Stress, adrenal fatigue and exhaustion are some of the most under diagnosed illnesses facing western society. It has been estimated that 80% of adults suffer some sort of adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue, also known as hypoadrenia, is a dysfunction of the adrenal glands ultimately resulting in diminished production of adrenal hormones which adversely affects your physiology and health. This can affect a person's stress threshold, resiliency, immunity and performance detrimental in a number of ways. 

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The most common signs of adrenal fatigue include:

• continued fatigue

• exhaustion

• trouble sleeping

• trouble getting out of bed

• decreased sex drive

• dysglycemia

• depression, anxiety

• sugar and/or salt cravings

• weight gain and inability to lose weight

• increased effort to do everyday tasks

• decreased ability to handle stress

• poor memory

• light headed when standing up

• low body temperature

• more prone to colds and flu

• palpitations

• nervousness

• less tolerance to stress

As a result of decreased adrenal function people with adrenal fatigue frequently also suffer from

• hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels)

• allergies

• arthritic pain

• low immune response

• increased menstrual problems, PMS

• menopausal symptoms

Adrenal fatigue is caused by stress whether it be emotional, mental or physical stress. Energetically it can be due to giving your power away to others or to ideals and/or beliefs which creates stress in your life.  If you say yes to anyone even though you really do not want to is giving your power away to others. Whenever you do anything you feel that is not right or true for you, but do it anyway, is giving your power away. There may be many areas in your life that you may be doing this however it takes a great deal of self honesty to recognise and accept in what areas you are doing it. Everyt ime you give your power away you leak kidney energy (TCM concept) which is needed to fuel your adrenals. A couple of common examples of giving your power away to an ideal or belief could include men working too long and too hard to be a "good" provider at their own, and ultimately their families, expense is an ideal they often try to live up to, while women tend to sacrifice themselves for their children in order to be seen as a "good" mother which eventually harms them and their children eventually anyway.

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Doing things that you know are not good for you also contributes towards adrenal issues as you are not honouring your body and in complete disregard of yourself. This could include eating foods you know are not good for you, drinking too much, taking drugs, smoking, going to bed late, not getting adequate rest and relaxation, etc, etc. This kind of disregard of oneself will physically manifest as "poisons" in your physiology that will physically affect your adrenal glands contributing further towards adrenal problems. These could include: heavy metals, pathogens such as viral, bacterial or fungal infections, parasites, allergens, toxins, etc. It is a good idea to test for these and if found to be present need to be eradicated in order to allow your adrenals to repair.

Unfortunately modern medicine does not recognise adrenal exhaustion as a distinct syndrome, only recognising its most severe form being Addison's disease. Unfortunately this attitude contributes towards many unnecessary health problems for many adrenal sufferers whom are unable to access the necessary treatment. Adrenal fatigue syndrome is a fully recognisable condition which can be healed. The first step is to find a sympathetic practitioner who will order the necessary hormone tests in order to properly diagnose this condition. The reason testing is so important is that other conditions such as hypothyroid, sex hormone imbalances, etc, all share very similar symptoms so an accurate diagnosis will ensure the appropriate treatment. In addition adrenal issues can cause thyroid and sex hormone imbalances which may also need to be addressed for a more complete treatment programme.