Fatigue – Why am I so tired every day? Will it always be this way?”
Possible causes of fatigue: adrenal imbalance, hormonal imbalance, thyroid imbalance
How is fatigue affecting the way you live? Is it hard for you to get out of bed in the morning? Do you lose steam and feel exhausted by mid-afternoon? Maybe you reach for coffee, soda, or super-caffeinated drinks just to get through the day. These patterns can be connected to internal imbalances that leave you feeling tired all the time and drained of physical and mental energy.
Fatigue is often attributed to age, but many sufferers are young or middle-aged women who exist day to day under the burden of constant stress. With fatigue, we can often trace the issue back to the adrenal glands and how they respond, especially to ongoing stress. When the adrenals are required to produce cortisol and other stress hormones without pause for long periods, your body inevitably will be denied the rest and recovery it needs. This cycle will leave you feeling tired, perhaps even sluggish and foggy-headed.
Restoring adrenal balance can bring relief from symptoms, and help your body manage additional effects of stress that cause damage “downstream.” However, for some women, fatigue is part of a separate set of symptoms that stem more from hormonal fluctuations. These hormonal imbalances may be significant during PMS, perimenopause, and menopause.
Another possible underlying cause of fatigue is thyroid imbalance. Thyroid-related fatigue can include non-restorative sleep, where you wake up after sleeping for hours, but still feel exhausted. Underactive or “sluggish” thyroid can cause a wide array of symptoms though conventional testing results may still be in the “normal” range. If this is the case with you, or if you suspect your fatigue may be thyroid-related, you may want to take the initiative and begin supporting your thyroid function more actively.
Which profile best describes your experience with fatigue as a symptom?
- Fatigue and adrenal imbalance. Stress, poor diet choices, or wellness-challenging lifestyle issues can lead directly to fatigue, daytime exhaustion, and reliance on caffeine. With adrenal imbalance, even though you are bone-tired, you may have difficulty sleeping due to an upside-down cortisol curve. You may notice that lack of physical activity — or, for some women, overexercise — can also sap your body of vigor. Adrenal-related fatigue disrupts your body’s natural, adaptive feedback loops, forcing you to draw on your reserves to respond to life’s ups and downs.
- Fatigue and hormonal imbalance. Hot flashes, night sweats, and PMS symptoms can disrupt sleep, leading to ongoing fatigue and lack of energy. Additionally, worry, anxiety, and depression keep women tossing and turning throughout the night and add to the physical and emotional demands their bodies are struggling to manage. You may notice additional symptoms of hormonal imbalance, such as mood swings or irritability, as well as uncomfortable physical changes in your body that leave you feeling physically or emotionally drained.
- Fatigue and thyroid imbalance. Loss of energy, difficulty losing weight, trouble tolerating cold temperatures, memory issues, dry skin, and hair loss are part of the extensive collection of possible thyroid-related symptoms. While women with thyroid issues often both suffer intense fatigue and sleep more than average, they still may not feel rested upon waking. You may also feel depressed, and your libido may be very low.
Natural energy boosters — so you can feel the best you’ve ever felt.
What you can do today
Breath!!! Set a timer for 1 minute; sit quietly, close your eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply — 5 counts in, 5 counts out.
Why it works
By bringing you back to your centre, this simple breathing exercise can help reset your outlook and reenergize your mind. It can also help relieve and reduce stress.
Fatigue robs you of the energy you need to keep up with life’s demands, to enjoy life, or even to make important changes to maintain your health. It adds to the pressure you feel at work and at home, and can severely disrupt your personal and social relationships. Of course, these sorts of emotional effects only make you feel more tired and worn out.
But fatigue does not have to be your “new normal.” Whether you are 20, 50 — or even 90 years old — there’s a lot you can do to increase your energy naturally. I can lead you up and out of fatigue and away from the downward spiral that has you in its grip. I’ve had such great success in relieving fatigue in women that an increase in energy is usually the first dramatic improvement women notice after consulting with me
Fatigue in women is very often a symptom of adrenal imbalance. Sheena Hendon Health can help relieve symptoms and promotes natural adrenal balance with nutritional supplements and adrenal support formulas/herbs and practical dietary and lifestyle guidance.
Please contact me for more information or to book a consultation