When I think about physical and mental wellness, I like to think about prevention. This post may start off unrelated, but stick with me because it has everything to do with work-life balance and how we can all do better at managing mental strain, worry, and anxiety.
I want to start by defining allostasis vs. homeostasis.
Allostasis is a term used in medicine to describe how the body adapts to stress, using a feed-forward mechanism. In simple terms, it means that based on your past experiences, it can predict how you will react and therefore begins the process of preparing you for this. You can think of it similarly to AI. It gathers past data and delivers a solution efficiently. An example might be how your endocrine system will quickly kick in, causing a cascade of hormones such as adrenaline and norepinephrine, or what we refer to as the stress hormones, to be delivered in anticipation of danger. Remember – this could range from visiting your inlaws for dinner to a downturn in profits.
This is very different from homeostasis, in which the body responds to a past event by attempting to bring the body back into balance. It doesn’t engage in any pattern recognition. I equate this to the game whack-a-mole. The player waits in anxious anticipation for the problem to arise and then wacks it to get rid of it.
It is the opposite of prevention.
Referring to an article in JAMA Psychiatry, 2014, allostasis is a strategy of predictive regulation, meaning “stability through change.” So instead of whack-a-mole, you are now playing chess.
How does this relate to our constant strive for work-life balance? It means stop trying to ‘balance’ and instead, go with the flow and learn from your past mistakes. We must become more aware of what our work schedule might look like in the coming weeks, and 1) make our families aware of times in which work might need to be prioritised over family, 2) make our work aware of times in which family might need to be prioritised over work. If you can do this you will promote more allostasis or predictive regulation.
Work hard in your career when it requires you to do so, and when you can lean back a bit, rather than booking time in your calendar for ‘self-care’, spend that time with your family and friends, which is a better form of self-care. Consistency in one of these domains would be great, but it is rarely possible – at least not for most who are passionate about both domains.
The important thing to remember is to communicate where you are with your business and personal ‘partner’. Let them know what the upcoming week and months might look like, and even though there are 1000 things you could be doing for your work, if the season allows for you to lean back a bit, use your time for the right thing.
Finally when it comes to maintaining mental or emotional wellness, you need to be aware of the present situation so that allostasis naturally occurs rather than homeostasis to take over entirely. Playing the game of chess is much more taxing on the mind because it incorporates being in the present moment, but playing whack-a-mole is not only exhausting, but extremely unfulfilling.
Sterling P. Homeostasis vs Allostasis: Implications for Brain Function and Mental Disorders. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(10):1192–1193. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.1043