The Stress Stack Effect

You do not yell because of the one thing that just happened. You yell because of everything that happened today stacked on top of yesterday. A rough commute, a missed deadline, a skipped lunch — each one adds weight.

Researchers call this allostatic load — the cumulative wear on your body from chronic stress. When your load is high, your fuse is short. A bridge can hold a certain weight. Add enough trucks and it will crack. Your patience works the same way.