Homeostasis or balance is a concept central to the idea of stress management. In biology, most biochemical processes strive to maintain equilibrium or balance, a steady state that exists more as an ideal and less as an achievable condition. Environmental factors, internal or external stimuli, continually disrupt homeostasis. Your environment keeps your system in a state of constant flux moving about a homeostatic point that will become your optimal condition for living.

When stress tips the bucket or diverges too far from your homeostatic point you can experience the impact of stress. Stress is mechanical, chemical and emotional. A mechanical stress may be chronically sprained ankles, injury, or physical traumas. A chemical challenge may be food sensitivities, allergies, and asthma; overuse of medications, coffee, and alcohol can greatly disrupt homeostasis or the middle point. Emotional stressors can be easier to understand but emotional stressors can also lead to chemical stressors and possibly mechanical. Once the bucket tips, it may take enormous energy and effort to restore your balance. If your stress becomes chronic your brain chemistry and wiring will change and you will need some form of stress management.