emotions

Adrenal Fatigue? 7 Tips to Fight Back Naturally

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adrenal fatigue

Everyone has felt stress at some point in their lives.  That feeling of being so overwhelmed and overworked that you can’t eat or sleep.  Unfortunately, stress has become ingrained in our culture.  We associate it with hard work and success, assuming that we can’t have one without the other.   Though some stress is necessary, we often bite off more than we can chew.  We fail to realize that the more stressed we are, the less efficient we are.  We ignore the negative effects stress has on our bodies but unnecessary stress can lead to a multitude of symptoms including:

  • Adrenal fatigue
  • Exhaustion
  • Anxiety
  • Sleep disturbances

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adrenal glands

What Are Adrenal Glands And What Do They Do?

The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are the triangle-shaped endocrine glands that sit on top of your kidneys.  The adrenal glands are hormone producing glands similar to ovaries, testicles and the thyroid.  They are the regulators of your body as they’re responsible for regulating stress responses and play an important role in the maintenance of a healthy immune system.

Adrenal glands are key contributors to:
  • Proper thyroid function
  • Balance of hormones
  • Maintaining one’s ideal weight
  • Stabilizing emotions
  • Controlling cravings

Multiple studies have proven that the health of the adrenal glands will dictate the health and recovery of many types of chronic illnesses.  Since chronic stress is the main cause of overactive adrenals, it’s important that we find a way to control and eliminate stress.

Click here to read, “CFS – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms & Natural Solutions”.

Moreover, proper nutrition, adequate rest, and exercise is also very important. Unfortunately, an astounding amount of people suffer from adrenal fatigue due to lifestyle factors that are often overlooked.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is a common side effect of stress and has three phases:
  1. The Alarm Phase – when the body is acknowledging stress
  2. The Resistance Phase – when the body is trying to fight stress
  3. The Exhaustion Phase – when the adrenals become tapped out.

Depending the phase a person is in, the levels of cortisol (produced by the adrenals) will range from high or low at different points in the day.  Cortisol levels should be at their peak in the morning.  So, when we wake up we feel refreshed and ready to go.  Alternatively, they should be at their lowest at night when it’s time to go to bed.  Any variation of these levels will affect a person’s well-being.  Especially if stress is experienced for long periods of time.  Hence the last phase being exhaustion.

Click here to read, “Bedtime Woe’s? – 5 Simple Tips For Blissful Zzzz’s”.

Other than exhaustion, additional symptoms of adrenal fatigue include:
  • Excessive perspiration
  • Dark circles under the eyes
  • Cravings for salt
  • Chronic infections
  • Low blood pressure
  • Low blood sugar
  • Muscle twitches
  • Lack of libido
  • Light headed
  • Poor concentration
  • Sleep disturbance (typically waking up between 2-4 am)

So what can you do?  There are numerous natural ways to support the adrenals.

adrenal fatigue

Are Your Adrenals Fatigued?

I see the following scenario regularly in my practice.  A busy mom with a demanding career comes in complaining of;

  • Hot flashes
  • Insomnia
  • Fatigue
  • Loss of libido
  • Inability to lose weight
  • Feeling low

For the last 15 years she has been dealing with;

  • Work deadlines
  • Kid’s sports
  • Homework
  • Cooking
  • Cleaning

She goes from morning to night with little sleep.  Her adrenals are tired but she pushes through the chronic fatigue and insomnia.  She notices other symptoms such as headaches, inability to lose weight, and mood swings.  This common scenario is what many natural health professionals refer to as, “adrenal steal”.

Unable to function properly due to years of stress, the adrenals are forced to steal key hormonal building blocks from other hormones like:

  • Progesterone
  • DHEA
  • Estrogen
  • Testosterone

Hence contributing to hormonal imbalances and a slew of side effects that come with them.  Keeping the adrenal glands in check is the best way for women to avoid fatigue and keep their hormones happy.

How to Fight Adrenal Fatigue

chiropractor

See a Chiropractor – Chiropractic care plays a crucial role in adrenal health.  Physical, chemical or emotional stressors can cause stress on the spine and nervous system.  The goal of chiropractic care is to balance and optimize the entire nervous system contributing to healthy adrenal function in addition to a multitude of other health benefits.

early to bed

Go to Bed Early – You should be sleeping 7 to 8 hours and preferably going to bed before midnight.  Make sure you allow some time to wind down and relax to help your cortisol level lower before bed.

clean eating

Eat Clean – Avoid processed foods and sugar.  Focus on good fats, moderate protein, and tons of veggies that are phytonutrient rich.  You are what you eat, so feed your body the right fuel.

Take an Adrenal Support Supplement – Consuming whole, organic foods rich in phytonutrients is great for adrenal support.  However, supplementation is sometime needed to support proper adrenal function.

Beneficial supplements Include:
  • B complex
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin D
  • Magnesium
  • Zinc
  • Omega 3 fatty acids

Also beneficial are botanical adaptogens.  They can be taken to help support the adrenal glands throughout the stress response process.

Examples of botanical adaptogens include:

  • Ashwagandha root
  • Rhodiola rosea extract
  • Suma
  • Schisandra chinensis berry extract
yoga, meditation

Exercise – Regular exercise is known to combat stress, which helps to improve adrenal function.  But be aware that if your adrenals are exhausted, intense exercise may be more detrimental than beneficial.  Try yoga or meditation.

Click here to read, “Put A Little Namaste In Your Life”.

cortisol saliva test

Get Tested! – Measuring cortisol levels can help determine adrenal health.  The Cortisol Saliva Test also know as the Adrenal Stress Test, has become the preferred way of evaluating cortisol levels.

A newer test, the DUTCH test, is another method one can use.  The test involves a urine steroid hormone profile.  This measures hormones and hormone metabolites (called conjugates) in a dried sample.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) technology used by chiropractors, is another way to evaluate stress.  It measures and tracks a patient’s autonomic nervous system state.

Think your adrenals are suffering from adrenal fatigue?  Start by taking an inventory of your life stressors and see which ones you can kick to the curb following the 7 tips above.

A Scientific Validation Of Your Emotions

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Emotional Synonym

exciting, poignant, affecting, impassioned, sensitive, heated, hysterical, passionate, moving, nervous, spontaneous, touching, sentimental

I have read many definitions of emotions while studying human behaviour and as you can see when researching “emotional synonym” many words can be used to describe the same thing.  The scientific discourse on the subject has drifted to many meanings and there appears to be no clear consensus on a definition.

In this article I am going to weigh in on the subject of emotions by sharing the teachings of my former teacher Dr. John Demartini who draws his concepts from Universal Laws and principles.

Universal Law

Universe Laws state that there exists a divine design, a magnificent balance , a perfect underlying order that exists even at times of apparent disorder.  So let me try to explain what all this has to do with the nature of human emotions in the context of these laws.

Freeman Dyson, a renowned theoretical physicist was able to demonstrate that “our thoughts and emotions are nothing more than a cloud of charged particles of light energy,” thereby taking principles of the physical world and applying them to the metaphysical world, or the nature of the mind.

This gave scientific validation and a clearer understanding of our emotions from a universal perspective.

Universal Law Of Symmetry

The first principle that can be applied to our emotions is the Universal Law of Symmetry.  Newtonian physics states that there is not a positive without a negative, or negative without a positive, creating a perfect balance in our existence.

This speaks to the dualities that exist in our physical world and in our personal lives and in particular our emotions.  For example for every attraction there is repulsion, for every elation, a depression.  You cannot have joy without sorrow, happiness without sadness, pain without pleasure, or infatuation without resentment.

Emotional Synonym: What Does The Word ‘Emotion’ Really Mean?

As mortal beings we try to defy this Law of Symmetry.  In our illusionary world of instant gratification we seek pleasure, avoid pain and honour only our one sided nature.  Despite our illusions, our lesson is that this divine order prevails.

If we wordsmith or break down the word EMOTION, it playfully means to EMOTE (give off) IONS (positive or negative charges).  When we see more positives than negatives or more negatives than positives in our perception of any person, circumstance, situation or thing, we will have either a positive or a negative emotion.

The greater the charge the greater the emotion and stress has often been defined as lopsided emotions.  Extreme emotions takes us away from our true nature and we lower our self worth.

We tend to gravitate towards a false persona, acting either self righteous when we see more positives, or acting self deprecating when we perceive more negatives.  Our true nature is neither.

Perception Of The Mind

Perfectly balanced perception of mind is the highest form of self worth.  When we are emotionally centered , balanced, humble, and open hearted, we will naturally start to attract people, places, circumstances and events into our lives to help fulfill our destiny.

Another way to express this concept is through the Universal Law of Simple Harmonic Motion.  It states that your thoughts and feelings are unsteadied by extreme emotions and you will oscillate like a pendulum.

Note:  Looking for another emotional synonym?  Look here for another word for emotional

Emotional Duality

When your emotions are extreme you will need to steady them by minimizing the pendulous swings.  The pendulum swings between your emotional dualities of likes/dislikes, joys/sorrows, happy/sad, etc.  The pendulum will oscillate unless you are centered by balancing your perceptions of mind between these dualities.

Your thoughts and feelings are often unsteadied by ingratitude and uncertainty, living with memories of the past or seeing the future through the lens of the past, Sometimes this is referred to as our future imagined fears or our past remembered guilt’s.  Click here for a great read about Gratitude – An Attitude For Success!

Extreme emotional swings may spell a bipolar nature.  If you allow yourself extreme constant elation, you invite depression.  While a slower, smaller in amplitude, pendulous swing will minimize our emotional charges and with it, bring about order and certainty of mind.

To summarize, when your thoughts become unsteadied, you will go through these periodic emotional cycles and only by acknowledging the balance of your emotions can you express your true nature and your highest self worth.

This is a departure from traditional understanding of emotions, but certainly an interesting perspective most worthy of consideration.

Unraveling Emotional Cravings

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Natural Migraine Relief

Anxiety. Self-doubt. Sadness. Loneliness. Frustration. Boredom.

These emotions are can be quite uncomfortable. When they make an appearance it is a natural inclination to push them away- with food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, excessive exercise. I’ve done it all, but for many years my most reliable self-medicating drug of choice was sugar. With that sublime hit of dopamine, sugar temporarily softened the edge of anxiety and self-doubt. The problem was that the post sugar-fix trough was even more unbearable than the initial uncomfortable emotion.

I gave up sugar a year ago; as a result I needed a new strategy to deal with my emotional cravings. Here are a few tips based on my experience (I believe the same strategies can be utilized to deal with emotional cravings for drugs, alcohol, shopping, etc.):

Address cravings directly by asking questions:

• Am I craving this because I am hungry? If not, what is going on? Am I looking for a hit of dopamine?

• Am I hoping to numb an unpleasant feeling by eating this item? If so, can I sit with this feeling for a bit?

• Where is this feeling stemming from? Is the feeling irrational?

• Is there something else I can do to address this feeling?

Make a list of things you love to do. When you recognize an emotional craving commit to trying one (or more) of these activities. For example:

• take a walk
• listen to a podcast
• cuddle with a partner/pet
• call a friend
• do yoga
• paint/draw/journal
• listen to a favorite song
• read a book or a magazine

Understand that freedom from emotional cravings is a process.

Don’t sink into self-loathing if you have a bit of a backslide. Forgive yourself and move on. You can choose to learn from the experience and be better equipped to deal with the next emotional craving.

The ability to understand the process is transformative. I am NOT cured of emotional eating. Just the other day I was experiencing a mental block while working on a big project and frustration was creeping in. I could feel the frustration transitioning to anxiety and suddenly I was daydreaming about almond butter. I could clearly envision sliding open the silverware drawer, grabbing a spoon, opening the fridge and reaching for the jar. How enjoyable a fat scoop of almond butter would be! But because I’ve been practicing, I was able to pull back and became an observer of my thoughts. It was interesting that the uncomfortable feelings led to the almond butter jar. I asked myself a few questions: Was I hungry? Nope. Was I experiencing an emotional craving? Yep.  

I turned to my tried and true anxiety remedy: I went outside. I took a hike in the woods. I stopped to notice the new buds forming on the plants and trees, to appreciate the bright green ferns poking out of the layer of decayed fall leaves. I watched the birds and listened to them calling to one another. The walk was refreshing and renewed a deep sense of appreciation in my soul. But when I returned and tried to sit once again with my project the frustration came rushing back. I clearly wasn’t done with my mental break yet.

So I played one of my favorite inspirational podcasts and cleaned out a cupboard. And you know what? The podcast happened to be about the very issue with which I was seeking guidance! I gratefully received the inspiration I had been craving, I felt accomplished about my tidy cabinet, and I had subsequent success with my project. All without almond butter!

If you are dealing with emotional cravings, they can feel impossible to resolve. Know that you have all the tools you need to start the unraveling process: awareness, a plan, and self-compassion!

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Blog by Guest Author:

Katie HarrisonKatie Harrison

I am a teacher, a Primal Health Coach, and a resident of a tiny Alaskan town. My husband and I live in a 384 square foot wood-heated cabin without running water. We love to play outside, catch fish, and forage for wild plants.

You can find me on my website, Awaken Your Glow, and Instagram.

https://www.awakenyourglow.com/

https://www.instagram.com/awakenyourglow/

Put A Little Namaste In Your Life

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Namaste in your life yoga

If you are like me, I’ve often been intimidated to go to a public yoga class because of all the yogi terms that I’m not familiar with. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, as I floundered on my mat, attempting to mimic what the teacher was doing.

Instead, I’ve always opted to do yoga in the comfort of my own home. Thankfully, I’ve learned a lot of the “yoga talk” by now and could probably follow along in a public class but I have to admit, the first few times I did yoga, I felt like a fish out of water. There was a whole new vocabulary that I wasn’t familiar with and it made me wonder if others feel the same way. 

Yoga has offered me a new way of life. My online teacher always talks about the healing benefits of yoga, and in the moment, I didn’t really feel like it was doing much for me. But I persevered. After a couple off months of a consistent yoga practice, I started to get what she was talking about. I felt like I was processing my feelings differently, and I was more in tune with my body.

The Sanskrit language is often used in yoga practice to describe the poses or postures that are done. We are going to break down some of the most common terms used, to hopefully make you more comfortable in a yoga class.

Guru: The English language has adopted the use of this Sanskrit word to indicate someone who is an expert in their field of study. For example, he/she is a technology guru.  However, when used in a yoga class, guru refers to a person who is a spiritual mentor or teacher.

Mantra: A mantra is an instrument of the mind, where a sound or phrase is used to enter a state of meditation or intention.

Mudra: During a yoga practice different hand gesture or mudras are used. Two very common mudras are anjali mudra, where the palms are pressed together and are positioned in front of the heart and gyana mudra where the index finger and thumb are touching.

Savasana: This is a yoga pose that is usually performed at the end of the yoga practice. It is also known as the corpse pose, where you are lying flat on your back, legs are extended and palms are at your sides and are facing upwards. This pose is meant to ignite total body relaxation so you can assimilate the benefits of your yoga practice.

Namaste: This is usually said at the end of a yoga practice and it literally means, I bow to you. Much like a prayer is ended with Amen, a yoga class normally ends with Namaste.

Prana: Prana describes the life force in the body.

Pranayama: Yoga utilizes the breath to inspire motion, and pranayama defines the control of the breath. It is a conscious control of breath inhalation, retention, and exhalation.

Now that you are familiar with some common yoga terms, it’s time to put a little Namaste in your life. Roll out your mat and get comfortable with your yoga practice.

What is behind your pain?

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What is Behind your PAIN?

During my 20 years of practicing Energy Healing I have found one Universal Truth: PAIN means “Pay Attention Inwards Now”

Pain stems from unresolved and unacknowledged repression of emotions. E-motions mean energy in motion. If energy is repressed then dis-ease and pain results. We label these pains Arthritis, Allergies, Anxiety, Angina, Headaches, Migraines, Frozen shoulder, Fibromyalgia, Cancer, Carpal Tunnel… the list is endless.

Pain is just information. Neither negative nor positive, pain is just ongoing feedback, “an indication of our current energetic vibration”. Or an indication of parts of our body that are not in sync with our total energetic vibration.

PAIN lets us know that we have something to discover and resolve. Stressful thoughts, limiting beliefs, worrisome stories replaying in our unconscious mind… these are reflected in your body. Often we inherit them from our ancestors, other times we pick them up from the energy around us, our environment, our media, our families and circumstances. When communication within the body cells is disrupted, we blow fuses, set up handicaps, and our perfect blueprint is derailed.

Your BODY is  your GPS, or rather it has the key to an effective built-in Human Guidance System that unlocks these hidden blocks preventing our mind and soul to communicate effectively. When we experience emotions that don’t feel good, it simply means that we are not in-line with our ‘true’ or ‘higher’ self. Our spirit is the part of us that lives at the top of the Guidance Scale in joy, love and self empowerment.

This is where we embrace the basic spiritual truths that:

We are worthy, deserving, loveable, loving, brilliant eternal BE-ings
and each of us is an important significant part of the Divine plan
we have a miraculous perpetually healing organism we call a body.

Knowing this truth, is not the same as embodying it. I love witnessing my clients RECLAIM their health and life after sessions. I love doing demonstrations and talks (group healings) at corporations and watching employees have ah-ha moments.

Helping people Reclaim their healthy body, by Refreshing their Mind, and Renewing their Spirit keeps me in my energy vibration of truth, joy and awe. We can all attain Complete BE-ing Clarity, if we listen to our body. Are you listening? What is your body saying to you?

The really fascinating truth is that all of this can be reversed and healed. Energy consciousness work is quick, easy and fun, you don’t need to rehash the past, get stuck in the story, or stay in the pain. If you are in pain, explore energy healing … Reiki, BodyTalk, Psych-K, Acupuncture, and other modalities. You will be amazed at the quick results, and love your new found understanding of your Self and your energetic vibration.

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Blog by Guest Author:

01Jessy headshotJessy Morrison

Jessy Morison  has tremendous success in helping those to whom doctors have given no hope of recovery at all to Reclaim their Life, Refresh their Mind, Reclaim their Body, and Renew their Spirit.
A Reiki Master Teacher, BodyTalk & EFT Practitioner, Soul Genesis Facilitator, Founding Member of the Ontario BodyTalk Assoc., and Founding Member of The Whole Life Learning Collective, and Transformational Tuesdays, Jessy is also a  contributing author to “The Joy of an Ex”, Women With Vision Magazine, and Another View Magazine.

You can contact her at
[email protected]
705-241-8680
www.jessymorrison.ca