Lightening the load
end of year intensity, reducing allostatic load, community care is self care
How are you as we approach the end of the year?
Many of us experience increasing stress and intensity at this time of year. And 2024 has been especially full of extreme global events as well as the usual busy-ness of the local season.
I’ve been thinking about what we offer as osteopaths in times like this… we don’t fix or cure problems. We reduce allostatic load.
Similar to homeostasis, allostasis is the name for how our body finds ways to adapt to stress and maintain physiological stability through the neuro-endocrine-immune system. So allostatic load is how much wear and tear our body accumulates when we are exposed to repeated or chronic stress.
Because we look at the whole person as osteos, we can:
reduce physical load with hands on treatment
eg. increasing mobility of the ribs and upper back, improving breathing patterns, releasing pelvic tension, or unwinding work and pain postures.
regulate the nervous system by providing a safe place to be at ease, co-regulating and discussing stress and emotions that the body is holding.
help you connect the dots by providing a wider perspective on your environment, lifestyle and behaviours, so you can find the right support and make a few small changes that lighten your load.
eg. going to bed a few minutes earlier, finding a daily stretch that works for you, or trying a new practitioner that has experience with your particular issues.
Reducing allostatic load allows your body to heal and find stability in its own way.
The satisfying (and challenging) effect of working this way is that I become more aware of my own allostatic load. Often I notice something for a client and realise that I need to make a similar change in my life.
It makes me remember that community care is self care (and vice versa).
Inspiration
Gift Thinking - “Gift-giving is a way of saying “I see you.” I see what you need and I see what I have to share.”
Play Schema Gift Guide - “Schemas broaden our concept of play… allowing us to think about meaningful gifts that align with our child’s current interests rather than leaning on age-based advertisements.”
Survivor Made - “a film that follows a group of survivors as they defy the odds – building their own thriving businesses, lobbying for change, and fighting to prove that investing in survivors saves lives.”
Stay strong - “The susurration of stay strong holds within it the whisper, Remember, when you feel isolated and bereft in your grief, I am with you.”
Surviving Hurricane Helene - “There’s a deluge of texts from friends. They all say the same thing. “Are you ok? Do you have food? Do you have water?” We’re all making sure those we love are alive.”
Pottering - “Perhaps what most of us need right now is the space to wander without obligation; to figure out what really matters, and let go of what doesn’t.”
Much love,
Emily
Sanctuary, you are. Grateful for you, my friend