Adrenal health
Signs and symptoms of adrenal imbalance
Every day, a wide range of physical and psychological stressors — a demanding job,
raising a family, relationship dynamics, lack of sleep, financial pressures, suboptimal
nutrition, dieting, unresolved emotional distress — signal the adrenal glands to
produce stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol.
When our adrenal glands are required to chronically sustain high cortisol levels,
they eventually become impaired in their ability to respond appropriately. The resulting
adrenal dysfunction not only affects short-term response to stress, but the adrenals’
ability to produce and balance other hormones crucial to long-term health and well-being:
DHEA, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Symptoms of adrenal imbalance — an “aggravating pattern”
Symptoms are your body’s way of telling you that it is not receiving the support
it needs. These are some of the signs and symptoms that can indicate adrenal imbalance.
While none of these features has a direct causal relationship with adrenal dysfunction
on its own, a distinct “aggravating pattern” emerges when all these factors are
taken into consideration. See if you recognize these tendencies in yourself:
|
Marker
|
Adrenal hyperfunction (overactivity in response
to stress)
|
Adrenal balance
|
Adrenal hypofunction (underactivity in response
to stress)
|
|
Sleep
|
- Difficulty winding down to get to sleep
- Difficulty staying asleep
|
- Pleasant tiredness toward evening
- Looking forward to turning in
- Wake refreshed from sleep in the morning
|
- Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
- Nonrefreshing sleep
|
|
Energy
|
- Always on the go (“high-adrenaline lifestyle”)
- Feeling “tired and wired”
|
- Maintain relatively steady energy levels throughout the day
|
- Ongoing fatigue not relieved by sleep
- Weariness
- Lack of energy
-
Lethargy
|
|
Temperament and coping style (tendency)
|
- “Driven”
- Short temper
- High anxiety
- Panic attacks
|
- Ability to reframe, adapt and respond with flexibility to life stressors (and opportunities)
-
Positive attitudes and beliefs
|
- Inability to handle everyday stress
- Feeling overwhelmed by relatively minor
challenges
- Mild depression
- Struggling to get through the day
-
Tendency to avoid conflict
|
|
Mental clarity
|
- Racing thoughts
- Scattered thinking
- Inability to focus on one task
for very long
|
- Clear thinking
- Steady productivity
|
- Mental fogginess
- Fuzzy thinking
|
|
Immune system
|
|
- Good immunity to infections
|
- Frequent infections
- Longer recovery times from illness, injury, or trauma
|
|
Hormones/Libido
|
- Worsening PMS symptoms
- Low libido
|
|
|
|
Food cravings and weight management
|
- Abdominal weight gain
- High caloric intake in the evenings
|
- Few cravings for salty or sugary foods
- Not dependent upon caffeine
|
- Increased cravings for salty foods, sugary foods, refined carbohydrates
-
Caffeine dependence
|
|
Blood pressure (tendency)
|
|
|
- Lightheadedness
- Low blood pressure
|
|
Other signs and symptoms
|
- Intolerance to cold
- Hair loss
|
|
- Intolerance to cold
- Hair loss
|
There is a lot of overlap of the signs and symptoms listed above with other medical
conditions, so adrenal imbalance may not always be the root cause. Adrenal imbalance
can, however, be a contributing factor in a wide range of medical conditions — many
of which may seem unrelated — including the following:
- Arthritis
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Depression and anxiety
- Fibromyalgia
- Hypotension
- Hypothyroidism
- Premature menopause
In turn, many health conditions and certain drugs used to treat them can predispose
an individual toward adrenal insufficiency.
The good news is, when addressed in time with proper support you can heal adrenal
imbalance and reverse the damaging effects of chronic stress. To learn more, see
our article on the natural
approach to adrenal health.
Our NEW Personal Program for Adrenal Health — for the
symptoms of stress
Our popular Personal Program can help you manage the effects of stress by relieving
your symptoms and promoting natural adrenal balance. We’ve created custom
protocols to address each woman’s specific adrenal profile, with our exclusive
adrenal support formulas, advanced nutritional supplements, and practical dietary
and lifestyle guidance to maximize your results.
This amazing Program is a convenient, at-home version taken directly from our recommendations
to adrenal health patients at our clinic. If you have questions and want to talk
to a real person — call us toll-free at
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References & further reading on
signs and symptoms of adrenal imbalance
Last Modified Date: 04/15/2011