ADRENAL FATIGUE

Adrenal fatigue is not just a state of being tired, it is system-wide exhaustion of the body’s endocrine system to create the hormones needed to facilitate optimal energy to function.

You know the saying “the tank is empty”, well when the adrenal glands can no longer produce the hormones needed, you are on empty and if this state persists for long periods of time, you are in danger of many medical issues.

Anatomy of the Adrenal

Adrenal glands are located on top of each kidney and secrete hormones like:

Cortisol- regulates metabolism and the body’s response to stress

Aldosterone- regulates blood pressure

Adrenaline-assist in the response to stress

This is a simplified version of a complicated bodily function. We have all heard of fight or flight response where our body sends a signal we are in danger and increases the hormones to assist a response. This hormone increase is meant to be an acute reaction and not a constant state. When we live in a continual state of stress (fight/flight) we exhaust the endocrine system that controls the adrenals and they are unable to produce enough hormones (the tank is dry) and exhaustion and chronic illness result.

Defining the Emotions

Stressed is defined as our environmental demand being beyond our ability to cope successfully.

Overwhelmed is defined as an extreme level of stress or emotions to the point of feeling unable to function. (B. Brown Atlas of the Heart)

Jon Kabat-Zinn describes being overwhelmed as the feeling that our lives are unfolding faster than the human nervous system and psyche can manage.

Anxiety is defined as feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes such as increased blood pressure and shortness of breath.

I would bet you have felt at least one of these emotions this week alone and perhaps all of these emotions combined. Our bodies are designed for short bursts of these moments, but many of us are running around with all these as our endocrine system is pumping our hormones till the body cannot produce anymore because it is exhausted.

Worry is described as a chain of negative thoughts that might happen in the future. Worry and anxiety go together, yet worry is not an emotion, worry is the thinking part of anxiety.

Avoidance is a coping mechanism for anxiety. It is the zigzagging around and away from the thing that already feels like it is consuming us.

In Brene Brown’s book Atlas of the Heart, she describes that excitement and anxiety feel the same, but we interpret them differently. Excitement is labeled as positive and anxiety as negative even though the same hormones are being released. Your response controls how you perceive the two feelings.

WHAT TO DO

The simple answer for this moment is to breathe. Take a breath in to count of 7, hold for the count of 5 and exhale to count of 7.

The other answers are more complicated:

• 7-8 hours of sleep

• Taking B vitamins and magnesium

• Gentle exercises like walking or yoga as to not get you breathing hard as in high impact exercise

• Removing sugar from your diet

• Decreasing the amount of caffeine you use (especially when using it to keep going when your body needs a break. Try 10 minutes of nothing, not even your phone. Just close your eyes and listen to your breath.)

• Get outside and enjoy the sun, and fresh air.

• Drink water

• Take a bath, adding Epson salts will increase your magnesium

• Eat protein, and eat at regular times, not getting to the point of hangry

Fixing adrenal fatigue requires you to make changes, be gentle with yourself while you are making them, and be prepared to feel more tired and irritable as your body withdraws from what wasn’t helping and begins to balance your hormones to a healthy state. Removing sugar has the biggest effect on healing the adrenals and the most difficult withdrawal symptoms.

Give me a call and I will help you with gentle yoga or a reflexology session. I am so glad I made the journey even if it was not easy but it was doable. For me, I used the 40-Day Sugar Fast Devotion by Wendy Speake. It was the only way I could after multiple attempts to give up sugar.

Hope this starts your journey to becoming balanced in your adrenals and hormones.

Yoga Mom Kimberly of Wellness Yoga