Do you have Adrenal Fatigue?

If you are a regular MomTalk follower, you will have noticed that things have been a little quiet on the blog or info front. This is always a sure sign that something is up with old Mrs Minnaar here at MomTalk.co.za.

I don’t really like to bother people with how I’m feeling, but quite honestly, the last couple of weeks have been rough. Life feels as though it has been throwing curve balls in my direction. I deal with it – one just has to, right?

So, back to the point about this blog post….I bought a Natural Medicine magazine the other day and one of the articles was about whether or not you have Adrenal Fatigue. I was interested in reading this article because it sounded like something that perhaps I would be able to relate to.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?.

It’s a term used for what is commonly referred to as “Burnout” and according to this article written by Cory Couillard, it’s a condition that is not yet officially recognised by orthodox medicine.

In a nutshell, Adrenal Fatigue is associated with chronic and long term stress. If you suffer from short bouts of stress now and again, it’s unlikely you would experience this. If you however have weeks, months or years of stress, this is a condition that you could very well face in your future, if not already.

When I refer to stresses above, it doesn’t mean only physical or emotional stress, I’m referring to other stresses on the body which include physical, mental and even environmental. Stresses may include poor sleep, having done excessive exercise, lack of sleep, having had major surgery or possibly a side effect from a medicine you are taking. It could also be as a result of an accident or injury, your diet (too many carbs and too little protein) or quite simply, it could be mental stresses such as depression, anger, fear, anxiety, worry or guilt. Environmental stresses may include exposure to a toxic chemicals, prolonged noises, overworked (very common), etc.

Let’s face it – we are all faced with stress at some point in a day / week or month. If you aren’t  consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

We live in a time where stress has almost become the norm in life. As a parent, I can totally relate to this. Whilst running a business, I have to worry about making sure I can pay my employees, that my kids health is taken care of, bills are paid, getting enough sleep, rest, making sure I have quality time with my kids, there’s food for them, appointments, etc etc – the list goes on and on. Then, add unexpected dramas to life or situations one doesn’t expect, and the life can get really hard……and before you know it, you are exhausted and simply not coping.

Ugh.

How to Combat Adrenal Fatigue

As with most things, diet, exercise and sleep is the best cure or treatment! If you’re a parent and your kids are young, I suggest focussing on the first 2 options and don’t bother with the sleep – unless you are a lucky parent who’s kid NEVER wakes up for anything!

• Diet: Eating the right stuff, eating regularly and looking at supplements to help such as vitamin A, B3, B6, B12, C and D to help strengthen you immune system.
• Exercise: Moderate exercise to get the endorphins going will help with your fatigue– it’s getting started that is always difficult with exercise, but there is a pay off.
• Sleep: Get more sleep and have a proper sleep routine. If you do have a problem sleeping, have some warm milk or even better, a warm bath before bed. Keep TVs, loud noise and lights away!

Piece of Advice from my Father-in-law aka “Oupa”

There’s NO point stressing because NOTHING comes of it.

Final Thoughts

Life is hard at times. Some days are better than others. If anything I’ve mentioned here rings true for you, please consider slowing down a bit and getting the stress down as much as possible. Things that have worked for me include talking about it (sometimes talking to someone can make you feel a whole lot better), writing things down and prioritising, taking a break from it all and doing something you enjoy (helps clear the mind).

Take a look at www.adrenalfatigue.org for more info on Adrenal Fatigue. And, for more reading material, check out Adrenal Fatigue Solution – a website dedicated to spreading the word about Adrenal Fatigue. Also, they discuss and sell a recently published an ebook called The Adrenal Fatigue Solution, written by Dr Eric Wood (a highly qualified naturopathic doctor and Fawne Hansen.

Take care of yourself – you deserve it! xx

Image Credit: Metromomsblog.org