Incessant stress sustained for three to five days is enough to affect your immune system, making you more susceptible to mild illnesses like colds. As that stress cascades over years, studies have shown obesity, impotence, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease. West asked parents to deliver a talk to strangers, an experience known to induce anxiety, and then had them sit with their children,. all of whom were between six and 12 months old. We found that the babies showed physiological alignment with their parent stress responses. This kind of emotional transference can be termed stress contagion. And if you get really stressed with your boss at work, and you try to suppress it, if