How are you feeling? Brain a little foggy? Grumpy and find your moods swinging wildly? Constantly find yourself falling asleep and yet not able to get a good night’s kip? If this is you, you may, as holistic lifestyle coach, Holly Zoccolan, explains be one of the many people suffering from adrenal fatigue – there’s a lot of it about right now! Here’s how to spot it and what to do about it.

What is adrenal fatigue and how is it caused?

When we are stressed for prolonged periods of time, our adrenal glands become overstimulated and overloaded which can lead to inconsistent fluctuations and high levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in our bloodstream. When our adrenal glands become overworked, every bodily function is affected and it leaves us feeling depleted. 

There are a number of factors that could be resulting in adrenal fatigue and these include lack of sleep, having a poor unbalanced diet, diabetes, emotional trauma, prolonged stress and exposure to environmental toxins and pollution. All of which are the result of a form of stress on the body.

What’s the issue?

Adrenal fatigue can leave you feeling tired, moody, can cause brain fog, crave sweet and salty foods and make you feel generally ‘off’. Some of us may feel that these symptoms are just the norm as we age and that there’s nothing we can do about them, but it doesn’t have to be that way – surely we want to feel the best and most vibrant we can feel? 

What are the symptoms?

Common symptoms of adrenal fatigue include brain fog, issues falling asleep, hair loss, skin conditions, fluctuating mood, autoimmune conditions, constantly feeling exhausted, weight gain and depression. Adrenal fatigue can leave you feeling tired, moody, can cause brain fog, crave sweet and salty foods and make you feel generally ‘off’

How can we naturally treat adrenal fatigue?

Focusing on eating a healthy balanced diet is a great first step in overcoming adrenal fatigue particularly if you have been feeling lethargic, having sleep issues, fluctuations in our weight and mood. Diet is a huge part of the puzzle when overcoming adrenal fatigue. We need to make sure we are consuming foods which support our adrenals and remove those which do not. The first step is to remove the stimulants in our diet, so things such as caffeine, sugars, starchy carbohydrates, as well as vegetable oils, processed meats and additives. 

Adding foods in which support your adrenals is essential and includes the healthy fats in olives, nuts and seeds, avocado, wild caught salmon and other fatty fish. Fermented foods which are rich in probiotics are going to help support the recovery from adrenal fatigue such as sauerkraut, miso, kefir and foods which are high in nutrients and fibre such as green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits. 

We also need to make sure we are eliminating environmental toxins, shifting our mindset and reducing our stress levels. Environmental toxins include heavy metals; more on this can be found here. Meditation and breath work can help to shift our mindset and overturn negative thinking patterns which will help with our transition out of adrenal fatigue and will also help reduce stress levels. 

Adrenal fatigue is affecting more of us than we realise and the sooner we link symptoms together, we are able to get to the root cause of what’s going on and start to modify our lifestyle to help support our body in its recovery. 

Holly Zoccolan is a Holistic Lifestyle & Skin Health Coach offering consultations for weight loss, fatigue, skin conditions, digestive issues, mindset shifts and overcoming emotional eating.

After overcoming her own stress-related dermatitis and eczema, Holly is keen to educate others on how to best improve their health from the inside out.

Holly has a holistic approach to health and teaches her clients to understand and identify current habits that are not working for them and how to adapt their lifestyle for them to get the results they want.