Why Am I Always Sick?
A Functional Look at Chronic Infections and Immune Resilience
To read this article in French, click here.
Did you know? Illness-related absenteeism costs U.S. employers an estimated $225.8 billion annually due to lost productivity from sick days 🤒💼💸
I see a lot of people who are caught in a frustrating cycle of recurring infections (cold sores, strep throat, UTIs, STIs, etc.). And while these conditions are rarely medical emergencies, their impact can be quite disruptive. The physical symptoms are only part of the burden; repeated infections can also bring considerable emotional distress and, at times, embarrassment, leaving people feeling defeated or even betrayed by their own bodies.
The conventional approach focuses on treating the immediate issue, with little attention given to why it tends to recur. You may be prescribed an antibiotic or an antiviral, advised to manage your stress, or told that you are simply more prone to infection. And while these strategies do have their place, they don’t address the bigger question: Why is my immune system struggling to overcome this insult?
That’s the question I’d like to explore here.
Instead of viewing every infection or flare-up as an isolated event, we can look at the broader conditions that may be contributing to recurrence. What is happening in the internal environment of the body? What factors might be placing additional demands on the immune system? And are there underlying vulnerabilities - nutritional, environmental, microbial, or related to chronic stress - that may be making it harder for the body to maintain resilience?
From a holistic perspective, symptoms aren’t simply problems to suppress. The immune system doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Its ability to respond effectively is influenced by a host of variables, including adequate nutrition, stress and recovery, the microbial balance in the body, environmental exposures, and so on…
The goal, then, isn’t to ignore or simply tolerate symptoms. It is to understand them more deeply - to look beyond the immediate flare-up and ask what might be contributing to these patterns of recurrence.
Signs of a Struggling Immune System
By the time people find their way to me, they’re often quite irate. They’ve tried what they were told would help, to no avail. Now, they want to look under the hood.
Though the outward expressions differ, most cases fall into one of three immune patterns:
1) Reactivation
Reactivation occurs when a pathogen that has long been dormant is reawakened under immune strain. This is common with viruses like Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, or herpes (oral and/or sexual), which can reside discretely in the body for years before flaring under stress or exhaustion. Malaria can also relapse in this way.
2) Persistence
Persistence refers to infections that never fully resolve. These may smolder below the surface, mild enough to overlook, yet potent enough to erode vitality over time. I tend to see this with Candida overgrowth, H. pylori, chronic UTIs, or Mycoplasma pneumoniae (“walking pneumonia”). Long COVID, too, belongs here.
3) Susceptibility
While occasional illness is a normal part of life, it's not “normal” to fall ill every time we are exposed to a microbe. The immune system is designed to protect us from a wide range of pathogens, so when even the smallest exposure consistently leads to illness, it indicates a deeper vulnerability rather than mere coincidence or bad luck.
It’s worth noting that these patterns often overlap. Someone may experience frequent transient infections (susceptibility), an unresolved infection (persistence), and the return of a dormant infection (reactivation) all in the same season. What matters is not so much which category they fall into, but what all three are pointing to: lowered resilience.
Why Does Resilience Falter?
When immune resilience declines, it’s rarely the result of one single factor. More often, it's the slow accumulation of subtle imbalances that ultimately overwhelm the system’s capacity to respond appropriately.
The body’s ability to function well depends on constant, coordinated communication between its cells, tissues, and organs. Immunity is no exception. The nervous system is central to this process, helping regulate how the body responds to stress and moves between activation and recovery. When someone remains in a prolonged state of vigilance, the body becomes oriented toward survival rather than restoration. Over time, this inevitably affects resources available for digestion, repair, and immune function.
A resilient immune system depends on both the nutrients and resources the body has, as well as its ability to handle stressors. When essential inputs such as minerals, amino acids, clean water, rest, and connection are lacking, the system can’t mount or complete its defense cycles. But just as critically, when there’s too much to detoxify, too much stimulation, or too little recovery, the body becomes overdrawn.
A person may tolerate years of poor sleep, stress, nutritional deficiencies, or environmental exposures without noticing any obvious consequences, but over time, the margin for adaptation narrows, and what was once easily mitigated - a demanding week, a restless night, an argument, a hike in the cold - begins to push the body beyond its threshold and causes symptoms to surface.
Resilience is the body’s ability to meet challenge without being overwhelmed by it, and to recover once the challenge has passed. Nurturing that capacity means giving the body the resources it needs while reducing the demands that continually deplete them.
Restoring Coherence
“You don’t have a drug deficiency. You have a nutrient deficiency, a movement deficiency, a sleep deficiency, a relaxation deficiency, a real food deficiency, or a love and connection deficiency.”
The holistic model of care doesn’t view each infection as an isolated event. We are interested in the larger pattern and in understanding what may be placing strain on your system, depleting its reserves, and making recovery more difficult.
Sometimes the contributing factors are blatant, such as nutritional deficiencies, disrupted sleep, chronic inflammation, or insufficient recovery. Others are less apparent and may include persistent low-grade infections or inflammation, food sensitivities, prolonged stress, unresolved trauma, or exposure to environmental toxicants such as mold or metals. Over time, these factors accumulate, leaving the body with fewer resources to adapt and recover.
Through a detailed history, careful assessment, and, when appropriate, targeted testing, we look for the patterns that may be contributing to what you are experiencing. From there, we focus on what can be restored and what can be reduced - replenishing nutritional reserves, supporting sleep and circadian rhythms, strengthening digestion, and creating more opportunity for recovery.
It’s worth noting that when stress has been prolonged, the body becomes accustomed to vigilance. Being in survival mode is absolutely detrimental to sleep, digestion, immune regulation, and the ability to recover. Understanding how your nervous system has adapted to your circumstances is therefore an essential part of the work.
Ready to Feel Better?
If you are experiencing persistent infections, ongoing fatigue, or a sense that your body is no longer responding as it once did, those changes deserve to be understood rather than simply accepted as a normal part of aging.
The body, when given the opportunity, possesses a remarkable capacity for restoration. Whether you’re seeking immediate, personalized insight through the Better Health Bundle, where we will carefully assess your current health and identify actionable steps to begin shifting the balance, or you’re ready to embark on a more profound journey with Reclaim Your Resilience, a 4-month coaching program aimed at addressing the root causes of immune dysfunction, I’m here to provide the guidance and support you need.
This process is deeply personal, and I am committed to meeting you exactly where you are. Together, we will uncover the underlying factors contributing to your health challenges, restore balance within your body, and foster the resilience needed to thrive - physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Reach out today to begin this transformative process!
