Addressing Your Adrenals | Bow Down to the Dynamic Duo

I am not a medical practitioner, but I’ve made stress and trauma to my body a case study. I’ve been a living embodiment of adrenal fatigue and hormonal imbalances the last eight years, and instead of accepting the derailment it causes mentally and physically, I’ve studied it, with the help of experts, books, and of course the interwebs. I’m hard pressed to present you with statistics of how many people are afflicted with adrenal fatigue, as it’s not a medically recognized condition. I searched “adrenals” recently for this article, and the first page of online results were all concerned with “adrenal fatigue”. But it’s not a condition…of course not. I don’t just live with the symptoms, and neither should you. This is a condition that can be improved or eliminated altogether. It just takes some work.

Your adrenals are two glands that sit atop the kidneys. While you may not be familiar with their functions, I bet you’re asking yourself if adrenals have anything to do with adrenaline. They do, and they’re also responsible for maintaining your cortisol levels, known as “the stress hormone”, and aiding your body in controlling blood sugar, burning proteins and fats and regulating blood pressure. Again, you only have two adrenals. TWO. That’s an exceptional amount of work for two glands to handle – regulating all the environmental, situational and emotional stresses that occur in life.

It’s not too challenging to burn your adrenals. Start with some internalized stress, whisk in some overextension of work and home duties and sprinkle in a few poor dietary decisions – particularly overcaffeination – and you don’t even need to light the match or turn on the oven. You’ve likely sufficiently baked your adrenals something good. I’ve bumped into my adrenal’s proverbial boundaries for years now. It’s really challenging to keep up with the pace set out for us and not run ourselves ragged.

SOME COMMON (BUT NOT EXHAUSTIVE) LIST OF SYMPTOMS:

• Extreme dry skin and dandruff
• Sleep irregularity: either extreme exhaustion, particularly when awaking, or inability to sleep due to high cortisol levels
• Asthma, allergies, overall inflammation in the body
• Extreme thought cloudiness/trouble thinking clearly
• Noticeable weight gain or weight loss (I know, confusing)
• Extreme changes in menstrual cycles and PMS symptoms
• Adrenal sweating

What astounds me is this: I don’t see adrenal fatigue and hormonal imbalances entering enough mainstream health conversations, for men or women. The rate at which most of us work, the agony of finding or keeping a job, online bullying, familial obligations – my, the list goes on – take their physical toll. This should be water cooler conversation, Wolfies. By talking and sharing, you can help yourself and others identify whether adrenal stress has paid a visit. The symptoms listed above are just a snapshot because we’ll soon be sharing hormonal tales – personal stories from experts and sufferers. You’ll learn how some people discovered this affliction and how they do their best to kick it to the curb. We’ll also provide you with a few tools in case you are experiencing adrenal fatigue and hormonal imbalance symptoms.

Personally, my experience of my own adrenal and hormonal issues these days is a bit nuanced. The symptoms are difficult to enumerate sometimes. I just know; I’m tapped in after all these years. Soon enough, you will be, too.
To share your own stories or receive referrals to some of our favorite naturopaths, feel free to email the general Wolves email: howlin@ofthewolves.com.