WELLBEING - How to bounce back from Adrenal Fatigue/ Chronic Stress

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Summary - 

There's exhaustion and then there's extreme exhaustion and take it from me, you want to try and avoid the latter. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue and the road to recovery was far from fun. Today, I’m feeling better than ever and in this episode, I’m walking you through the steps I took to get me back on my feet again.

Things I Mention - 

  • How to accurately test for Adrenal Fatigue/ Chronic Stress.

  • The small changes I made to my diet to improve my energy levels and heal my adrenals.

  • The one and only form of exercise that helped me go forwards as opposed to backwards. 

  • My #1 rule for sleep and the exact time to go to bed. 

PLUS, I discuss how adaptogenic herbs played a big role in helping me overcome Adrenal Fatigue and why you might like to include Acupuncture as part of your recovery process too.

Links & Helpful Resources - 

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss out on any of my practical tips & tricks and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review? Thanks! 

There's exhaustion and then there's extreme exhaustion which can not be fixed by a shot of coffee or an early night! This is often diagnosed as Adrenal Fatigue or Chronic Stress.

I want to begin this episode by saying first and foremost that to be correctly diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue, you should complete a 24 hour urine test which will give you an accurate look at what your cortisol levels are doing throughout a 24 hour period. Simply trusting Google Dr. or chatting to a friend about your symptoms, isn’t enough to consider you at risk of chronic fatigue.

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue after taking the urine test myself. I discovered that my body had stopped producing normal levels of cortisol and was already in conservation mode which just means that my adrenal glands produced just enough cortisol each day to basically keep me alive (because you do need a certain level of cortisol to keep you alive) but my adrenal glands were completely overworked and running on empty. 

To be able to recover and get back on my feet, I had to implement a few lifestyle changes. Truth be told, I often refer back to these now to ensure I don’t end up back there again. I already eat well, exercise 6 days per week and try my best to practice being mindful where I can but what I learnt from going through this myself is that once adrenal fatigue has set in, it’s a real uphill battle to get on top off and simply eating well, exercising and being mindful just isn’t enough. 

I have a very A type personality – I’m constantly on the go and I love the work that I do so I work a lot at night because I am also a full-time Mum during the day. I have so many goals and things I want to achieve but with this, comes the risk of burnout. On top of this, I also suffer with a debilitating phobia which I’ve had since I was a child and this causes high levels of daily anxiety for me which as you can imagine is a real recipe for disaster. It was just a matter of time really before I was unable to peel myself out of bed. 

In this episode, I’m going to give you a run down on the changes that I had to make to help me bounce back from Adrenal Fatigue - 

Re-Think Your Diet

I was a 2x coffees per day kind of girl for more than 6 years so being told to remove caffeine from my diet for a few weeks was torture. Nonetheless, I knew I had to make some big, uncomfortable changes and coffee was the most important and probably the one thing that contributed the most to me being able to recover as quickly as I did. I removed caffeine from my diet for 3 weeks and replaced my usual flat white with a protein smoothie to curb any cravings.

As for food, prior to Adrenal Fatigue, I followed a paleo-based diet which limited whole grains and because at the time I was uneducated about how to balance my calorie needs, my daily calories were more on the lower end of the spectrum for me. After being diagnosed, I introduced more gluten-free carbohydrates into my diet such as Quinoa, Teff, Sorghum, Buckwheat and Kamut. When our calorie needs aren’t met, often this can force our body to increase cortisol. The body sees hunger and starvation as a form of internal stress so you want to ensure that you aren't putting yourself into a calorie deficit unnecessarily.

Re-Evaluate Exercise

I've heard that some people can successfully get back on their feet simply by taking 2-3 rest days between workouts but I had to stop my usual workouts for a minimum of two weeks. For some, this can extend out to a few months just depending on how severe the fatigue is. As someone who has consistently exercised for the past 6 years, stopping altogether was a little daunting mostly because I exercise to keep my mental health in check. 

What I did instead was turn to YouTube where I stumbled across @SarahBethYoga. Sarah has an incredible restorative yoga playlist dedicated to targeting stress & anxiety. I did the same guided 30min practice every day for the first week and I can't begin to explain how euphoric I felt after each session. After this, I made my way through her 7 day yoga challenge and haven't looked back since - I still turn to Sarah's channel regularly!

It took a good month of consistent restorative yoga before I felt like I could attempt my usual Low Impact/ High Sweat workouts and when I did, I started very slowly by doing 20secs work and 40secs rest and improving on this ever so slowly each week. Exercise is brilliant for the mind & body but High Impact/ High Intensity exercise increases cortisol which is not ideal particularly if your body is already battling with internal stress. 

Prioritise Sleep

When life gets full, the time we go to bed usually gets pushed back which creates a real knock-on effect. I had to make a conscious effort to go to bed before 10pm and switch of all devices at least 1 hour before shut eye. Studies have shown that we tend to get a second wind after 10pm so making sure you are asleep by this time is crucial to getting enough good quality sleep.

Introduce Adaptogenic Herbs

My Naturopath suggested a monthly dose of liquid herbs to help support my adrenals which worked like a charm. If you are unable to work 1-ON-1 with a Naturopath to formulate a specific blend for you, Cort RX by ATP Science is an incredible product which contains adaptogenic herbs to help combat our stress response in a very similar way.

Include More Self-Care

On top of doing my best to be mindful and present, I also included a weekly acupuncture treatment for 4 weeks. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese therapy that is said to effectively reduce chronic stress plus it forces you to lie in a meditative state for a significant amount of time which has huge benefits of its own. In Episode #24, I actually sat down with my acupuncturist Arna Taylor and we went into a lot more detail about all things acupuncture so please check out that episode if you’d like to know more about this type of treatment. 

Stress is often referred to as the silent killer because often we can’t see the damaging effects it causes until it’s too late. If you’re suffering with Adrenal Fatigue right now, please know that there is hope and that there is a much more rewarding, fulfilling and grateful life when you come out on the other side. The only thing you need to do is think about #1 before you think about #2. 

Elisha CasagrandeFEEL BE LOOK, Brisbane Health Coach, Womens Confidence, Adrenal Fatigue, Chronic Stress, Cort RX, Acupunture, Sarah Beth Yoga, Caffeine, Adaptogenic Herbs