What is “allostatic load”?
What is your allostatic load…and why does it matter?
Years ago, a friend who works at a hospital mentioned that black women have the highest allostatic load. It gave me pause. Hmmm, I thought. There’s a way to measure that? And, ohhhhhhhh, that tracks.
“Allostatic load” refers to the “cumulative burden of chronic stress and life events,” as defined in this article. Allostatic load is identified by biomarkers (cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), epinephrine, norepinephrine) and clinical criteria (e.g. PsychoSocial Index). We all have an allostatic load, and sometimes it becomes too much, and that’s when we notice we’re “off”--sleep, eating, energy, mood, muscle tension, cognitive function, etc. Sometimes, it only takes using our tried and true coping skills (exercise, call a friend, take a break, ground, etc.) to get us back on track. But sometimes, it’s harder–especially if your DNA is encoded with generations of trauma and the institutions you move in are also encoded with trauma, eg. racism. Recently, I read an article that confirmed that “black women [have] the highest predicted values” of allostatic load.
I’m thinking about this because I attended a training on cultural humility for therapists and was just learning about “Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome” (coined by Joy DeGruy). I am thinking about the 300 years of trauma that have been passed down for generations that live on in the bodies of black people. Did you know that “workplace discrimination was associated with 30% higher breast cancer risk in the Black Women's Health Study”, as cited in this article? Knowing about allostatic load matters.
