Worn out. Unmotivated. Achy. So tired. Depressed. These are just some of the words people use to describe adrenal fatigue. Others are wired, anxious, and overstimulated.



The most frustrating part is that those with adrenal fatigue are often ambitious, driven, and hard-working. Yet, exhaustion makes it difficult to function.



Don't be surprised if you have all the symptoms, but your doctor hesitates in making an adrenal fatigue diagnosis. Many conventional doctors don't recognize the term adrenal fatigue. However, most understand the concept and see numerous patients with its symptoms.



Had I not seen the effects of adrenal fatigue firsthand in my wife, I might not comprehend how debilitating it can be.





What is adrenal fatigue?



Your adrenal glands act in concert with the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. This relationship is called the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. 



Many practitioners prefer the term HPA Axis Dysfunction instead of adrenal fatigue when discussing a patient's symptoms.



Your adrenal glands produce and secrete four stress-related adrenal hormones:




Cortisol



Aldosterone



Noradrenaline



Epinephrine




The pituitary and hypothalamus produce additional hormones, too. However, cortisol plays the most significant role in adrenal fatigue.



Your adrenal glands secrete cortisol according to circadian rhythm and in response to mental or physical stress.



Normal Cortisol Rhythm



Naturally, cortisol peaks in the morning to wake you up. The rise in cortisol provides a jolt of energy to get you up and out of bed so you don't feel the need to hit the snooze button repeatedly.



From the time you wake up until around noon, cortisol levels drop significantly. As the afternoon and evening progress, the remaining cortisol continues to decline, reaching a low point around bedtime. The low level of cortisol and peak in melatonin helps you get to sleep and stay asleep.



Cortisol and Stress



Stress stimulates the release of cortisol, noradrenaline, adrenaline, and aldosterone. 



Cortisol, noradrenaline, and adrenaline increase heart rate, blood flow, energy, and mental acuity, and enhance your reflexes. Aldosterone increases fluid retention, raising blood pressure. These effects are helpful when dealing with a threat.



Once the threat is neutralized or avoided, the hormones and their metabolic effects return to normal.



However, issues arise when stress is chronic, and you don't have sufficient time to recover from it.



Stress and Recovery



Stress is part of life. It is necessary for growth, learning, and physical and mental adaptation.



The stress of intimate relationships makes you adapt and develop empathy. Without it, you'd remain a selfish person who thinks the rest of the world should believe what you do.



Your business or career's stress causes you to think differently, develop new strategies, and communicate your ideas differently, so others listen. Without that stress and the adaptation to it, your career or business would flatline.



The stress of weight training causes your bones to get denser, your muscles get stronger, and your nervous system becomes more coordinated. Without the stress of weight training and the adaptation that follows, you'd be more likely to develop diabetes, osteoporosis, and multiple other diseases.



As good as these stressors may be, their benefit only comes to fruition through the recovery that follows the stress.



Without the ability to recover, your body can become overloaded by stress, leading to adrenal fatigue.



Adrenal fatigue is a state of diminished resilience.



Adrenal fatigue is a state of diminished resilience, not necessarily an excess of stress. The solution isn't to escape from stress, but it is to rebuild your resilience.



With the combination of constant stress and insufficient time or ability to recover, your cortisol rhythm changes, leaving you feeling like one of the three descriptions below.