scientist Dr Martha Beck recounted a striking phrase her daughter once said to her: “You’re allergic to your own goddamn emotions.” What began as a humorous comment carries a deeper, literal truth for many people, especially those with conditions like Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) or histamine intolerance. Emotional states like fear, anxiety, frustration, and unresolved grief don’t just feel uncomfortable; they can trigger physiological responses that resemble allergic reactions.
This phenomenon — where strong, negative, or unresolved emotions provoke physical symptoms via immune cell activation — has a growing body of research behind it. In this post, I’ll explore how emotions can influence mast cell behaviour, the biological mechanisms underpinning this process, and simple, evidence-informed strategies to interrupt the cycle.
Mast Cells: More Than Allergy Mediators
If you’ve been following me for a while, you already know this, but for the newbies here, let me explain what mast cells are. Mast cells are a type of innate immune cell distributed throughout the body's connective tissue, particularly near blood vessels, nerves, and mucosal surfaces. They’re particularly abundant in tissues like the skin, gut, and brain.
Mast cells are best known for their role in allergic reactions, where they release histamine and other inflammatory mediators in response to physical allergens. This isn’t all they do, though. Mast cells are also directly responsive to emotional and psychological stress.
Evidence shows that mast cells can be activated not only by immunological triggers but also by neurohormonal signals, including corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), neurotensin, substance P, and nerve growth factor — all of which are elevated under stress. These mediators bind to specific receptors on mast cells, causing degranulation, a process that results in the release of inflammatory substances like histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and cytokines.
How Emotional Stress Triggers Mast Cells
The activation of your immune system when you experience psychological stress, whether acute (like a heated argument) or chronic (such as ongoing work-related anxiety), is an adaptive response designed to keep you safe. In the past, stress often meant facing physical threats, like a fight or predator encounter, which carried a high risk of injury and infection. Preparing the immune system under these conditions could have meant the difference between life and death for our ancestors. Additionally, acute stress responses temporarily sharpened focus, heightened vigilance, and increased drive — behaviours advantageous for confronting immediate danger or escaping harm.
Here’s what happens to mast cells, step-by-step, when we experience psychological stress:
Activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis
Emotional stress activates the HPA axis, leading to:
Hypothalamic release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
Stimulation of the pituitary to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
Induction of cortisol release from the adrenal cortex
CRH is not only systemic but also acts locally in tissues, where it can bind directly to CRH receptors (CRH-R1 and CRH-R2) on mast cells.
2. Neuropeptide Release from Peripheral and Central Nerves
Emotional stress triggers the release of neuropeptides like:
Substance P (SP)
Neurotensin (NT)
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)
These neuropeptides bind to specific receptors on mast cells (e.g. NK-1 receptor for SP), leading to intracellular calcium mobilisation and activation of downstream signalling cascades.
3. CRH and Neuropeptide-Induced Mast Cell Activation
CRH and neuropeptides increase intracellular calcium concentrations via:
Phospholipase C (PLC) activation
Hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) into:
Inositol trisphosphate (IP3) → triggers calcium release from endoplasmic reticulum within cells
Diacylglycerol (DAG) → activates protein kinase C (PKC)
Elevated intracellular calcium is the primary trigger for mast cell degranulation, promoting the fusion of cytoplasmic granules with the cell membrane and the release of:
Histamine
Tryptase
Prostaglandins
Leukotrienes
Cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6
4. Cortisol’s Biphasic Role
Acute stress: Cortisol has anti-inflammatory effects
Chronic stress: Dysregulation of cortisol feedback increases CRH and neuropeptide activity locally, particularly in skin and gut mast cells, enhancing degranulation risk
In chronic emotional stress, cortisol's modulatory role diminishes, allowing unchecked pro-inflammatory mast cell activation.
This neuroimmune interface means that emotions like fear, anger, frustration, or unresolved grief can result in physical symptoms, including:
Headaches
Urticaria (hives)
Flushing
Gastrointestinal disturbances
Dizziness
Palpitations
Fatigue
Anxiety-like symptoms
Allergy
Asthma and allergic rhinitis
These are common in both MCAS and histamine intolerance, creating a feedback loop where physical symptoms generate further anxiety, perpetuating mast cell activation.
Cognitive Dissonance and Emotional Conflict
Adding another layer, Dr Martha Beck’s work emphasises how chronic cognitive dissonance — the tension between one’s core values and actual behaviour — generates persistent psychological stress. Living inauthentically, suppressing emotions, or conforming to expectations at odds with personal beliefs can chronically activate the stress response.
This persistent internal conflict, even when unrecognised, elevates basal levels of stress hormones and neuropeptides that act on mast cells. Chronic activation of your stress response can not only worsen MCAS symptoms but also reduce your threshold for stress-related degranulation. Your body becomes increasingly reactive over time, needing less and less of a trigger to experience debilitating symptoms.
Is It an Allergy — or an Emotional Reaction?
The idea that one can be "allergic to emotions" is metaphorical, but the physiological mechanisms are quite literal. Research has demonstrated that people with stress-related disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder, depression) exhibit higher mast cell density and reactivity. I know that my own allergies, which I had as a child but then “grew out of”, came back during a period of high stress that resulted in me developing symptoms of complex PTSD.
Similarly, patients with chronic urticaria — a mast cell–mediated condition — often report exacerbation of symptoms during emotionally charged situations.
For people with MCAS, recognising that their emotional state could be provoking or amplifying physical symptoms is crucial for symptom management and improving quality of life.
Emotional State–Centred Strategies to Calm Mast Cells
While diet, medication, and mind-body practices are important, one of the most overlooked interventions is directly addressing emotional states. You can medicate, supplement, eat, breathe, sauna, and exercise your way to better immune health, but the problem will never truly go away until you address your emotional health.
Here are simplified, evidence-informed strategies to interrupt the mast cell–emotion feedback loop:
1. Name the Emotion
Research in affect labelling — simply putting feelings into words — shows it reduces amygdala activity (the brain’s fear centre) and downregulates the autonomic nervous system’s stress response. When you feel a surge of anxiety, irritation, or dread, take a moment to internally label it: “This is frustration,” or “I feel grief.”
This simple act helps shift neural processing from reactive areas of the brain to the prefrontal cortex, improving emotional regulation and reducing mast cell–activating stress mediators.
If you struggle to do this in the moment, that’s fine. It’s something you can work on through journaling, discussion with a trusted friend or counterpart, or a therapist later. The more you can identify those moments upon reflection, the easier it will become to do in the moment (trust me on this).
2. Micro-Dose Emotional Expression
I love this practice. For those of us who grew up without learning the skills or having the opportunity to express a wide range of emotions, it can be life-changing. Chronic emotional suppression is linked to elevated stress biomarkers. Why? Because we hold onto the stress, rather than resolving and releasing it.
Instead of bottling up emotions, engage in short, controlled expressions. This could mean venting to a trusted friend for five minutes, scribbling in a journal, or even speaking aloud to yourself in private.
Small, frequent emotional releases prevent the accumulation of cognitive dissonance and reduce prolonged stress responses that trigger mast cells.
3. Resolve Micro-Conflicts
Cognitive dissonance — no matter how minor — activates stress pathways. Regularly ask yourself: “Where am I saying yes when I mean no?” or “Where am I pretending to feel one thing but actually feel another?”
Once you begin asking yourself these questions frequently, it will become easier and easier to read your own tells and know when you’re not comfortable with something. That feeling in the pit of your stomach, the twitch of your lips, a sense of restlessness - these are all little signals from your body that you’re experiencing a sense of cognitive dissonance.
Martha Beck took a vow not to lie, which included not saying yes to things when she didn’t want to, for an entire year. This made her life complicated to say the least, so she doesn’t recommend going to the same extreme, but she did also resolve a number of autoimmune issues (often underpinned by MCAS) during that year.
In my personal experience, the psychological pain of feeling as though I was living out of alignment with my values made my illness worse. I could have saved myself a lot of psychological and physical pain if I’d only realised how important some of my daily choices were.
Making micro-adjustments in daily life — like declining a social event when you need rest, or expressing honest disagreement — helps restore emotional congruence and lowers physiological stress.
4. Use Safe Emotional Anchors
This one is so simple, I’m amazed that I sometimes still come across mental health professionals who haven’t heard of it! Memories are incredibly powerful because they usually have emotions associated with them. When we recall a specific memory, we’re often able to re-experience the same emotions that were present or induced by the actual event.
Recall a past experience of safety, joy, love, or connection and mentally immerse yourself in that memory for 60 seconds. Researchers have found that positive memory recall can increase heart rate variability and reduce sympathetic nervous system activation. This downregulates the HPA axis, leading to a lower chance of mast cell degranulation.
Doing this daily can reduce baseline stress levels and mast cell activation potential over time.
Final Thoughts
Despite what many of us have been told, emotions are not just intangible states of mind; they have measurable physiological consequences. For individuals with MCAS, understanding how unresolved or intense emotions activate mast cells and perpetuate symptoms is essential. Equally important is recognising that we can shift this biology by making small, consistent changes in how we identify, express, and align with our emotions.
Dr Martha Beck’s metaphor — being “allergic to your own emotions” — speaks to a truth the immune system confirms daily. But with awareness and simple, direct emotional care, it’s possible to reduce reactivity and reclaim a more stable, congruent inner world.