If you are currently experiencing Adrenal Fatigue, it’s common to wonder whether or not you are recovering, especially if you are finding that your symptoms are taking a while to improve. This article will take a closer look at what you can do to help with the healing process and the signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue that you can look out for.
What Is Adrenal Fatigue?
To understand the signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue, it is important to have a strong understanding of Adrenal Fatigue, especially if you are experiencing it. Adrenal Fatigue is a condition where the body is unable to keep up with long-term stress and can result in many different symptoms.
When you experience stress in any form, your body activates the fight-and-flight response system, including the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response, which consists of six different circuits. This response helps your body respond to the stressor. It does this by activating your adrenal glands to produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. When the stressor clears, your adrenal glands should stop producing these hormones and your body should go back to its rest-and-digest response.
However, if you are exposed to constant stress, the adrenal glands must constantly produce cortisol. Over time, this can deplete your adrenal glands and cause levels of cortisol to be low in the body. This can lead to imbalances in the circuits of the NEM and result in Adrenal Fatigue. This is why the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue can be different between individuals – the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue depend on where the imbalance in the NEM system is.
One of the circuits that can become imbalanced is the Hormone circuit. Your adrenal glands, thyroid glands, and reproductive organs make up this circuit. Imbalances within this circuit can cause various symptoms including:
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Low libido
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Irregular periods
- Infertility
What Is The Fastest Way to Heal from Adrenal Fatigue?
When you experience Adrenal Fatigue, you may want to recover as soon as possible to get your life back on track. However, with Adrenal Fatigue, this can take time, and for some, it can take up to a year or more depending on the severity of the Adrenal Fatigue. It’s also important to remember that healing is not a race; there is no prize for recovering the fastest. But while the time it takes to recover is unimportant, the quality of recovery and the changes in your health and symptoms are.
To heal, it’s important to identify the stressors that you are exposed to. These include:
- Poor nutrition such as a diet high in fats and sugar
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Lack of exercise
- Frequent high-intensity exercise
- Exposure to toxins
- Recurrent illnesses
- Work, relationship, or financial stress
- Emotional stress such as grief, anxiety, and depression
- Trauma
Once you have identified the different stressors you are exposed to, you can start to change your lifestyle to reduce your exposure. The two main lifestyle changes that can help reduce the stress your body is exposed to are nutrition and movement.
Nutrition and Adrenal Fatigue
Nutrition is ultimately the fuel your body needs to survive. Too little, too much, or poor quality nutrition can put a strain on your body. Simple ways to improve your diet and help reduce stress on your body include:
Small frequent meals. While intermittent fasting may seem appealing, especially if you have gained weight, it can place more stress on your adrenal glands and increase the stress load.- Have fruits and vegetables daily.
- Balance your plate. Half your plate should be fruits and vegetables, a quarter starch, and a quarter protein.
- Focus on unrefined carbohydrates rather than processed ones.
- Choose water over juices and sodas.
- Reduce your intake of animal fats and focus on fats from plants such as avocados, nuts, and seeds.
- Be mindful of your caffeine intake. If it is high, reduce it slowly.
Not only do basic nutrition practices help support your body through stress, but there are certain vitamins, minerals, and compounds that may help to support your adrenal glands. These include (1):
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Selenium
- Zinc
- Coenzyme Q10
- Polyphenols
- Carotenoids
Movement and Adrenal Fatigue
Lack of exercise can contribute to Adrenal Fatigue. However, on the other end, frequent vigorous exercise also requires higher levels of cortisol and can increase your body’s stress load. Achieving a balance is important. The exercise recommendation is 150-300 minutes of moderate exercise per week, including two days dedicated to muscle building (2). If you aren’t ready for this recommendation, you can work up to it slowly. If you are currently experiencing Adrenal Fatigue, focusing on gentle exercises such as walking, swimming, and gentle restorative yoga can help you meet the exercise recommendations and not strain your adrenals.
Shifting Your Body to Calm
Activating your body’s rest-and-digest system is important in the healing process and can help further your recovery. Practices that may help this include:
- Restorative yoga
- Mediation
- Breathing techniques
- Getting at least 8 hours of sleep nightly.
How Do You Know If Your Adrenal Glands Are Working?
Without tests, it can be tricky to determine whether or not your adrenal glands are working. However, if they are strained you will start to experience symptoms such as tiredness, weight gain or loss, and sleep or digestion changes. These symptoms may differ between individuals. Being in tune with your body and how it functions optimally will help you become aware when or if these symptoms start to occur.
Signs You Are Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue
Feeling More Calm
If you are experiencing Adrenal Fatigue, your fight-or-flight nervous system is activated, and this can lead to feelings of:
- Anxiety
- Nervousness
- Sweating
- Shakiness
- Rapid heart rate
- Trouble concentrating
As you start to heal, your nervous system will shift to the rest-and-digest response. When this happens, you may find that these symptoms start to reduce in severity and frequency and eventually clear.
Energy Improvements
Fatigue can be a common symptom of Adrenal Fatigue, and as your adrenals heal, you may find that your energy levels improve. Although these improvements may be incremental, they are still important signs of progress. You may also find that your energy levels don’t dip in the afternoons, and if you are experiencing energy crashes in the afternoon, these may start to decline and clear.
Better Digestion
Digestion is another aspect that can be affected by Adrenal Fatigue. As you heal, you may find that your digestion improves. Signs that your digestion is improving include:
- Less cramping
- Less bloating
- Regular bowel movements that are solid and sausage-shaped
As your digestion improves, you may find that your energy levels also improve, as nutrients can be better absorbed with optimal digestion.
You’re Doing More
During Adrenal Fatigue, you may find that your body and mind are operating at less than 100%. As you heal, your functioning will start to improve. This may manifest as being more mobile or finding you can complete more tasks in a day.
This sign will be more noticeable for individuals whose functioning has increased dramatically such as from 10% to 60%. If your functioning has slightly increased such as from 60 to 70%, you may not notice it.
Your Symptoms Start to Reduce
While fatigue, poor digestion, and challenges sleeping are common symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue, there are many more. As you heal, these other symptoms will start to reduce in severity and frequency. For example, if you are experiencing symptoms related to an imbalance within the Hormone circuit you may find your libido increasing, your period may become more regular, and you may experience less severe PMS.
Your Functional Capacity Improves
Functional capacity refers to your ability to cope with life’s demands. In Adrenal Fatigue, these demands have exceeded your ability to cope with them. Initially, when you experience Adrenal Fatigue, you may need to adjust your life in order to reduce the demands you need to cope with. As you heal, you will be able to broaden these parameters, allowing more demanding situations in your life.
As you heal and your parameters expand, you may overextend yourself and start experiencing symptoms again. When this happens, reduce the demands on yourself again and then slowly increase them over time. As your healing journey progresses, you will find the symptoms will become less, and you will learn to identify the warning signs and slow down before symptoms develop.
Sleep Improvements
This improvement is one of the later signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue and refers to improvements in both sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep) and sleep quality.
You may find that it takes you a shorter amount of time to fall asleep and/or that you wake up fewer times during the night. As your sleep improves, you may also find that your energy levels continue to improve.
Another sign you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue is that your dreams may change. These dreams may become more vivid and the topic of the dreams may become less stressful.
Tracking The Signs You Are Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue
While the signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue can be obvious and exciting for some, many may not notice the improvements, especially if they are gradual. Tracking the signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue can help you stay positive, motivated, and in tune with your body’s needs. To do this you can:
Keep a journal and record your symptoms daily.- You can start by recording your energy levels, digestion, sleep, and overall functioning.
- Every day, rate these out of ten, with zero being nonexistent and ten being severe.
- At the end of every week, take a look at your symptoms and note if there is any improvement. As signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue can be slow to appear, this journal can be kept for the duration of your journey.
- If you do not experience any immediate changes, don’t give up. It may take several months for you to start noticing improvements.
Tracking the overall changes in your body can be rewarding and can help you to notice them. Doing so may also help lift your mood.
Closing Thoughts
Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue can be a journey. At times, it can feel like you aren’t improving, but there are subtle signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue if you pay attention. By tuning into your body and keeping a journal of your symptoms, you may be able to start noticing these sometimes subtle signs.
If you aren’t seeing any signs you are recovering from Adrenal Fatigue, Dr. Lam’s Nutritional Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Program can help. This 30-day program consists of an individualized nutritional consultation, a meal plan, supplements, and breathwork and yoga videos. It can help jumpstart you on the right path to recovery. If you would like more information click here.
