What is Adrenal Fatigue?
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
Adrenal fatigue is an effect of too much stress in your life and a condition that is most under-diagnosed in the US. In fact, leading adrenal gland authority, Dr. James L. Wilson, has estimated that 80% of the world's population will experience adrenal fatigue at one point.
It’s important that you recognize the signs of adrenal fatigue because if left unchecked, it can complicate your health and prevent you from reaching the level of wellness you wish to attain.
Do you experience any of the following?
- Blood pressure: High or low blood pressure, low blood pressure can often have the symptom of lightheadednessthat is associatedwith it.
- Food cravings and weight changes: Abnormal weight gain in the abdomen and thighs. Do you have cravings for salty or sugary foods, sometimes feeling uncontrollable?
- Energy: Unable to stop, always on speed forward, ongoing fatigue, lack of stamina, feeling tired and wired much of the time. Lack of “getup and go.”
- Emotions and coping ability: Inability to deal with day to day stress, feeling overwhelmed much of the time, struggling to get through the day, driven, very short fuse, anxiety attacks Unable to reframe one's
- Thinking: Mentally foggy, fuzzy thinking, inability to stay focused on one task, chronic racing thoughts.
- Immune response: Frequent infections, a longertime than others to recover from illness or infections or trauma.
- Sleep: Inability to fall asleep or fall asleep well but wake up nightly, sleep soundly but wake up exhausted.
- Hormones/Libido: Worsening of perimenopausal symptoms, low libido, severe PMS.
*Source: womentowomen.com
Here is a list of supplements that help support the body to overcome adrenal fatigue:
- Magnesium
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B12
- B Complex
- Vitamin D
- Folate
- Omega 3’s
If you’re experiencing these symptoms and you also have lots of stress in your life, then you may be dealing with adrenal fatigue. To understand adrenal fatigue, let’s first cover what your adrenals are.
Your adrenals are the endocrine organs that sit on top of each of your kidneys. The adrenal cortex is the outer part of the gland that produces hormones that are essential to life, such as cortisol (which helps your body respond to stress). The adrenal medulla is the inner part of the gland that produces nonessential hormones, such as adrenaline (which helps your body react to stress). When you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue, your adrenals are under a great amount of pressure and do not function properly, which can disrupt the entire functioning of your body.
If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue, it’s important that you take the symptoms seriously and work to remove stress from your life.
Here are some of my favorite ways to cope with adrenal fatigue:
- Upon waking in the morning, do 1 minute of deep breathing
- Take a few moments to set your intentions for the day
- Repeat positive daily affirmations to yourself
- Drink a glass of lemon water
- After showering, skin brush and tongue scrape
- Hydrate your body with an ounce of water per pound of body weight daily
- During meals, do not eat while standing and chew your food until it is liquid for optimal digestion
- Move your body as often as possible
- Reflect in your food diary after meals and at the end of the day
- Pay close attention to how your body feels after eating certain foods and remember that your body is unique—what works for someone else might not work for you
- Be aware of what makes you unhappy and stressed in life, and learn to let go of that negativity and refocus on what makes you happy
- Laugh as often as possible
- Before bed, light a candle, diffuse some of your favorite essential oils, and do a self-massage with coconut oil
- Take an Epsom salt and essential oil bath three times per week
