Quick adrenal & thyroid quiz for you
How do you know if you're struggling with adrenal fatigue, or if your thyroid needs support?
I created this short quiz, below, to help you check-in with yourself, and to draw attention to the signs and symptoms that may be connected to your adrenals & thyroid. In my last newsletter I talked about the HPA axis, aka the hypothalamus/pituitary/adrenal axis, which has a major effect on your fat, sugar, salt cravings, but it also has a major impact on your thyroid. Remember, it's all connected!
Take a moment to breathe, and be honest with yourself on this (note: this is not a comprehensive list):
Ask yourself...
Do you have low energy?
Struggle to cope with day-to-day stress?
Is your resiliency and your ability to cope and manage stress diminished?
Do you feel like your metabolism and inner strength has started to slow down?
Do you get sick often?
Your weight won't budge no matter what you do or try?
Are you cold all the time?
Constipated?
Is your hair thinning out?
Are your eyebrows thinning?
Do you have any heart palpitations or feelings of anxiousness?
Inflammation in your joints or skin?
Digestive issues?
Do you struggle with memory and concentration?
Finally, do you feel like you're doing all the "right things"—eating right, getting exercise, taking supplements—and your body still won't shift in the areas listed above?
It can all come back to these three things: adrenals, thyroid, and stress.
When it comes to solutions, here are a few to get you going in the right direction…
Start working with the adrenals
I don't know anybody who hasn't dealt with stress, either acute or long term, but if you have any of the symptoms above, your adrenals have worked overtime for quite a while, so increasing awareness on how your body is feeling is of utmost importance. Is this you? Your patience is kaput, you're very emotional, you have trouble sleeping at night and a hard time getting up in the morning, your hormones feel out of whack, you've got poor recovery from workouts, your immune system is weak... well then your adrenals need help!
And let's not forget this connection: the HPA axis impacts your thyroid hormone, TSH, which in turns impacts other key thyroid hormones (T4, T3, Free T3). So if you have thyroid symptoms and you know you've got some adrenal burnout, this is a likely reason. They are interconnected.
Lay down the fundamentals
To begin the healing process and to give your hormones support, you've got to start working on your lifestyle. No amount of diet or supplements will help unless you take this seriously. Period. End of story. Decreasing your schedule, getting to bed by 10 or 10:30, getting off electronics, sleeping in a dark room—these things matter much more than you think.
Once you're starting to lay down some of these fundamentals, you can begin changing your diet and using targeted supplementation and adaptogenic herbs.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention other fundamentals we have to consider when thinking about resolving our health concerns, because it's always, always, always going to come back to the health of the GUT! (If you know me by now, you probably knew I couldn't leave this out).
Years ago, when my perimenopause symptoms went completely haywire and I needed some serious support (if you are curious about this you can read my story here), I used a three-tiered approach to get myself back on track. My first line of defense was getting my foundation set, then getting my gut in working order, and finally I layered in adaptogenic herbs and targeted supplementation.
Partner with me
When you join me in my four-month customized program, a lot of the work that we do together is to help create a better awareness about how your body is really feeling, and what you need to do to support it before you hit rock bottom (or if you are already there). We'll go through a very detailed health timeline which dates all the way back to when you were in utero, begin to connect dots, and pull together a comprehensive plan for your healing journey.
I'm currently taking three new clients, so if you have any questions about working with me, you can learn more here or simply reply to this email.
You can be your own health warrior woman! I would love to go on this journey with you.
In love and health,
Stephanie