tolerated illness tolerated illness a tolerated illness is a "noted discordance between subjective and objective health measures" in a patient. native american communities have been shown to have a high incidence of illness tolerance, in part because of the treatment they receive in the healthcare system. in psychopathology, distress tolerance describes "perceived capacity to withstand negative emotional and/or other aversive states". in nature, the immune system of plants has been shown to protect against pathogens through a strategy of tolerance. this defense "decreases the host susceptibility to tissue damage, or other fitness costs, caused by the pathogens or by the immune response against them".