Chronic Stress: A Recipe For Adrenal Fatigue

image adapted from rejuvenateyourlife

Have you ever reached the point where you have simply had enough and you feel you are struggling to keep up with life and all its demands? Or that everything is just getting too much for you? If you have, you have experienced STRESS! But you are not alone.  Everyone experiences some form of stress or another, whether physical, emotional, psychological or environmental. The easy, relaxed lifestyle experienced by our fore-parents, no longer exists and we are not even aware of how much stress we are undergoing. The problem? "Our lifestyles have changed, but our bodies have not”.  A very interesting fact that I recently found out, from discussions with  professionals in the Alternative Medicine field, is that there are also hidden forms of stress such as inflammation or infections and food allergies…hmmm!

Above the kidneys are these small organs called the adrenal glands, which are no larger than a walnut and weigh no more than a grape and which are responsible for one of the very important functions in the human body: managing your body's responses to every form of stress. The adrenal glands secrete more than 50 hormones necessary for human life including cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), progesterone and testosterone.  As the manufacturer of the stress hormones or “adrenaline,” these are also the first glands to fail during prolonged or intense periods of stress. The problem with stressors is that they are "cumulative," in the sense that their impact tends to build up in the body over time until your adrenal glands (and probably your mental state) just can't take anymore and you experience what is called ADRENAL FATIGUE.  I have heard many stories, and can share my own, of people who were going through major difficult periods in life such as death of a loved one, financial stress or  relationship issues but managed to continue to stay functional and fairly calm.  Then one day said person experiences a flat tyre and burst into uncontrollable tears and you as a passer-by are thinking to yourself, Is that person really crying over a flat tyre, when there are other people in life with real capital P-problems?! Ta-da! In the latter scenario, it could simply be that one added load of stress which broke the camel’s back.  Unfortunately, when the adrenal glands cannot deal with the cumulative stress, some people may experience what is traditionally known as a nervous breakdown (this is called adrenal fatigue), or other serious health problems including fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, arthritis etc, while others commit suicide and we wonder what brought them to that point. 

Adrenal fatigue used to be rare but is now all too common because of our lack of relaxation and other poor lifestyle habits such as smoking, sleep deprivation, eating, lack of exercise and excessive caffeine intake.  Unhealthy responses to stress are another cause of adrenal fatigue.  These include habits of worrying, becoming angry or afraid.  My grandmother knew the prescription for avoiding adrenal fatigue as she would sit daily in her veranda and tap her feet while singing or humming the lyrics to “What a friend we have in Jesus”.  Allow me to share these few lines with you “Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?  Precious Saviour, still our refuge– Take it to the Lord in prayer.  With this as her mantra, she lived to age 93 and so I will be taking a leaf from the old girl’s book with a plan to outlive her:-)  Optimal adrenal health is one of the major keys to the enjoyment of life.  If you think that you may have adrenal fatigue, you can begin to take back your life by making the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes.  If you want to avoid adrenal fatigue then Why worry? Be happy!