If you’re struggling with anxiety and chronic stress, chances are your adrenal glands are burnout to some degree.
The Adrenal Glands
The adrenal glands are small organs that sit on top of both kidneys. The adrenal glands produce several different hormones our bodies need to stay alive and thrive. Hormones are the bodies chemical messengers that travel by the bloodstream.
The adrenal glands produce the hormones cortisol, aldosterone, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. They also make androgens and estrogen (male and female sex hormones).
All of the above-listed hormones have many jobs inside the human body. These include blood sugar and blood pressure balance and aiding in the body’s ability to turn food into energy. They also help in facilitating a healthy response to stress and illnesses.
Adrenal fatigue occurs from chronic exposure to stress. This can and will look different to everyone. Is it mental stress? Environmental stress? Chemical stress? The list can go on and on.
Chronic Stress
When our bodies are exposed to chronic stress it keeps the body in a heightened state of arousal within our nervous system. When we are in a heightened state of arousal or in what is known as fight or flight our bodies release the stress hormone cortisol and adrenaline from the adrenal glands.
Our bodies are designed to respond to stressful events this way. The fight or flight response of the nervous system is in place to keep us safe from harm, like giving us the strength to run away from a tiger. The human body is not meant to stay in this state on a regular basis, or for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the stress of our daily lives causes a lot of people to react to the bills like our ancestors did to a bear.
The problem is our bodies don’t know the difference and because of this our adrenal glands can’t keep up with adequate release and production of our stress hormones. This leads to adrenal fatigue. When the adrenal glands can no longer produce and supply the hormones that we need to stay healthy several different problems can arise like:
- Fatigue
- Body aches
- Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
- Low blood pressure
- Headaches
- Pots like symptoms: lightheadedness, heart palpitations
- Blood sugar crashes
- Insomnia
- Brain fog
- Digestive issues
Healing Adrenal Fatigue
Proper stress management is key in healing and preventing Adrenal fatigue. Ensuring good quality sleep on a regular basis, eating healthy well-balanced meals and supplementing essential vitamins and minerals (like Magnesium and B12) are great ways to support the body and the adrenal glands. It’s also important to look at factors outside of stress, like chronic infections and environmental exposures, for example, mold.
My favorite way to nourish my adrenals daily is by drinking adrenal cocktails on a regular basis. Adrenal cocktails are drinks that contain vitamin C, potassium and sodium. click here to get the recipe for the adrenal cocktail I have used daily for nearly 6 months.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this post is not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition. If you have any medical or psychiatric concerns, please seek the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.
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