Social media is a chronic stressor. Scrolling through endless feeds of bile and misinformation is not harmless entertainment. Each toxic post, each divisive argument, each political absurdity adds to the stress. The brain, designed for predictive regulation, is constantly on alert, anticipating threats that never resolve. This can lead to what is known as allostatic overload.
I was a late entrant into the cyber world of social media. Like a reluctant guest at a party who ends up hogging the karaoke machine, once I was in, I was hooked. I became a cheerleader, pom-poms aloft, shouting into the digital void. But let’s be clear: my online persona – save one important exception – isn’t me. It’s a mash-up of what I’m prepared to expose to the world, a dash of fantasy, a sprinkle of fiction, and a hearty homage to the comedic genius of Kenneth Williams. Carry On culture is my fake façade.
Politics on social media adds to allostatic overload
The exception is politics. Ah yes, politics. Deadly serious, because it intrudes on every vital aspect of our lives: how our children are educated, our financial well-being, and our protection from harm. Indeed, I doubt if anything we do when awake isn’t legislated by parliament. Not doing politics isn’t an option. Unless, of course, you fancy living in a cave with only bats for company, and even then I suspect there’s a regulation about guano disposal. My position is modified somewhat since a short time ago I was an elected member of a large unitary authority.
Yet on social media, I find political comment is usually false, divisive, horrific, and utterly bewildering. I left X (formerly Twitter) because its toxicity literally did my head in. Still I see friends on Facebook spouting bizarre views that collapse under a moment’s logic, yet they persist, disappearing down rancid rabbit holes of rhetoric.
And now, if polls are to be believed, Nigel Farage may be the next prime minister, with his admiration for Vladimir Putin and his championing of Brexit, the most harmful economic blast to our country, encouraging millions to act against their own wellbeing. And let’s not forget his close political ally Nathan Gill has recently been imprisoned for 10-and-a-half years for being a Russian asset. Has the UK gone completely barking mad?
Enter allostatic overload
It sounds like a prog-rock album from 1973, but, alas, it’s not nearly as much fun. Allostasis is the body’s ability to achieve stability through change. It’s the physiological balancing act that keeps us functioning when life throws curveballs. But when those stressors are chronic, relentless, and overwhelming, the system breaks down. That collapse is called allostatic overload.
Allostatic overload occurs when environmental challenges exceed an individual’s ability to cope, leading to toxic stress and physiological dysregulation. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, meant for short bursts of survival, remain elevated. Over time, this damages cardiovascular, immune, and neurological systems. Symptoms are fatigue, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and increased risk of chronic disease.
In short, it’s not just stress. It’s the body’s systems collapsing under the weight of too much for too long.
Leaving X was not just a lifestyle choice – it was a physiological intervention. By removing a major source of stress, I reduced my own allostatic load. Yet the problem persists because the political circus continues offline.
Can allostatic overload be cured?
Here’s the sobering truth: allostatic overload cannot be ‘cured’ like an infection. It is not a single disease but a systemic collapse caused by chronic stress. However, it can be managed, prevented, and even reversed to some degree.
On a personal level, we can reduce exposure to chronic stressors (e.g., toxic social media) and build resilience through social support, mindfulness and physical activity. In other words, while the political landscape may remain barking mad, individuals can reclaim some control by reducing their personal exposure to stressors and strengthening their coping systems.
Clinical approaches can involve psychotherapy and psychosomatic interventions that address both mind and body. Detect overload early by having tests to monitor biomarkers, such as cortisol and blood pressure. Focus on lifestyle medicine: sleep hygiene, balanced diet, and exercise.
However, there is a bigger picture. Policy interventions can reduce systemic stress from economic insecurity, political instability and inequality, such as living wage legislation that reduces financial insecurity, affordable housing policies that stabilise people’s living conditions and universal healthcare access that reduces fear of illness-related financial ruin.
Why it matters politically
Allostatic overload is not just a medical curiosity – it’s a political issue. When citizens are chronically stressed, their decision-making suffers. They become more susceptible to simplistic rhetoric, divisive narratives, and authoritarian promises. A large international study found that people who feel threatened (by crime, poverty and political instability, for instance) are more likely to prefer an authoritarian government. Toxic politics feeds toxic physiology, which in turn feeds toxic politics.
The cycle is vicious: political chaos creates stress. Stress impairs cognition and resilience. Impaired citizens make poorer political choices. Poor choices perpetuate chaos. Breaking this cycle requires not just individual resilience but systemic reform, for example, progressive taxation that reduces inequality.
And here’s where Kenneth Williams comes back into play. Imagine him, nostrils flaring, intoning, “Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me!” That line, once a comedic gem, now feels like the national mood. We are a nation staggering under the weight of allostatic overload, convinced everyone is out to get us, from Brussels bureaucrats to imaginary boatloads of migrants.
The Carry On films were farce. Our politics is tragedy masquerading as farce. And the physiological toll is real.
Lightening the load
So where does allostatic overload fit within this narrative? It is the invisible thread connecting the toxicity of social media, the absurdity of political discourse, and the physiological collapse of citizens trying to make sense of it all.
It cannot be cured in the traditional sense, but it can be managed. By recognising the toll of chronic stress, reducing exposure to toxic environments, and demanding systemic change, we can lighten the load.
And perhaps, just perhaps, if enough of us refuse to carry the weight of rancid rhetoric, the UK might stop being barking mad and start healing.
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