Adrenal fatigue. Is that some odd name another celebrity has decided to name their child? Noo, but good guess!
Adrenal fatigue is “When the body starts to not be able to produce enough cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone and if the body can’t bring about enough cortisol we get tired and lethargic”. It’s caused mostly by too much stress.
The adrenal glands are essential to our well being. We each have two located just above our kidneys. One adrenal for each kidney. Adrenals are part of the endocrine system.
Adrenal glands secrete the hormone adrenaline as well as over 50 other crucial hormones which influence just about every bodily function.
Here are 5 signs you may suffer from adrenal fatigue:
- Insomnia isn’t just the inability to sleep. It can also be a pattern of sleep where you have trouble staying asleep
- Decreased ability to handle stress and the sense of overwhelm as well as having a short fuse can also be a symptom. If you go from zero to sixty on your stress level and scare the crap outta everybody in the process you may have adrenal fatigue.
- Mild depression can occur for many reasons and although it’s not unusual for the average person to experience a bout of the blues every now and then being in a consistent state of depression is irregular.
- Lack of energy or feeling sluggish for many of us may be a state we remain in and at some point we may think “this is just the way it is”. But it’s not normal and could very well be the result of adrenal fatigue.
- Elevated effort to do daily duties is a sure sign of potential adrenal fatigue. Conducting your life and responsibilities through sheer will power is not normal.
- Abnormal weight gain in the abdomen or thighs can be a definitive sign of adrenal fatigue especially if you’re doing everything else right. Like eating well and clean and exercising 150 minutes or more a week.
- Brain fog is an extremely frustrating condition and can show up as racing thoughts and the inability to focus.
These are just a few of the main symptoms of adrenal fatigue. If you have three or more of these symptoms it would be worth having a conversation with your doctor. There are numerous tests that can be done to determine if your body is in a state of adrenal fatigue and there are numerous ways to treat it both naturally and traditionally so that you can begin to feel and look as great as a fresh bouquet of tulips.
Until next time,
With love,
Ava