Stress!

“I wish I had more energy.” “Why am I so tired all the time?” Why do the littlest things annoy me so much lately?” Have you heard your friends, sisters, or co-workers voice these concerns? Or maybe YOU are experiencing something similar and can’t seem to get back on track. Life moves fast, very fast. Especially with our constant connection and interaction with schedules, calendars and a huge online world that is always available to us and always there to provide us with whatever it is that we need.

As a healthcare provider with a degree in science, I have an appreciation for research. So, I did my own little study using my good friends as my subjects (totally unbeknownst to them by the way) and kept track of conversations I was having with these friends during the month of September. I was prompted to start my study after realizing that the common theme in my daily discussions with friends in the early part of the month was about fatigue, exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, and wishing there was just more time in the day. In research terms, the study was “terminated” quickly after initiating it; there was no reason to continue. I had my answer; so many of us are juggling so many different balls, including myself, and feeling overwhelmed and often unfulfilled as a result of it. Now don’t get me wrong; I love, actually thrive on, having a really full life. For as long as I can remember I have operated with a “Yes, let’s do that! Sounds like fun!” mentality. And it is usually fun and I do usually have a great time with whatever is on my plate...until I don’t. Until that feeling of wanting to wipe everything off my schedule presents itself. That’s when my body is screaming at me, loudly. And my adrenal glands, the tiny glands that sit on top of our kidneys, start to tell me it’s time to slow down, reset, pause, or I will get myself into trouble.

You have probably heard about adrenal fatigue, exhaustion or burnout. Your adrenal glands are vitally important; they help your body respond to stress. They are the glands that allow us to respond to a frightening event with our fight or flight response. They keep us aware and safe in many situations. The adrenal glands produce cortisol, a steroid hormone that is released in response to stress. There is a normal, healthy rhythm in cortisol secretion with the highest levels occurring early in the morning upon waking and the lowest levels later at night. If you have chronic stress and this stress goes unchecked (i.e. you’re not slowing down, resetting or pausing), your adrenals get knocked down, cortisol levels drop, and life becomes a bit harder to manage. Anxiety, sleeping issues, salt and sugar cravings, fatigue, decreased libido, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and brain fog are a few examples of symptoms that may occur with adrenal fatigue. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? The amazing thing about our bodies and adrenal fatigue is that our bodies can fix the adrenal fatigue! We just have to listen. Removing the stressor is one way to fix our adrenals but that certainly isn’t always realistic. Another option is to find your own ways to slow down, reset or pause. We all have them; those things that lower our heart rates, help our shoulders to drop a little, and allow our inhales and exhales to lengthen. Maybe it’s yoga, meditation, a long walk in nature, massage, exercise...whatever works for you, use it as often as you can. There are also several supplements that can help support you as you work to heal your adrenals.

So, if you are concerned about your adrenal health and want to look into it more, come see me for a visit. I use a very simple saliva test to determine if your adrenals are happy or not. We can work together to determine your current state of stress and ways to conquer it. When we know ourselves and remember to hit that pause button regularly, we can continue to live amazing, full lives...and enjoy this wild ride!