Adrenal Fatigue is caused by suboptimal adrenal functions which leads to sufferers finding it harder to deal with the normal stresses of every day life.

To be able to respond to stress and maintain stability within your body’s system, your adrenal glands produce certain hormones to help regulate heart rate, blood pressure, and other important functions of your body. The endocrine system is an independent body system, of which the adrenal glands are an important part of.

The adrenal glands are located above your kidneys and are mainly responsible for controlling your body’s response to stress. Their function is to speed up all your body’s system into the “fight or flight” mode by producing more hormones. If your adrenal glands fail to respond due to insufficient production of hormones, the probable effect is that you will experience some degree of adrenal fatigue or hypoadrenia.

What exactly is adrenal fatigue?

Cortisol, a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, also known as “stress hormone”, is quite important in fighting off stress and infection. If there is low production of cortisol, your adrenals are weakened and as a result you will experience adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue is not a disease, but is a syndrome that encompasses a lot of symptoms. The accompanying stress of experiencing such symptoms is too overwhelming; often disrupting the normal activities of daily living.

Adrenal fatigue happens when there is no sense or willingness of getting yourself into physical and mental pursuits, despite looking physically normal. You feel depressed and are unable to move on. There is heaviness in your body, and you cannot get out of bed. You crave for foods that are high in salt, your body aches and you have low blood pressure. These are some of the most common symptoms that you will experience during the onslaught of adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue prevails in many causes which inhibit production of cortisol hormones. Adrenal fatigue occurs due to intense and prolonged emotional, physical and mental stress. It can also be a secondary complication due to other illnesses, like respiratory infections such as pneumonia, influenza and bronchitis. Frequent infections weaken your immune system and will cause recurring and prolonged stress. As stress accumulates in your body, your adrenal glands are not able to produce enough cortisols to effectively curb the effects of ill feelings in your mind and body. Other causes can be due to overdose of corticosteroid drugs which are used for medications to treat several illnesses. Excessive amounts of corticosteroids can shut down the life-saving functions of the adrenal glands. Other related causes are too much work and exercise, stressful pregnancy, emotional trauma, chronic anxiety and poor diet.

Over the years, life is deemed more complicated than ever. As times change, the coping mechanisms of people are also altered—either they handle stress well or cope dysfunctionally. Unfortunately, stress is a key risk factor in not just adrenal fatigue, but in other life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart problems. These major disorders often cause complications that render patients depressed or disabled to some degree. The increasing complexities in lifestyle are actually correlated to the rising mortality and morbidity rates of many debilitating diseases.

Adrenal fatigue can be best treated by changing the way you live and having a proper diet. Other treatments are taking enough supplements that help adrenal fatigue, hormonal therapy and herbal treatments. This blog is dedicated to providing information and support to those who want to find ways to deal with adrenal fatigue in their lives.