First of all, what is it? As the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience explain: “The term ‘allostasis’ has been coined to clarify ambiguities associated with the word “stress.” Allostasis refers to the adaptive processes that maintain homeostasis through the production of mediators such as adrenalin, cortisol and other chemical messengers. These mediators of the stress response promote adaptation in the aftermath of acute stress, but they also contribute to allostatic overload, the wear and tear on the body and brain that result from being “stressed out.” This conceptual framework has created a need to know how to improve the efficiency of the adaptive response to stressors while minimizing overactivity of the same systems, since such overactivity results in many of the common diseases of modern life. This framework has also helped to demystify the biology of stress by emphasizing the protective as well as the damaging effects of the body’s attempts to cope with the challenges known as stressors.” [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1197275/#:~:text=Abstract,cortisol%20and%20other%20chemical%20messengers]
Allo comes to us from the Greek allos meaning ‘other, different.’ Stasis is also originally from Greek, specificlly histanai ‘to cause to stand’ or remain the same; essentially a state of equilibrium. Allostasis is, in a sense, the body’s fight to combat changes that have occurred due to stressors and reconquer homeostasis. The load/overload comes into play when, in this metaphor, the battle is lost.
While allostatic overload may seem a trendy diagnosis since simply ‘stressed out’ has become a cliché from overuse, it is, in fact, dangerous. It’s basic, early symptoms include sleep problems, inability to function normally in either or both social and occupational environments, feeling overwhelmed by daily life…the usual. What happens when it continues are more serious problems, but the term itself is not a medical diagnosis. Rather, medically it is a transdiagnostic categorization, i.e., viewing particularly the mental health aspects on a continuum of life events. Thus, for example, rather than say a diagnosis of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a doctor might view that as just one aspect of a transdiagnostic categorization. Think of it as a stack of disorders, each represented by a different colored block. Stack them up, then slice them and you end up with a rainbow of blocks or allostatic overload.
Serious illnesses with connections to allostatic overload include: cancer, particularly breast cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, even diabetes, mental illnesses, and, not surprisingly, substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
Allostatic overload is not a joke, nor a condition we should try to get used to and just blame it on ‘the times.’
How to prevent, avoid, and escape it:
- Regular exercise, whatever is appropriate for you, from chair yoga to training for a marathon.
- Meditative exercise, also whatever is appropriate for you, choose from activities such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, journaling, walking in the woods (my favorite), petting your dog or cat, listen (truly listen) to a calming symphony or Philip Glass or ? (Taylor Swift, rap, reggae, et al., don’t work for this purpose.)
- Check your diet, now’s the time to cut out sugar, junk food, and all (or at least most) of what you know that’s not healthy.
- Spend time with friends; get in touch with those far away.
- Do something kind. Thank someone for being kind to you. (Really, I’m not being flippant or frivolous. Such actions actually can have a positive biochemical impact on one.)
- Sleep (one of my favorites), especially if you can wake up naturally without an alarm. And if you can sleep with a dog and a stuffed animal or doll, even better. However, if you have to be somewhere at a specific time, an alarm often lets you sleep better.
- Watch the sun rise or set, same for the moon.
- Sit under a tree. Check for ants first.
- Perhaps most significant and valuable is DON’T WATCH, READ, or LISTEN TO THE NEWS FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS! (I’m not kidding; you can do it! I promise the world won’t collapse in that timeframe. If it does, you’ll find out soon enough.)
Believe me, I’m working on this too. Take care!
PS: FYI, Research has found that trauma in childhood was linked to increased allostatic load in adulthood and an increased risk for the development of PTSD. (From an article in The American Journal of Human Biology, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.22943
