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Adrenal fatigue syndrome (AFS), is a term used not so much by allopathic doctors but rather more integrative/functional doctors and naturopaths and it refers to a bunch of symptoms that are known to occur in severely stressed-out people - folks who are under ongoing mental, emotional or physical stress.
Not everyone who goes through such stress will experience exhaustion of their adrenal glands but many will and today with the stressful demands of life and an uncertain world, many more people are being diagnosed as 'adrenally-fatigued'.
Basically, our adrenals become overtaxed (overburdened) and a cascade of symptoms often follow...
I have experienced this a few times in my life and quite recently as well. I would need to nap every single day and always felt incredibly tired but also wired. Since taking a regular adrenal cocktail, I am feeling much better. I do incorporate other things as well and perhaps I will write an article soon on how I healed my own adrenal fatigue, so stay tuned for that...
Nothing I ever say is to be taken as health advice though and you should always speak to your trusted health practitioner if you are unwell or things aren't feeling right for you.
The thing is though, that mainstream medicine (GPs included here), do not recognise this as a real condition and that is probably because it cannot be treated with pharmaceutical drugs so there is no money in it for big pharma. Always follow the money...
Well, I have healed it naturally and in my opinion, it is the only way! I am sure if you are here reading this blog and looking on this website at our supplements, you are very open-minded to natural healing?
Landmark Signs You May Have Adrenal Fatigue
- Debilitating, relentless and deep fatigue
- A depressed lacklustre mood or interest in life itself
- A feeling of constant irritation with people and things
- Low energy
- Inability to go about your daily activities (get things done)
Why do we (especially us women folk) believe that we have to get it all done, have it all or be perfect? This inherently, is one of the causative factors for sure (hands up 🙋🏼♀️ I am still trying to recover from these things and it's not easy that's for sure).
Another thing we seem to do is feel that there is never enough time in a day and this belief tends to seep into everything we do and causes us massive overwhelm which is a form of stress.
Our body's aren't meant to be in a constant sate of alarm (fight or flight stress mode), in a constant state of doing doing doing!
When we have such consistent stress, overwhelm and worry, we often become depleted and problems (such as adrenal fatigue) can occur.
Diagnosis
This can be the tricky part and you will never get this diagnosis if you go to your regular GP (remember, they don't accept it as a real medical condition) and even if you go to a holistic doctor or naturopath, they may not be able to give you the diagnosis (some will but not all).
This is usually done through blood and urine tests and evaluating your symptoms.
It is confusing either way so you may just want to treat your body holistically anyway, rather than from a point of view of being adrenally-fatigued (if that makes sense)?
You can of course give it some herbs that can help to nourish the adrenal glands but this should be done in conjunction with proper diet and lifetstyle factors which we mention soon...
What I mean by "treating your body holistically" is to treat your whole body, your whole self in a way that supports your entire system as when the body is given the right conditions (love, rest, gentle movement, stress management and nutrition) it can often heal just about anything and no doctor diagnosis really needs to factor in.
It was Dr James L Wilson, who theorised back in 1998, that an overstimulation of the adrenals (adrenal glands) caused by consistent stress over a period of time may lead to inconsistent cortisol levels (one of the body's stress response hormones).
These inconsistent blood cortisol levels are often too high but in some cases, can also be very low.
In addition to this, folks with adrenal fatigue (more often it's women who suffer this condition over men), often won't be producing enough DHEA (another adrenal hormone) and this hormone is important for the creation of many other hormones such as testosterone and oestrogen.
What Can You Do?
If you think you may be adrenally-fatigued or a natural practitioner has labelled your case as this, there are a few things you can do such as:
- Work on how you handle stress
- Take things off your to-do list
- Work on your inner self (let go of perfectionism, people-pleasing, over-achieving etc.)
- Eat a balanced diet that is nourishing to your adrenals and overall health
- Move your body in a way that is kind rather than forceful
- Take an adrenal cocktail daily and even 2-3 times per day
- Incorporate adrenal-loving herbs such as ashwagandha, schisandra or rhodiola rosea.
I hope you enjoyed today's blog and you get to read our other adrenal blogs, see below:
- What are Adrenals and Why are They Important?
- Adrenal Cocktail Recipe for Optimal Health
- How I healed from Adrenal Fatigue
- Supplements for Adrenal Support and Healing
- Exercises for Adrenal Fatigue
- Activities to Avoid When You Have Adrenal Fatigue
Stay tuned if you'd like to know how I healed adrenal fatigue, this article is coming soon... To find out when this blog goes live, be sure to be subscribed to our weekly email updates. You can sign up on the home page at the bottom (just about the footer).
References:
https://drfarrahmd.com/2019/06/hypoadrenia-adrenal-fatigue-causes/
https://draxe.com/health/3-steps-to-heal-adrenal-fatigue/
https://drjockers.com/test-adrenal-function/
https://www.adrenaladvice.com/adrenal-fatigue-women.shtml
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/homeopathy/adrenal-fatigue-tests-required-not-always/
https://www.drnorthrup.com/adrenal-fatigue/
https://www.healthline.com/health/adrenal-fatigue-test
Disclaimer: These are only potential benefits. This article is purely intended for informational purposes and not as advice. One must seek proper professional advice from their trusted health practitioner.