Allostatic load is the physical and emotional cost of coping with stress for extended periods of time, which can lead to chronic disease. Chemicals produced during stress can become harmful if overproduced, leading to an elevated risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Psychotherapy can help reduce the risk of chronic disease by identifying negative childhood experiences and modifying physiological coping mechanisms.
Allostatic load is the physical and emotional cost of coping with stressful circumstances for extended periods of time. This term is sometimes referred to as synonymous with stress, but it is precisely the nature of the body’s stress response and how it is carried and processed that determines the load. It has been argued that heavier loads risk the development of chronic disease. Furthermore, not only biochemical or neurochemical responses, but also unnecessary behaviors, difficult childhood experiences, and the presence of anxiety or mood disorders increase this chronic stress burden. There are a few suggested ways to measure the weight of an allostatic load and to reduce its impact.
Individuals handle stress in different ways, but periods of high stress are linked to the production of chemicals such as cortisol and catecholamines, such as adrenaline, norepinephrine and dopamine. In the short term, larger amounts of these chemicals help people cope with stress. On the other hand, chronic stress can lead to overproduction of these chemicals and faulty mechanisms to turn off the chemical response. Sometimes the body also produces cortisol and catecholamines in situations that would not normally be perceived as stressful.
These additional responses cease to be helpful and, instead, become increasingly physically harmful. They begin to cause an elevated risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Additionally, a chronically high allostatic load means that people are more likely to choose coping behaviors that increase disease risk, such as smoking, drinking, and drug use. Alternatively, people may not exercise or overeat.
Not all people handle stress the same way, and some seem to be able to deal with much more of it while making good choices and taking care of themselves. An allostatic load in these patients may be less. Conversely, some individuals seemed predisposed to carry a heavier load. Higher stress response levels often occur in those who were abused and neglected as children and in people with mood and anxiety disorders. These scenarios then translate into an elevated risk for severe and chronic disease.
There are ways to measure an allostatic load. Some professionals suggest using stress scales, but this may not be particularly effective. A scale can assess a person’s current experience of stress, but it doesn’t talk about how they process it over time. Better measures assess catecholamine and cortisol levels and could even test for conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and heart disease.
Furthermore, psychotherapeutic assistance determines what types of behaviors a person has developed to cope with high stress. A thorough client history can assess how often clients have perceived themselves as being under stress. Psychotherapy also diagnoses psychiatric disorders and can identify negative childhood experiences that may correspond to a higher allostatic burden. Furthermore, therapeutic work in the areas of stress reduction and management can modify physiological coping mechanisms over time, thus reducing the risk of developing certain chronic diseases.
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