Finding Our Balance: What Is Homeostasis and Why It Matters in Therapy and Daily Life

Imagine you're walking a tightrope. Too far to one side, and you sway. Too much the other way, and you might fall. But if you stay centered, you move forward with grace. This constant effort to maintain balance, within our body, emotions, and relationships, is what psychologists and biologists call homeostasis.

But homeostasis isn't just a science term. It's something we experience every day. It's our system's built-in way of saying, "Let’s keep things steady."

What Is Homeostasis, Really?

In simple terms, homeostasis is the body and mind’s way of maintaining internal balance despite what’s happening outside.

Physically, it’s your body adjusting your temperature when you're cold or thirsty. Emotionally and psychologically, it’s your inner world trying to stay grounded during stress, grief, or joy.

Just like your body shivers to warm up or sweats to cool down, your emotional world also reacts and adjusts in an attempt to find its “normal.”

Why Homeostasis Matters in Therapy

In therapy, homeostasis is more than a bodily function, it’s a psychological necessity. When clients come in feeling “off,” “stuck,” or “overwhelmed,” what they’re often describing is a disrupted sense of internal balance.

Let’s say:

• A person constantly puts others’ needs ahead of their own. Emotionally, they’re running on empty.

• Someone else is pushing through grief by staying busy, afraid that if they slow down, the sadness will swallow them whole.

In both cases, homeostasis has been disrupted. Therapy helps clients notice the imbalance, understand its source, and begin to restore equilibrium, not by going back to an old version of themselves, but by creating a new sense of internal balance that reflects their current truth.

Daily Life Examples: When Homeostasis Gets Blocked

• You're tired but keep scrolling through your phone instead of resting. Your mind wants stimulation, but your body needs rest—conflict.

• You say “yes” to everything at work, then feel resentful and exhausted. You want to please others but ignore your own needs—imbalance.

• You avoid a hard conversation with a loved one. Your need for harmony clashes with your need for honesty—tension builds.

These are small but real moments where homeostasis is disturbed. Left unchecked, they add up, affecting mood, relationships, even physical health.

How to Unblock and Restore Equilibrium

Here are simple, humanistic practices you or your clients can try to reconnect with that sense of balance:

1. Pause and Check In

Ask yourself: What do I feel in my body right now? What do I need?

This awareness is the first step to restoring balance. Often, we override signals (like fatigue, hunger, loneliness) in favour of "getting things done."

2. Name the Imbalance

“I’m doing too much and not resting.” “I’m saying yes when I mean no.” “I’m avoiding feelings I need to face.”

Naming the imbalance gives you a chance to act on it.

3. Small Adjustments, Big Shifts

• Take a short walk.

• Say no gently but firmly.

• Cry if you need to.

• Reach out instead of withdrawing.

These small acts re-align the system and help return you to psychological homeostasis.

4. Therapy as a Balancing Space

In therapy, we slow down enough to hear what the body and emotions are saying beneath the noise. Gestalt therapy, in particular, focuses on the here-and-now experience—helping people become aware of what’s happening in their environment and how it’s affecting their internal world. This awareness is what invites balance to return.

Homeostasis Is a Process, Not a Destination

Balance isn’t about being calm all the time. It’s about honouring the signals, making space for your needs, and re-adjusting when life pushes you off center.

Just like breathing—inhale, exhale—our inner systems are always seeking a rhythm.

So next time you feel off-kilter, ask gently: What is my system trying to tell me?The answer might just be your first step back to yourself.