Adrenal Fatigue and the Trouble with Burnout…
Dr Harpal Bains
MBBS DFSRH PGCAestMed (Dist)
February 3, 2019
Dr Harpal Bains
MBBS DFSRH PGCAestMed (Dist)
February 3, 2019
One of the commonest things we see at the clinic is burn out. Also known as adrenal fatigue (not recognised in conventional medicine). When presented to your regular doctor, most people are given a sick note to take time off work; antidepressants is a common crutch plus the advice to take it easy.
“Take a holiday!”
Easier said than done. After all, in today’s world, one big cause of burnout is overworking and money constraints. So taking time out is quite a tough option. Especially if you are the responsible type and understand that by you taking time out, others get the brunt of your workload. Not an ideal situation. This is worse when the buck stops with you.
So, does traditional management work? Yes, certainly to an extent. Rest is highly important and time away gives one the right perspective and a better ability to prioritise. It also clears the mind and hence performance is enhanced. So you end up working smarter, not harder. Most people notice that their performance and work enjoyment increases after a break.
What about antidepressants? This does make a difference. I’m not a huge fan of it but nevertheless, there is a place for it. Especially when burnout causes other symptoms like raised anxiety, difficulty falling and maintaining sleep; anger, depression and a feeling of helplessness or lack of control over one’s life. To boil things down to the very basics- antidepressants numbs a person. This means that nothing feels as bad as it potentially would. This is a very useful crutch and should not be underestimated. It buys time until your body has healed enough to take over. The danger is a reliance on antidepressants for too long.
The clue is in the underlined sentence above. We go to the root of the problem and help the body heal itself; therefore speeding up recovery. I also use this approach to prevent getting to a burnt out state; or in some extreme high stress situations, to delay getting there (not ideal but life is life).
We deal with the ‘burning out’ of the adrenals, which are small glands above the kidneys that release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol amongst others. A normal reaction of stress hormone (cortisol) release is excessive production when you are stressed, to cope with the increased demands on the body. When this happens consistently over a prolonged period of time, something happens. The body now goes into a state where it cannot produce enough cortisol to meet demand. At this point, you now start producing too little cortisol, contrary to popular believe. During a burn out, you produce too little to be useful. This is when you feel the need to crawl under the duvet, turn the lights off, sleep or to try to sleep and shut the world off. This is the body’s way of trying to heal the glands, so that it is able to once again produce cortisol in the right quantity to deal with your body’s needs.
This phenomenon happens to other glands too- the most commonly known of which is the pancreas which produces insulin. Early stages of diabetes signifies a problem with too much insulin release. These people need tablets to manage their sugar intake and keep their insulin low. Late stage diabetics need insulin injections. Because they now have the opposite problem where the excessive demand on the gland has caused it to burn out and the body can no longer produce enough insulin to meet demand.
We manage adrenal fatigue or impending fatigue with the right adrenal support and hormones where necessary. This will be covered in another blog. We also educate our patients so that they can see the signs and know when to self manage because that it the end goal- for you to understand your body to such an extent that you can read what your body is trying to tell you.
One problem with this, and the reason for writing this blog, is that when we most need help is when we are at our highest point in stress and time constraints and when we are most liable to forget these principles. We forget to utilise the support. I see this again and again. This blog is a reminder that when things get tough and you need a little guidance and for someone else to steer the boat- reach out for practitioners such as ourselves. We are in a position to help your body help itself. Don’t get to burn out. Its really not worth it. It takes a really long time to heal once you’re burnt out. Don’t do that long run or that very tiring HIIT session. Just rest, be lazy, day dream, order take out if need be (short term only) and allow yourself to just be. Which reminds me, I need to take my adrenal support now….
