Reigniting Burnout: A Brief on Adrenal Fatigue and Tips for Recovery

Late in 2018, I was told I had adrenal fatigue. I was having some major issues in my daily life during this time. I was working 4 10-hour days, waking up at 4:00am to be at work by 6:00am. Often times, I was falling asleep on my 20-minute drive to work and even dozing off while driving home at 4:30 in the afternoon. During my workday, was drained, having “brain fog” by 2:00pm every day.

At home, I would fall asleep by 6:00 at night, passing out on the couch; sometimes without eating dinner. My libido tanked also. I was not interested in being close with my husband. It was worrisome. My mind was also dim. I felt depressed all the time. However, my body and face did not show anxiety or a sense of being overwhelmed. I did not feel nervous or jittery. Just sluggish.

I had been to several doctors and met the medical specialists for possible answers. I was also having trouble but problems and had to undergo a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and a biopsy. I was given many prescriptions without answers and the mess did nothing for me. After spending nearly $4000 out of pocket, I decided to see a holistic doctor, not connected to modern western medicine. He is chiropractor, nutritionist, and acupuncturist focusing in preventative health. A quick blood draw and adrenal saliva test and I was given answers… finally.

After talking with my doctor about my energy level and this “new-to-me” diagnosis, I knew I needed to make some changes. There were several options out there for me. Ultimately, I needed to get serious about several of the things I was already passionate about; kickboxing, eating healthy, family time, meditation, and yoga. What I needed was self-care.

Adrenal fatigue, burn-out, chronic stress, whatever you wanted to call it was impacting my whole life. It was time to make a commitment to myself, for myself, my family, and my for sanity. Adrenal fatigue is a condition that can affect numerous areas of your life. Below we will review several of these domains and how you can improve your overall functioning, simply.

THE EFFECTS OF ADRENAL FATIGUE

You may be asking what is happening in your mind and body when you have adrenal fatigue. Or…what is adrenal fatigue. It is a condition from which your mind and body are in a constant state of “fight or flight” …or freeze. Your adrenaline levels become thrown off balance because the adrenal glands are not being told by our mind how to appropriately react. The mind and body are in a continual loop of stress, even when there is nothing to be stressed about. Your body becomes so comfortable with the stress and the response that it thinks this is the new normal for your system. You live in a heightened state of stress, worry, fear, tension every day. What people do not understand though, is this is not the jittery type of stress and anxiety we typically think of. No, this is stress has been going on for so long that the body, for lack of a better word, relaxes into the stress and is seen by the outside world as balanced. When I was fully impacted by this, I did not exhibit a fast-pace tone of voice, bounce around anxious, fidget, have high blood pressure or heart rate. In fact, my blood pressure and heart rate were on the lower side. I thought I was in complete control and calm.

When our body or mind sense stress, a threat, or danger the mind is triggered to go into one of three defense mechanisms: fight, run, or freeze. It is normal for your body to take on one of these three tactics and your mind will attempt to quickly choose which one will give you the best chance of survival. When you have chronic stress around you, your mind can no longer detect danger effectively because you are already in one of the three defense