Is Adrenal Fatigue TMS?

I struggle a lot with fatigue. For a while I was convinced I had what people these days are calling "adrenal fatigue." Apparently this is not a very well understood "illness" by the medical community, and it is not easy to actually “diagnose” or treat. I am confused because I seem to have all the symptoms for adrenal fatigue, despite convincing myself for a while that this is probably just TMS.

I am wondering if it is a lack of sufficient testing/ proper diagnosis to confirm or dismiss this as a real issue, or is adrenal fatigue on the same level as say fibromyalgia, which would mean it is ultimately just another vague “illness” gaining popularity and leading me down an unnecessary path of worry, fear and concern that in the end I will discover it to have just been TMS.

Fatigue is a whole different animal than a pain syndrome, so I'm really struggling with figuring this out. And im tired (literally and figuratively) of wasting time with this! I would love to hear people’s opinions on adrenal fatigue and any advice you could offer me!

Thanks!

 

Hi Freedomseeker,

First of all, most folks who know TMS understand chronic fatigue as a TMS equivalent. So we know that. I believe fatigue itself is part of adrenal fatigue?

Second, adrenal fatigue is a "stress related condition." Again, this points to mind-body roots, and probably mind-body treatment.

In my training with Dr. Schubiner and Alan Gorden last winter, I recall Dr. Schubiner stating that he believed the epidemic of so called "adrenal fatigue" is a mind-body condition, ala TMS. This is my recollection, but I don't know if he has written this.

"Not very well understood" "Not easy to diagnose" and I am guessing there are a wide range of treatments most of which are not very effective ----these are signatures of TMS equivalents. You also have the myriad of "associated symptoms," many of which would be considered TMS equivalents.

I just googled "adrenal fatigue" mind-body and came up with this article, which points to TMS treatments like "reducing stress and getting more sleep." Just glancing at this, there is TMS written all over it. I am not a physician!

https://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/adrenal-fatigue-symptoms/

I have not had an "adrenal fatigue" client, so I have not dug deeply into this. But you have.

So I suggest you look for evidence that this is mind-body, rather than physical, in the words of Dr. Sarno, Dr. Schubiner, perhaps Gabor Mate, and other mind-body writers. Become a detective in finding parallels between their work, and what you know about your "condition." And if in doubt, treat it as TMS. This can only be a benefit, and you'll probably see results.

Andy B

 

Thank you so much for your reply @Andy B. I appreciate your feedback and you made some really helpful points. Even just stating the fact that adrenal fatigue is stress related which means it has
“mindbody roots” was something I never put together before. I appreciate your advice to look for evidence that this is mindbody, and to treat it as such. Having had back pain and recovered from that after learning about tms, I know I am the “type T” very prone to stress related conditions. There’s some good evidence right there that the fatigue is a stress induced response from my body as it is prone to producing symptoms in response to stress. (Tms in a nutshell). It’s so simple yet so complex at the same time.

 

Freedomseeker,

In one of Claire Weekes books I think she mentions adrenal fatigue. Her books are about nervous illness, panic attacks etc. I believe she described it as happening because we keep "thrashing the self starter." I believe any of her books could help, but maybe a little googling could narrow down which book it is. Someone on this forum might know and you could start a new thread asking about it.

The little tweak she gives on how to treat this as TMS might be just what you need. Be aware that she had never heard of TMS, so she never refers to it.
Lizzy

 

Yes. It's nothing more than an intense bodily response to prolonged exposure to extreme stress that ultimately caused the nervous system to get out of whack. Great news: it's not permanent, and everyone can heal. Some (falsely) claim that severely restricting your diet, work hours, relationships, etc. is necessary for recovery, but I don't believe that to be true; in fact, I suspect that may stress one out even more. While it's always important to take care of yourself and be as healthy as possible, you don't have to give up eating a chocolate chip cookie every Saturday night.

Focus on relaxation, meditation (even just starting with a 60 seconds of focusing on your breathing once a day is fantastic), working toward managing your stress and overall emotions in life (while remembering that we're all human and bad days are normal), and engaging in activities you enjoy.

 

Hi Lizzy,

Thank you for your response. I looked into the books by Claire Weekes and ordered a few of them. I think the one your referring to specifically might be called “Pass through Panic, freeing yourself from anxiety and fear”. I ordered the audiobook of it.

 

Thank you Caulfield, I appreciate your input. And I agree with your recommendations to focus on relaxation, definitely something I have difficulty with. I’m doing better with meditation though, which will help relax my nervous system. I need to focus on activities I enjoy more too.

 

So true Caulfield. We need to remember that chocolate chip cookies were created purely for our pleasure, not as something to make us feel tortured, but purely for our enjoyment.