Introduction
If the body core temperature rises to over 38° Celsius, this is called fever. There are many very different causes for fever, so it is one of the so-called general symptoms: it is an indication of a problem in the body, but as such it is very unspecific. In most cases an inflammatory or infectious cause is found that is responsible for the fever. In a few rare cases, however, no physical cause for the increased body temperature is found at all. In these cases it may be useful to consider a psychological or psychosocial cause for the fever.
Fever due to stress – Is there such a thing?
Indeed, an increase in body temperature can be triggered by psychological stress. However, it is rare that the temperature rises so high that it is a fever. One should also bear in mind that the body temperature follows a natural daily rhythm anyway: Due to physiological hormone fluctuations, subfebrile temperatures (i.e. above 37 or 37.5°C) can occur anyway.
However, if you have now clearly measured febrile temperatures and have been in a particularly stressful phase for some time, there may be a real causal relationship. The exact mechanism can be explained by two different approaches – which one applies now varies depending on the person affected and the situation. First of all, stress can cause certain messenger substances to be released in the body, putting the body on “alert”.
If these stress mediators are permanently released, the body’s metabolism is increased so much that the body temperature also continues to rise until the defined limit for fever is exceeded. Another explanation for fever due to stress is the somatization of psychological complaints, in other words the “embodiment” of stress. This is strictly speaking a psychiatric phenomenon and should be treated as such.
Ultimately, however, all other possible causes, especially infectious diseases, must be clarified in order to secure a diagnosis of stress fever. Stress fever is therefore an exclusionary diagnosis that can only be made once all other causes have been refuted by the diagnosis or are out of the question. This topic might be of interest to you: Consequences of stress
