Time to Lighten the Load?

Stress Relief NJ

A helpful term to understand in regards to stress management is allostatic load as it can explain why your stress response may be out of proportion to what you are actually experiencing in life right now.

Stress occurs when we have to make adaptations to changing circumstances. For example, when you climb a flight of stairs your heart rate has to increase and should go back down once you get to rest.

When faced with financial adversity, your brain dedicates more of it's resources towards finding a solution to your dilemma until its solved.

If you were suddenly chased by a wild dog, your body would rapidly prepare to flee or engage in self defense. This is what is known as the fight or flight response to help you deal with the threat- a state marked by the release of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

The fight or flight response can be triggered by both physical and emotional threats.

Without this ability to adapt you wouldn't survive the adverse circumstances and challenges that we all encounter. However nature intended to fight or flight to be a short term response and if it goes on too long there can be serious physical, emotional and behavioral consequences.

In a perfect world the heightened stress response would always release once the problem had been solved or the threat had passed by a process known as allostasis, where the mind and body return to it's natural and more relaxed state.

The allostatic load refers to the strain on the mind and body which increases over time if you are exposed to repeated or chronic stress.

For many individuals the allostatic process breaks down and the stress response remains activated even when there is no need to for it do so. Not unlike a rusted water valve or a broken light switch that gets stuck in the on position.

This inability to rebalance from a stressful state is linked to numerous problems including addictions, chronic pain, anxiety, IBS, tinnitus and other ongoing challenges.

Everyone has different stress thresholds, but it seems that exposure to trauma, especially in childhood, seems to be a major factor of whether a person can shift back to rest and digest or remains in stuck in fight or flight.

Mind/body healing practices such as mindfulness meditation, self-hypnosis, qigong and yoga can enable you to reduce your allostatic load. An overall healthy lifestyle that includes good nutrition, proper hydration, exercise and avoidance of toxins such as tobacco also help.

If you have any questions, I am here to help! Please feel free to call (732) 714-7040 for a free, confidential phone consultation.

P.S. The book linked below Conquer Chronic Pain by Dr. Peter Przekop,  is a treasure trove of info on the link between stress, chronic pain and addictions.