What is the Origin of Resilience against Stressors?

The term draws on the concept of allostasis and allostatic load, which describes the cumulative wear and tear on the body's systems due to chronic stress. Resilience, in this context, is the opposite: the system's ability to maintain stability through change and minimize the long-term cost of adaptation.

What is the Mechanism of Resilience against Stressors?

Hormonal factors are key mediators of this resilience. The HPA axis manages the immediate stress response via cortisol, while adequate thyroid and sex hormones support metabolic recovery and tissue repair post-stress. Interventions focus on optimizing the HPA axis feedback loop, supporting adrenal health, and ensuring sufficient levels of anti-inflammatory and anabolic hormones to facilitate a rapid return to homeostasis after a challenge.

Resilience against Stressors

Meaning

The physiological and psychological capacity of the human system to resist, adapt to, and rapidly recover from internal and external challenges, including metabolic demands, emotional pressure, environmental toxins, and physical trauma. This resilience is fundamentally dependent on the robust and balanced function of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and a healthy reserve of adaptive hormones. A high level of resilience is the hallmark of a robust, well-maintained biological system.