‘Burn-out’ is something we’ve all heard of right?
We may even have it OR have had it in the past!
Or know of someone who for example, had a firing career or business, nothing seemed to be too much for them, always an over achiever, but then one day their health just fall apart. It started with a respiratory illness, then she had to take antibiotics, then other health issues one after another… The real cause for this familiar story is Adrenal Fatigue, where a build up of stress actually tires our adrenal glands (otherwise known as our ‘glands of stress.’)
These glands have a huge overall kind of job for our health, allowing our body to deal with stress (or not) from any and every possible angle. Whether it be stress from injury, disease, relationships, work, foods, or toxins – our energy, endurance and resilience depend on our adrenal health.
It’s common that we DON’T recognize that our problem is Adrenal Fatigue. We just have a health condition or stress condition which are actually the results. Adrenal fatigue signs range from that ‘feeling that stress is getting to us more these days’…. right through to serious breakdowns in every part of our health (sometimes whatever we are more susceptible to via our genes.) These could be erratic blood sugar levels, arthritic pain, PMS, increased menopause symptoms, respiratory infections, asthma, frequent colds, alcoholism, late onset diabetes, autoimmune conditions, depression, obesity, thyroidism, leaky gut or other digestive issues.
It’s certainly the case with our health that “everything causes everything!’ That’s why it’s crucial that we look at your health individually, and not to totally rely on general advice e.g. in magazines and books.
It’s estimated that 80% of adults suffer some level of adrenal fatigue and it remains one of the most under-diagnosed illnesses. The good news is once we recognize it, it can be treated.
The thing is, people with adrenal fatigue can look pretty healthy and have no obvious signs. They may look like they have heaps of energy too! Yet underneath, they are firing on too much adrenaline (using stress for energy) and have a general sense of ‘un-wellness.’ These are the people who don’t want to stop because they know if they do, they’ll crash or get sick!
We can also have weak adrenals from birth! Children born to mothers already suffering from low adrenals (probably pretty likely) typically have weak adrenals. This can show up as children with food intolerance’s, emotionally unstable and ‘sickly ‘ children.
The bad news is that orthodox medicine doesn’t recognize Adrenal Fatigue, only Addison’s Disease which is the end result – and it’ much harder to reverse.
I would take a wild guess and say if you’re reading this, that you’re wanting to maintain your health and prevent these things happening in the first place, rather than waiting for your health to get ‘out of hand.’
WHAT CAUSES ADRENAL FATIGUE?
What’s so important to remember is that our body perceives all stress the same way. Good stress, bad stress, all the same. These can be major events in our lives (birth, death, accidents or serious illness) right through to more minor but consistent stresses like a bout of the flu, unhappiness, difficult job, poor diet, drought, pressures at work.
As these stresses accumulate and our adrenal glands don’t have time to fully recover in between, THIS is how we get adrenal fatigue.
So it’s pretty much the ‘human health condition’ because we all have the same stresses if we are living our life. The key is to recognize that we must go into ‘neutral’ gear often… so as not to burn through too much fuel (our adrenal glands.)
And many people think ‘they are not too stressed’ but it’s the ‘combined stresses’ is what counts. Our body might not even tell us when we are under stress! For example someone can have their Cortisol levels (stress hormone) elevated by 200-300% and be totally unaware of this OR be so accustomed to feeling like this! Not good.
It’s important to know that all stresses ADD UP and build on the last one (if we are not careful.)
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT ADRENAL FATIGUE?
To be continued next week…. Otherwise it will be a long post!
In the mean time, please feel free to ask questions about your own personal situation in The Group – Nutrition For Life Community Click Here or email me here: johanna@johannaanning.com.au
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