Continual, chronic stress can have a significant impact on both physical and mental health. This impact is often referred to as allostatic load.
Over time, stress accumulates. While the body and mind are designed to “weather the storm” and go through stressful situations, in some individuals, their ability to cope through this ongoing assault causes a lot of damage.
What is Allostatic Load?
The term, allostatic load, was first introduced in 1993 by Bruce McEwen and Eliot Stellar. Human beings have the inherent ability to adapt to stressful situations to a certain degree. However, as time goes on, and as life and environmental stressors pile on, allostatic overload can occur.
Prolonged stress can have serious physical and mental consequences. Many researchers refer to allostatic load as the long-term result of a failure to adapt, which can lead to chronic illness. This “failure to adapt” is often called allostasis.
The Fight or Flight Response
Each individual is equipped with a fight or flight response that occurs when they are confronted with stressful situations. However, this response is intended to be short-term. The goal is to address the stress, remain in homeostasis, and allow the individual to adapt.
Fight or flight results in a hormone release that eventually can cause serious physical damage. Cortisol and other stress-related hormones are intended to assist with acute stress management. However, they can ultimately lead to autoimmune diseases, heart problems, inflammation, and other serious health challenges and conditions.
Allostatic Load Types
There are three types of allostatic load that can affect a person who deals with chronic stress.
Frequent Allostatic System Activation
This type is what most people think of and encounter, and it refers to consistent and repeated stress exposure and higher stress levels than normal. In a sense, the mind and body never have a chance to recover from one stressful situation to another.
No Allostatic System Shutoff
Many people with anxiety struggle with not having the ability to shut off the allostatic response even after the situation that caused their stress has passed. They are unable to relax and live their lives in an almost constant state of fight or flight.
Allostatic Response Inadequacy
This type of allostatic load occurs when the body reacts to stress with an insufficient response. As a result, other body systems “step in” to carry the burden and overcompensate in an attempt to maintain homeostasis.
What Causes Allostatic Overload?
In addition to environmental and situational stress, there are other factors that could cause a person to experience allostatic overload. For example:
- Not getting enough exercise
- Frequent alcohol or drug use
- Problems with sleep
- Poor dietary habits
- Genetics
An individual with a history of mental health problems may also find it difficult to manage their stress levels and may often get overwhelmed easily. It’s not surprising that so many people with allostatic overload turn to substance abuse as a way to cope. They simply do not know what else to do, and they’re desperate to get some type of relief.
Health Problems Caused By Allostatic Load
There are many health issues researchers believe are linked to allostatic load, if not directly caused by it. For instance:
- Cancer can be attributed to allostatic overload, and women with breast cancer typically experience more stress and have higher levels of cortisol.
- Heart disease, high blood pressure, and hardening arteries have all been linked to stress and allostatic load.
- For many individuals, diabetes may result from allostatic load and people with this condition have historically demonstrated difficulty coping with stress.
Not surprisingly, allostatic load has also demonstrated a connection with various types of mental health issues, including the eventual development of PTSD.
How to Handle Stress and Reduce Allostatic Load
Far too many people try to manage excessive stress on their own. Mental health treatment is available to provide support to people experiencing chronic stress. Talking with a therapist can help people with allostatic overload to learn the coping skills they need to handle their stress and reduce allostatic load.
For example, if a person has existing trauma that has resulted in or could eventually result in PTSD, they may struggle when encountering similar situations. Therapy can help them reframe those situations and change how they interpret them so they no longer view them as a threat.
There are additional steps that can be taken as well, such as:
- Beginning a regular exercise regimen.
- Incorporating relaxation into their day-to-day lives.
- Improving their diet to eliminate excess sugar and other non-nutritious foods.
- Focusing on building and improving positive relationships.
- Stopping the use of alcohol, drugs, or nicotine as coping mechanisms.
Focus Treament Centers Can Help With Allostatic Overload
At Focus Treatment Centers, many of the patients we treat have experienced allostatic overload. Substance abuse, eating disorders, and mental health issues often have their roots in stress levels that are higher than normal, or that are poorly managed for several reasons.
You are not alone, and you don’t have to carry the burden of your stress by yourself. Contact us today and let’s talk about how we can help you improve your quality of life and begin on the road to recovery.
