Wednesday, May 30, 2018

It's time to stop pathologising being stressed and tired...

It's time to stop pathologising being stressed and tired. 

Adrenal fatigue. Everyone has least according to the 'experts'.

The problem is that, as if people aren't scared enough, they're now scared of adrenal fatigue, scared of 'stressing out' the adrenals, 'wearing them out', and basically doing anything that might be challenging to the body for fear that it will lead them to a life of bed-ridden disability.
But here's the won't.

You might have some type of HPTA axis problem. I don't's possible...but in reality, most people presenting with a bogus diagnosis of Adrenal Fatigue simply don't have anything structurally or even functionally wrong with their adrenal gland, hormones, or anything else. They are simply tired. They're fatigued, stressed, overtrained and overworked. They are living a full-on life in the modern world. They're undernourished, underslept, and overly distracted by rubbish media.

...and the great news is that all of these factors can be worked with. They are not a sentence but a starting point.

I had one client come into my clinic in tears. She had been diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue by a complementary practitioner and told that she would likely have a recovery process lasting years.
However, when I looked at her diurnal cortisol pattern and all of her other blood markers, they were pretty much perfect. She's an athlete, studying at university, and holding down a job. She's tired.

We worked on a 'return to play' strategy of improved nutrition, sleep hygiene, mindfulness meditation, and an intelligent approach to strength and conditioning (starting with extremely low-volume strength work, increased consistently according to tolerance) and, hey presto! Three months later she was back to her best, sleeping well, eating well, and hitting PBs in the gym...and before you say it...No, this isn's an isolated example.

Check out my summary of the evidence for and against Adrenal Fatigue over at Patreon.


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