Is Adrenal Fatigue Causing you to Burn Out? It could be society to blame.
Many of us accept tiredness, fatigue and even depression as merely the cost of our modern way of living. While it is certainly true that most people do not get enough quality sleep, we are also seeing increasing numbers of people are encountering tiredness and fatigue even with a good night’s sleep.
When we find ourselves coming down with frequent allergies, feeling weak or feeling tired even with adequate sleep, it often encourages us to reach for the coffee pot, and to put it down to working too hard. While this can be the case, it may also be that we have pushed our adrenal glands to breaking point. When our adrenal glands stop functioning entirely, this is recognised as Addison’s Disease, which is a serious medical condition caused by a severe shock to the system- President John F. Kennedy was afflicted during the Second World War. However, it is generally less well understood that the adrenal glands, which sit atop your kidneys, may also function less optimally due to cumulative external influences in our day to day lives.
We are, for better or worse, living in a highly industrialised society, which can cause us to put more pressure on our bodies than they evolved to handle. This pressure comes not just from our busy lives, but from the toxins in polluted air, water, even the food we eat. This chemical load affects us in subtle ways that may not be immediately apparent as we have become somewhat accustomed to high stress levels, compounded by a culture that places high value on caffeine, nicotine and alcohol; as well as recreational drugs.
Spotting Adrenal Burnout
As we have discussed, Adrenal Fatigue can affect many areas of life, and express itself in us in different ways. If you are experiencing:
- Depression
- Tiredness without obvious reason
- Mood swings
- Pain in the lower back
- Joint pain
- Excessive thirst
- Salt or sugar cravings
- Extreme responses to stress
It is possible that you are experiencing adrenal fatigue. Fortunately, correcting adrenal burnout is well within our grasp through monitoring our diets and lifestyles. With a consultation with a professional dietician, it is possible to mitigate the effects of adrenal burnout, and regain control over our lives.