Looking to get your health and energy back so you can get your life back?
If you are experiencing: fatigue, sugar cravings, anxiety, weight gain, insomnia, headaches, or eczema (just to name a few)...

The Stress-busting ABC’s of Adrenal Health guide is here.

Combating stress by Changing Your Body’s Stress Response

You know stress is bad for you, but do you really know why? We should be able to handle stress in our lives, right?! Yes, our bodies can handle some stress, but our bodies are designed for short term stress. That run from a bear in the woods, sprint after your running child near a busy street, short term stress. Our bodies are not supposed to be dealing with as much stress as we are forcing them to and certainly not for such long periods of time.

If your adrenal glands are being overworked and fatigued after being forced to constantly produce cortisol, leading to burnout, also known as adrenal fatigue, you may notice:

  • Fatigue

  • Salt cravings

  • Sugar and carbohydrate cravings

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Irritability

  • Bone and muscle loss

  • Weight gain (and increased fat storage)

  • Insomnia/Difficulty sleeping

  • Sensitivity to light

  • Inflammation

  • Eczema (atopic dermatitis) or other skin rashes

  • Allergies

  • Food sensitivities and other digestive issues

  • Headaches

  • High blood pressure and Heart disease

  • Decreased immune system function and Frequent illness

  • Elevated blood sugar and Insulin resistance, which can lead to type II diabetes

  • Memory and concentration problems

Your adrenal glands are also responsible for the production of your sex hormones so if you’re noticing a low libido (sex drive) and/or hormone imbalances, your adrenal glands may be playing a role.

Fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, and decreased sex drive occur with both high cortisol and low cortisol meaning that these may be some of the first symptoms you see as your adrenal glands become overworked but they persist even as your adrenals burnout and can no longer keep up with cortisol production. These are the symptoms that aren’t going away despite your efforts to improve them because until your treat your adrenals and the root causes, you’re stuck with them.

You have to change the way your body responds to stress by supporting your adrenal glands and addressing the chronic cortisol imbalances. With lifestyle modifications including nutrition, exercise, sleep, supplements, specific vitamins, nutrients, and herbs, your adrenal glands can create a healthy and balanced cortisol response and will be ready to tackle whatever stress comes at them!

So what can we do about it? Obviously, we can’t eliminate all of our stress, though that is a nice dream. Stress in our lives is inevitable and often times our most stressful events (having a child, getting married, starting a new job, or losing a loved one) are the ones that help us to change and grow as people. Dealing with stress goes far beyond eliminating your stress. We can’t avoid all of our sources of stress, but we can help combat it by changing the way our body responds to it.

When we are under stress, our adrenal glands release epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, and cortisol. Essentially these hormones released by our adrenal glands tell our body that we are in flight or fight mode and need to do whatever we can do to survive. So what does that mean? When you’re in flight or fight mode (aka trying to run from a bear) your body isn’t thinking about your long-term health. It is solely focused on the very short term to create an environment where you cannot just run from the bear, but outrun that bear to survive. Cortisol and epinephrine are designed to help your body respond to stress by:

  • Increasing blood pressure

  • Regulating carbohydrate metabolism

  • Promoting the use of sugar as fuel and managing blood sugar regulation

  • Managing inflammation

  • Controlling your sleep/wake cycle

  • Managing your energy levels

In the short-term, these bursts make total sense. They increase our blood pressure, affect carbohydrate metabolism to increase blood sugar to give us more energy, divert attention away from your digestion, and suppress your immune system to make sure we are focusing on the imminent stress in front of us.

However, most of us are under constant chronic stress, due to our life stress, work, finances, kids, partners, and everything else we are dealing with on a daily basis. We aren’t out in the wild running from bears with short term stress and returning to a stress free life once that bear is gone. Chronic stress means chronically elevated cortisol until we burn out and our adrenals can no longer keep up with the demand. Chronically elevated cortisol levels have a negative impact on our health and cause our adrenal glands to be constantly working. Over time, our adrenals become fatigued and can no longer keep up with the amount of stress we are telling them to deal with on a daily basis. Our adrenal function decreases and with it goes cortisol and the other hormones they are responsible for.

How do I support my adrenal glands? There are multiple options when it comes to supporting your adrenals. Check out the stress-busting ABC’s of adrenal support and get the support your adrenals need to get you feeling better so you can get your life back! You may notice big changes with just one of these, or you may need to address all of them to really see results. It all depends on your body, your specific needs, and the current state of your adrenal glands. The longer your body has been under stress, the more intervention you may need to get them back on track and functioning optimally.

After addressing the adrenal ABC’s with patients, so many people come back and say that their symptoms are so much better and while they are still have stress in their lives, they feel like they are able to handle the stress so much better, both physically and emotionally.

An individualized stress-busting treatment plan is best to help figure out what your body’s specific needs are. Some people need to focus more on diet and exercise, while others need more emotional support to work through the current (and past) stressors. Some people will notice improvements after implementing only one of the adrenal ABC’s while others may need many or all of them. It all depends on your personal health story.

Download our free ABC’s of Adrenal Health guide and get started on your journey to health now.  

Dr. Sahni uses an individualized healthcare approach to help you restore your health and get your life back.

Dr. Sahni is a board certified Naturopathic physician licensed in Oregon and California. She is currently seeing patients in person in Portland, OR and offering telemedicine to both Oregon and California residents.

Schedule an appointment to get a plan that is right for you and your body’s individual needs.