Let’s talk a little about Adrenal Fatigue. I want to share with you a few of the more common symptoms that bring women to seek treatment at my clinic. Ever since I started practicing chinese medicine a few years ago, I noticed that there are a group of symptoms that almost every client complains about. These symptoms are: constant tiredness, feeling drained after doing very simple tasks, sleeping issues, body aches, brain fog, depressive mood, sweet cravings and more. 

All of these symptoms together with a close examination of the client’s lifestyle, usually lead to the assumption that they have Adrenal Fatigue.

So what is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal Fatigue is a term used in functional medicine to describe the symptoms listed above, believed to be caused by chronic stress that leads to dysfunction of the adrenal glands, which produce hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones help mobilize energy, increase heart rate, and sharpen focus, preparing the body to respond to the perceived threat. 

Here are a few typical symptoms associated with chronic stress:

• Fatigue
• Cravings
• Waking up in the middle of the night
• Racing thoughts
• Frequent urination
• Brain fog 
• Head aches
• Low motivation
• Low Libido and more…

Why should chronic stress lead to all of these symptoms? 

Your adrenal glands sit on top of each kidney and despite their small size, they play a very important role in the body’s endocrine system, which regulates hormone production and secretion. 

Prolonged periods of stress can lead to overstimulation of the adrenal glands, causing them to produce high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. Over time the adrenal glands become ‘fatigued’ or unable to maintain adequate hormone production, leading to a variety of symptoms.

What stresses are we talking about?

Ongoing exposure to mental, emotional or physical stress can lead to prolonged activation of the adrenal glands. 

Habits that can lead to this state (which unfortunately are too common in the fast pace world we are living in)  can be: undereating, over exercising (especially high intensity workouts such as HIIT) or exercising when tired, chronically disrupted sleep, fasting or delayed morning eating, excessive caffeine intake and many more..

The stress response is normal, but when it is chronically activated it can cause serious problems for hormone health, resulting in a number of symptoms and conditions like PCOS, amenorrhea, infertility, and period problems. 

When we are looking at hormone conditions, we want to remember that nothing in the body exists in a silo.  Everything in the body is connected and where one domino falls, the others will eventually follow unless something is adjusted. 

If you realize that stress is playing a bigger role in your hormonal story than you thought, you are not alone, and I’m here to help!