Here’s a message from your body’s stress response mechanism, the adrenal glands: “Look after us, or we’ll get progressively exhausted and wear out! We are the key to your ability to recover from stress and enjoy life more!”

 

If you aren’t already familiar with the care and maintenance of your adrenal glands, I’d like to give you a few tips. In fact, you might recognise some of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue in yourself.

 

The adrenals are small glands located at the top of your kidneys. Their primary role is to help you respond to stress in a way that gets you out of trouble. They evolved in the time when we were living in caves, and needed to escape from predators. In those times, we had plenty of time to recover between emergency situations, giving our adrenal glands time to recover too.

 

When we feel threatened, these glands produce adrenaline and other hormones, which immediately gives our muscles a burst of extra energy, and shuts down other body functions (digestion, immunity, reproduction) until the threat has passed and we can relax.

 

In modern life, there are a multitude of stressors making our adrenal glands work hard, and often not enough time to recover before the next stress ‘attack’.  Some common modern stressors include being in a job or a relationship where you feel disempowered, or work rotating shifts, or just work constantly without respite.

 

Eventually your adrenal glands can become exhausted, and many body functions get severely out of balance. Addison’s Disease is the most extreme outcome of adrenal fatigue.

 

A familiar case seen by naturopaths is the person who has been under unrelenting pressure for a period of time; began using stimulants like caffeine and sugar to keep going, and didn’t take time out. Their ability to cope with life’s pressures has diminished, and their bodies are starting to show chronic ill health. Often, these are the people who find it almost impossible to get out of bed in the morning, experience energy slumps during the day, and can’t remember the last time they had a refreshing sleep.

 

You can help prevent this happening. Every individual has a different stress tolerance level, so its important to identify your own ‘stress limit’, and to make time for balancing activities. Although we can’t measure stress quantitatively, just the feeling that you’re stressed, and unable to escape from the stressor/s, means you’re over your limit.

 

Here’s how to look after your adrenal glands:

Avoid using stimulants like caffeine, nicotine and sugar as a way to ‘keep you going’ through the day

Eat a balanced diet, focusing on unprocessed foods.

Take time out just for you – every day.

Exercise every day

Go to bed at the same time every night.

 

If you suspect you may be suffering from adrenal fatigue, your natural health professional can arrange for your existing adrenal function to be tested, and advise you on the best way for you to recover.

 

Article © Olwen Anderson, 2008

Is It Adrenal Fatigue?