14 Steps To Reverse Adrenal Fatigue

Do you have an extremely hard time getting up in the morning? Do you rely on stimulants throughout the day to keep you going?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

I’ve dealt with adrenal fatigue for the past 7 years and the following steps are strategies I have studied out thoroughly and applied in my life to finally see relief from the overwhelming fatigue.

I still remember the morning it hit me the hardest.

I woke up and it felt like a ton of bricks was on me and for the life of me I could barely move. I was completely devoid of any energy, drive and motivation. I was faced with deep depression and anxiety. I’ve never felt so hopeless.

These are just some of the many debilitating symptoms of adrenal fatigue, a health challenge estimated to affect more than 66% of the world in some form or another.

We have our worst enemy to thank for that…

Introducing Stress…

Every day we are faced with it.

The moment our alarm clock goes off there’s that surge of cortisol that rushes through the body and the dread of having to get up and go to your stressful job sets in.

In the world we live there are all sorts of channels that cause stress and it doesn’t necessarily have to be negative stress.

There is actually something called positive stress.

When I met the girl of my dreams life was great! But it was also stressful, especially when we decided to marry and the big decisions for the big day (and beyond!) all came at once. Once our firstborn came along, again, there was a new type of positive stress.

I won’t go into detail on each of the possible stressors that we deal with but just know that they are real and they have an effect on your adrenals (positive AND negative stress).

Your adrenal glands put up with an immense amount of stress each and everyday.

How do you know if you have adrenal fatigue?

Here are some of the major signs to pay attention to regarding adrenal fatigue:

• It’s very hard getting up in the morning. You feel that you could sleep for another 10 hours.
• Having fatigue throughout the whole day. You feel like a champion if you can just make it back to your bed and sleep.
• Difficulty handling stress. What should be an easy task is now stressful and you can’t handle it.
• Crazy cravings for food, especially salts and sweets.
• You usually have more energy at night compared to the rest of the day.
• Having to use stimulants to keep you going e.g. coffee, red bull, sugar drinks, teas, etc…
• Weak immune system. You get sick easy and it takes you a little longer to get over the sickness than usual
• Brain fog. This is such a weird sensation. You feel like you’re in a dream and can’t think clearly. Having a hard time remembering even simple words.
• Hard time concentrating. If you’re in school, a business meeting, doing homework, or even talking to someone, you may have a hard time focusing and remembering what was talked about.
• Low libido

Those are just some of the more common problems that not only you, but millions of others deal with on a daily basis.

It’s sad that most people suffer with this and they don’t even know that they have it. They go to the doctor and tell him a list of things that are happening to them and what do the doctors do?

They give them a prescription drug with it’s own set of side affects.

Let’s talk about 14 steps you can take to reverse your adrenal fatigue and get some energy back in your life.

ARE YOU A SKIMMER?

IF SO, LOOK NO FURTHER. I’ll outline all the steps right here;

#1-Avoid Stimulates and processed sugars

#2- Get Sleep

#3- Avoid toxic chemicals

#4 Get rid of negative thoughts & limiting beliefs

#5- Practice meditation/prayer

#6- Reduce the amount of physical stress.

#7 Get hydrated

#8 Increase the amount of sodium

#10 Glandular Therapy

#11 Stabilize your blood sugar levels

#12 Avoid the grains and increase the fats

#13 Avoid going on crazy diets and fasting

#14 Use adaptogenic herbs.

 

14 Ways to Heal and Boost Your Adrenals!

#1- Avoid Stimulants and Processed Sugars.

The main reason you may take stimulants is to keep you going each day but eventually it catches up with you.

Over a period of time you’ll get more and more tired, having to drink more and more to stimulate you further. It’s like whipping a horse when it’s completely exhausted.

Eventually it crashes.

The more you stimulate yourself than the more the crazy migraine headaches will come on and the harder the crashes will be.

Rather than that happening start giving the adrenals what they need. We’ll discuss that further down.

#2- Get Sleep!

Don’t stay up super late watching TV, Playing video games or staring at your phone screen.

The light that is emitted (blue light) from electronic screens tricks your brain into thinking that it is still day time outside. As a result your brain will not secrete melatonin down the spinal cord to relax the body.

So now when you get ready to go to bed you have a very hard time falling asleep. Especially if you were watching an intense movie or playing a video game then you’re system is full of adrenaline and will make it even harder to get to bed.

Tune in to your body and your own circadian rhythm so you can get to bed in good time for a full nights rest.

Try for 1 week to get 10-12 hours of sleep.

If you are to the point of complete exhaustion where you can barely function in life then the following strategy might be helpful for you.

Take a Friday off of work and do nothing but sleep. Don’t look at the TV, your phone. Just sleep. Get up and eat small meals and go to bathroom but then go back to sleep. Make sure your room is dark and when you lay down don’t use a pillow. Try to be completely flat and if you can have your feel a little raised. This position turns off your adrenals and lets them rest completely.

#3- Avoid Toxic Chemicals

Start with your diet.

Look at what you’re eating. If you are eating a diet high in processed foods then consider adding in more vegetables, beans/legumes, healthy fats and fruits.

Vaccinations, perfumes, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, GMO, pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones in meats, etc… there are SO MANY in our world today.

Just do your best.

The rule of thumb is if you wouldn’t eat it then don’t put in on your skin.

Simple as that.

Toxic chemical wreak havoc on the endocrine system. Creating all sorts of hormone disruptors and throwing off the symphony of your body.

#4 Get Rid of Negative Thoughts & Limiting Beliefs

Negative thoughts are one of the most destructive actions on the adrenals.

The things you tell yourself creates an emotional reaction which creates insane amounts of negative stress on the body.

Not only is it damaging to the adrenals but it’s also damaging to the whole body.

Change the way to you think.

Start to fill your life with positive messages of hope and upliftment. Yes, there are times of difficulty, you can’t avoid that but you can talk to yourself in a positive way and try harder to view life with new eyes that will help lift and strengthen yourself.

My advice: Hang around people that are positive as well. Avoid the soul-sucking negative people. You don’t need that in your life. Be around people that will help you achieve your goals and be a better you.

#5- Practice Meditation/Prayer

Prayer and meditation are one of the best way to heal the adrenals.

If gives your whole body a break. Not only are you able to rest but your body can take time to repair and rejuvenate.

This is one of the best practices you can put into your day. Take time to give gratitude. If you’re not a religious person, you can still give gratitude.

Think of all the things you are grateful for and how awesome your life is, even if it is stressful and difficult and you don’t have the life you want. Learn to be content and find the small things in life that make your life worth living

#6- Reduce the Amount of Physical Stress.

P-90X is not going to be your best friend– instead go on walks, do yoga, tai chi.

Do exercises that will strengthen the body and not give you unneeded stress. Get out and connect with nature.

Find something you enjoy and that disconnects your from stresses of life.

I personally play the piano and practice poi. Those are my outlets. Others will go walking, running swimming. But remember, don’t overdo it and stress your body out physically.

#7- Get Hydrated

The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. Those two are connected. The adrenals and the kidneys need LOTS of water to function. The average human adult’s body consists of over 60% water.

It needs water to cleanse, deliver nutrients and heal.

If you are drinking other beverages such as coffee, soda, and other processed drinks not only are you toxifying the body and creating an acidic environment in your body but you’re stressing your adrenals out to the max. The adrenals worst enemy is processed sugar.

#8 Go For The Natural Salts

When I say sodium what’s the first thing you think of?

Most likely table salt right?

AVOID TABLE SALT!

Table salt was not designed for the human body. It was designed for industrial purposes and since the large companies had a surplus of industrialized salt they decided it would be good to start selling it as a food additive.

Instead go get some real salt. Sea salt, himalayan pink salt or celtic salt.

The adrenals run off salt and need it to function.

You may notice that you crave salty things.

When you do make sure that the food you are eating does not have the synthetic industrialized salt.

We’re told today that eating too much salt is bad for you. Yes, if you’re eating table salt then that is true. That processed stuff is in everything. Just like sugar, it infests the processed food world.

For someone that is severely fatigued, consider trying the sole (pronounced solay) method of getting salts back into your body.

#10- Glandular Therapy

This was first discovered by a physician back in the 19th century. He found in giving his patients the tissue of the adrenal gland, thyroid gland and other glands they were able to recover and have a better functioning gland. That still stands today.

11- Stabilize Your Blood Sugar Levels

You’ll hear this allot if you have adrenal fatigue; that is to avoid sugar at all costs.

To help stabilize your blood sugar get rid of processed sugar and increase the healthy fats. Also, When eating meals, eat less but more frequently. This will help your body to not have blood sugars spikes with the large amount of food that you eat for breakfast lunch and dinner. Instead, consider eating breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon lunch dinner and a small snack before bed like and apple with almond butter.

12- Avoid The Grains And Increase The Fats

Any grain is loaded with carbs which are broken down into sugar molecules and sugar is hard on the adrenals.

If you struggle with severe adrenal fatigue then consider taking out all grains and increasing your health fats such as coconut oil, which is best.

Also, start eating flax seeds/oil, olives/oil, fish, avocado, and a variety of nuts and seeds. There’s a new product that I came across called algae oil.

It isn’t as high in saturated fat as coconut oil but has more monounsaturated fats making it have a higher burning point. They say you can heat it up to 485 degrees before it starts to oxidize. That’s something else to consider.

13- Avoid Going On Crazy Fad Diets And Fasting

Do you want to know why there are so many diets in the world?

Here’s the secret: Everyone has a different body.

Jo-shmo down the road decided that since this diet worked for him that he would package it and sell it. My rule of thumb is create your own diet.

Pay close attention to foods and irritate your digestive tract and eliminate them and start to mold a diet that is conducive for yourself instead of finding a diet that works for someone else.

People ask me if I’m a vegan and I say no, I just live the diet of Paul. It’s not a specific diet.

You hear all over that intermittent fasting and just fasting in general is good for you, which it is, but if you deal with severe adrenal fatigue then fasting is not going to be your best friend.

It puts unwanted stress on the body and agitates your adrenals making you very weak, and barely able to move.

I know this from experience.

Instead try doing a simple juice fast for a half day instead of multiple days. Take small simple steps

14- Try Adaptogenic Herbs For Boosting Energy.

This is by far my favorite thing to do for the adrenals and the best thing is…

IT WORKS!

I have been taking adaptogenic herbs to nourish and strengthen the adrenals for several years now and I would not be at the point I am today without them.

My top three favorite are Chaga, Holy Basil and Deer Antler. I won’t go into detail on all of these  herbs but just know that they are incredibly beneficial to the adrenal glands.

There are others that are fantastic as well. Reishi mushroom, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, schisandra berry, licorice root ( get the deglisinerized (DGL) kind of licorice,) any of the ginsengs are fantastic! He Shou Wu (also named Fo Ti), Jiaogulan, Eleuthero (Siberian Ginseng.) Those are some of my favorites.

FOR THE COFFEE DRINKERS: Chaga is one of the best replacements for coffee.

It gives energy but not with caffeine. It is loaded with SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) which is a powerful antioxidant. You are literally infusing your body with goodness when you drink that and in doing so your body will feel the effects. So consider using Chaga to replace your coffee.

About the Author

Paul is a certified Nutritional Herbalist and has been in the nutrition field for 5+ years.