The physiology originally taught in medical schools circled around the idea that homeostasis, maintaining a range of acceptable physiology, was what kept us alive and healthy. 

But in the late 1980s, this was revised (one might say refined) to a better understanding… that returning to a set point in a constantly fluctuating environment wasn’t enough… nor was it what really happened. Peter Sterling (a Professor of Medicine) and Joseph Eyer (an interdisciplinary scholar interested in stress) realized that ” …the way to stay stable through the process of change is by changing, at least to some extent” – which they called “allostasis”.

Whereas homeostasis describes a pattern of order, disorder, order, allostasis describes a pattern of order, disorder, reorder.

Wikipedia, Allostasis

This isn’t just about physiology.

I had never heard the words “allostatic load” until recently.

Allostatic load, you know, like when an attending doesn’t speak up when a resident is being belittled. When you don’t speak up you are reinforcing discrimination and isolation … If you want to make this better you need to look in the mirror.

anonymous surgeon

Allostatic load is what pushes us from our states of equilibrium, and it is an important part of how we grow and change. But an allostatic load that is too great, too chronic, or intentionally harmful can push anyone beyond being able to recover or change.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Maya Angelou