Stressed about work, family, relationships, forest fires or whatever will come next?
Living in a constant state of stress is detrimental to our holistic, whole, health. We can eat all the kale in the world, but it will not save us from stress and its best friend, fatigue. Stress is said to be America’s #1 health problem. Tough to detect, adrenal fatigue may be one of many results of chronic stress.
Types of Stress:
1. Physical Stress – accidents, injuries, falls, traumas, poor posture
2. Chemical Stress – poor nutrition, smoking, drinking alcohol, toxic chemicals and hormones in food/water/personal products, cleaning products, bacterial, viruses, heavy metals; all affect blood sugar levels, hormone levels and much more
3. Emotional Stress – family tragedy, major illness of a loved one, loss of a loved one, job loss, finances, divorce, strained relations, small and large trauma, negativity loops
When I couldn’t figure out what was going on in my body despite being a life-long athlete with exceptional nutritional intake and a daily yoga/meditation practice, I had a big huge puzzle to solve. Eventually, after years of seeing medical and related professionals, I came to my own conclusion that I was living with adrenal fatigue.
I had been doing all the “right” things for so long, but the severe stress from multiple events spanning over several years got the best of me. My adrenal glands were compromised and no longer doing their job. Given the way adrenals work, they were actually working overtime, akin to pressing the gas pedal and the brake at the same time.
“Over 80% of us will experience adrenal fatigue multiple times over in our lives.”
It’s an epidemic that many people have no idea exists. It most often stems from chronic stress which can affect every physiological system in our bodies including the thyroid and adrenal glands.
The symptoms of adrenal fatigue include, but are not limited to:
weakness
lack of energy
trouble concentrating
depression
anxiety
insomnia
waking up feeling unrested
crashing mid-morning or mid-afternoon
becoming “wired” in the evening
decreased ability to handle stress
easily confused
forgetful
trouble completing tasks once found easy
hoarse voice
poor digestion
constipation
body aches
lack of interest in sex
increased struggle with PMS and menstrual cycle
weight gain around mid-section
food and environmental allergies
postpartum is often the result of adrenal fatigue as well
Because so many of these symptoms overlap with other issues, adrenal fatigue can be super tough to identify.
The adrenal glands are located directly above each kidney. Their duty is to promote hormones essential to your health including adrenaline and cortisol. It is believed that adrenals stop producing these hormones when they are fatigued. However, this varies greatly based on any existing health issues such as hormonal imbalances, emotional stress, nutritional deficiencies, and environmental factors. They actually swing back and forth between producing too much or too little hormones. This fluctuation is what creates fatigue. It is as though the gas pedal and the brake pedal are being pressed at the same time.
The adrenal glands are amazing. They give us the ability to get through challenges such as short-lived stress and highly charged emotional experiences. However, if the stress is chronic, lasting for a long time or constantly recurring, the adrenals will behave erratically and become fatigued.
Unfortunately, this type of stress is all too common in modern life. Under these conditions, not only do the adrenals become fatigued, but the adrenaline emitted specifically becomes acidic and corrosive. Our bodies can handle brief emissions to protect ourselves, but when this quality of adrenaline is constantly flooding our system it can also become damaging to the brain, liver, pancreas, and more.
Questions to ask yourself beyond simply creating awareness of the symptoms listed above:
• Are you addicted to the adrenaline rush of action sports?
• Do you get a rush from meeting every single demand of the day as a working single mother or entrepreneur?
• Are you overcommitted in meeting the expectations of your work, family or fans that you skip lunch relying on the high of the “wins” to get you through the day?
• Is what is being asked of you by your boss, your relationship, or even your lifestyle straight up ridiculous?
RECOVERY
The recovery period was long. And I’ve had to go back a few times to recover again more fully. While everyone is unique, I made many shifts over a long period of time although outwardly I appeared to be performing optimally. But in my personal life, I moved inward, taking everything in, one day at a time.
I became a self-care junkie.
Several years later, I’m now functioning at the exceptional level within body, mind and the big doozie, emotions/spirit/whateveryouchoosetocallit.
Last year, I also opted into neurofeedback which showed that I still retained high levels of activity in the area of the brain that houses emotional trauma. That information alerted me to go even easier on myself. I began working with my emotions and taking notice when anything at all triggered me.
It takes time to hone the skills necessary to integrate emotions and allow feelings to pass like waves. Even with years of yoga and meditation, this intel offered me the opportunity to pay even closer attention. When we become more aware, we learn that there is always something lurking around the next corner that is gonna try to take our flame away. This is why we must move beyond optimization and tweak and turn the levers at every level so that when we get caught off guard - because we will - we are better prepared to stay present with what is happening rather than run.
Due to a prior health scare, I had already put extra attention on my nutrition, yet tweaked it further to focus on fatigue. I left my career. I took a good chunk of time off even though it may have been a financial risk. I trusted my instinct that if I did not attend to this now, my future may be less bright. Everything in my gut told me this semi-break was absolutely necessary.
I kept one small client in place, dropped into more education, and went surfing – a lot.
I shifted some of my yoga practices to more receptive and restorative, I skipped running and walked a lot more. I took my social life down to almost nothing. I stayed in and rested. Socializing mostly included seeing friends at daily yoga and maybe grabbing lunch or tea afterward. I rarely went out at night. I drank almost zero alcohol. I ate as well as I could, but without being neurotic about it. I ate when I was hungry which resulted in lots of grazing. I listened to my body and tried to give it what it needed. I went to bed early, rested a lot, and spent a lot of time outside. I made art. I studied. I read. I let go of friendships that lacked depth. I let go of all relationships that were out of balance. I lived at the ocean and took full advantage of its healing waters as much as possible. Cold plunging almost daily no matter what time of year. I put my bare feet on the ground every single day. I finally fully taught myself to surf – something I had wanted to do for years, but with work, never had the time nor energy to battle the waves, the traffic, nor the people in the waters of Los Angeles.
I felt guilty about all of this which was not to my benefit. But I did it anyway and slowly but surely trusted the process. After all, it had become almost impossible to get out of bed for months. Trusting my intuition was key.
After about 3 years, I began to gain some pep in my step. I was finally on the uptick.
My advice – LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
It takes copious amounts of self-care to reset one’s system. Yet it is 100% necessary.
Stress is no joke. Adrenal fatigue is no joke. They can take you out.
Never feel guilty about taking care of yourself. Always trust your gut.
Good luck and please let me know if you have questions.