A few years back, my dad was near end-of-life, my marriage was on the rocks, and I was training for the Boston Marathon.
It was a lot to deal with – emotionally and physically. I ended up injured and never saw the start line.
Our bodies can't tell one type of stress from another. Exceed your limits, and something gives.
There's a technical term for this: allostatic overload. ("Allostasis" refers to your body's response to stressors; overload is just what it sounds like.) More and more evidence suggests that allostatic overload can harm our health – linking it to heart risks, high blood pressure, poor mental health, and early death. Consequences can be external too: College football players, for instance, are more likely to get injured during finals and midterms, research shows.
No wonder I got hurt.
