EVERYTHING is toxic in high enough doses…

JohnR1972JohnR1972
in General

A few years ago, I did some work for a medical test lab and got to know the state toxicologist. I told her I had heard, “everything is toxic to the human body in high enough doses” and I asked her if that was true.

Without hesitation she confirmed it was. She illustrated the point by saying drinking too much water too quickly can dilute your electrolytes and potentially cause death. Even too much oxygen can be deadly which is why divers going deeper than 130’ have to use specially mixed gasses rather than just breathing compressed air.

The “Chubby Emu” YouTube channel is run by an ER doctor who shares stories of patients who presented at the Emergency Room after consuming too much Benadryl, Mountain Dew, or Vitamin C Gummy Bears.

I believe there is a parallel to this principle beyond the food / chemical substances we physically ingest. My thoughts are drawn to the 1985 book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Dr. Neil Postman.

What else is harmless or even beneficial in low to moderate doses but “toxic” in too high of doses?

Comments

  • stormydaycuddlestormydaycuddle Mod

    Cinnamon is toxic.

  • BearBear

    Is kindness toxic ?

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    @stormydaycuddle - yes it is. I enjoy the taste of cinnamon but you can over due it. Too much capsaicin (the active ingredient in chili peppers) can cause heart attack like symptoms including chest pain, shortness of breath, and profuse sweating all over your body… or so I hear 😮😂

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    @bear - great question. I have my own thoughts on that but I am going to wait to share them. I don’t want to bias anyone else’s responses.

  • CuddleDuncanCuddleDuncan Mod

    @Bear in high enough doses, yes.

  • WKplatonicWKplatonic
    edited June 2023

    @CuddleDuncan agree, balance and in moderation. If kindness is overused, it can come off as being fake.

    If too much water is toxic, it goes to show everything else can be toxic, also. We human beings cannot live without water.

  • [Deleted User]MaverickLegend (deleted user)

    Money and optimism are the two biggest double edge swords

  • JohnR1972JohnR1972

    @lonelytauros - Great examples. “Toxic positivity” is a real phenomenon.

    It reminds me of Admiral James Stockdale who was the running mate for Ross Perot in 1992. Admiral Stockdale was a POW in Vietnam for 7 years and was the highest ranking Naval officer held in Hanoi. He talked about what it was like surviving and keeping your sanity as a POW for multiple years of extremely harsh treatment. He said the guys who spread irrational optimism such as “I can feel it, I just know we are going to be released by Christmas” were among the first people to “crack” because their false hopes didn’t come true.

    Stockdale was a big proponent of practical optimism - “I believe we will eventually be released but I have no idea when, it may be years from now.” As the highest ranking officer being held in Hanoi, part of his job was trying to maintain morale among his fellow soldiers and sailors.

  • AllAboutSoulAllAboutSoul

    @JohnR1972 I'm seen as a very positive person, but my optimism is mixed in with a very healthy dose of realism.

  • SunsetSnugglesSunsetSnuggles

    Yep, I have a friend who put himself in the ER because he took his doctor's word to heart when he was told to drink as much water as he could, when he had a kidney stone.

    ~ Sunset Snuggles

  • cuddlefaerycuddlefaery

    I very much consider myself a pragmatic optimist - my idealism is firmly rooted in reality. Without that grounding, idealism invalidates people's lived experiences and can never effect any change because you have to know where you are starting to get where you are going.

    Toxic positivity pointedly ignores the past and the present in favor of an idealized vision of the present and future. It takes "mind over matter" too extremely and again, invalidates actual lived experiences. It's just as much a poor coping mechanism as wallowing in victimhood.

    To answer OP's original question, another non-substance that can be over used to toxicity: touch, and by extension cuddling, hugging, etc.

    People have different physical touch needs, we exist on a spectrum, and for a decent sized minority of us once we hit our limit we become overstimulated which is NOT pleasant. Overstimulation can range from feeling on edge and irritable, to full meltdown/shutdown mode where every sensory input physically HURTS. We're talking lights, sound, smells, air moving, pressure, temperature, even internal bodily sensations - once the nervous system is overstimulated depending on one's sensitivity a whole cascade of unpleasant symptoms can trigger.

    One way I approximate overstimulation for neurotypical folks is with this scenario probably many have experienced: imagine you go to a bar/club/concert that is extremely loud. At first it is fun, there's tons of energy, everyone seems to be having a great time. But gradually you start to feel on edge - the room feels too hot, everybody seems too close, you feel tired of asking "what?!?" every time you try to talk to someone, and the loud music you first enjoyed the energy of now feels forced and is starting to give you a headache. When you go outside for a bit of fresh air, it feels like your skin is tingling - your arm hairs raise or you shiver as your body struggles to adapt to not feeling to press of bodies and heat of the crush. Your ears are ringing - you can vaguely hear the bass of the music off in the distance, but trying to focus on hearing your friend's voice in front of you is still difficult (human voice range easily gets overshadowed by higher and lower tones). What you're experiencing is just a small dose of sensory overload, uncomplicated by any processing disorder, so that brief time outdoors with less stimulation may be enough

    Now imagine if you were sensitive enough that an itchy item of clothing could trigger that sensation. Or the sound of machinery/electronics buzzing throughout the building. Or the noise and smells of a bunch of people talking in a coffee shop. Or the barometric pressure change that happens before a storm. Imagine feeling like your skin is crawling, ears are ringing, head is pounding, every thing smells too strong, everything is too loud, it's both too hot and too cold at the same time. Like one touch too many could send you straight into that crush of people at the bar/concert, only with a hefty dose of social judgement added for being "too sensitive" or "weird".

    One trigger for me that happens during cuddling is when someone rubs the same small spot if skin repeatedly with no break. It'll start out fine, but starts to feel like sandpaper even if it's the lightest of touches and their fingers are soft. Soon I'll be internally gritting my teeth, and if they don't adjust themselves, I'll usually do it for them or try to ask nicely - but it can be hard when overstimulated. Most are just doing it because they zone out, they don't even realize I'm getting uncomfortable.

    But yeah... Too much touch is definitely NOT a good thing.

  • pmvinespmvines

    Poops too ?

  • UREverythingUREverything
    edited June 2023

    Breathing Definitely, I try not to breathe during certain times of the day just so I dont get hooked on it.

    Moderation is key to good mental health. Mental health is key to preperation for physical health. But because we create toxins to cure ailments, toxic behavior becomes normalized

  • Bella_SeraBella_Sera

    @Bear, @JohnR1972, my Granny was an expert at killing with kindness 🤣

  • LadyVelLadyVel

    @cuddlefaery I feel you. I have the same issue with spots getting too sensitive when someone keeps rubbing it.

  • AllAboutSoulAllAboutSoul

    @pmvines yes, poops, too

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