Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Educator, Coach, Life Strategist

Temporary homeschooling offers lasting benefits

Parents may wonder if short-term (temporary) homeschooling is a good idea. Whether facing a long-distance move, caring for a family member, dealing with a certain trauma, or just wanting a change of pace, will up-ending a child’s education jeopardize their entire future?

These are legitimate worries, especially when decisions must be made rather quickly. Most commonly, parents wonder if there are any real benefits to homeschooling anyway, especially if only for short time. They worry it may be risky, or just plain selfish, to keep a child home when others are somehow managing in the same situation. They wonder if they’re too “soft”, overly protective, or should trust their own instincts when making such a weighty decision on their child’s behalf.

Justifiably, parent concerns include how today’s decision might impact their students in the long term, especially when students are involved in activities, accelerated programs, or nearing graduation. We’ll look at all these issues today, and more. I hope to give a perspective to anyone facing a difficult school choice at this moment, or who wants to share this article with a friend who is grappling with this decision right now.

Homeschooling temporarily offers lasting benefits
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While my professional advice won’t apply to exactly everyone, in most cases, I want you to know that temporary homeschooling can be overwhelmingly beneficial for students, and usually also for their families, too. Not only are the advantages of homeschooling enormous, but the benefits start accumulating on the very first day. Thus, even when only for a short time, say, a few weeks or a few months, the positive effects of short-term homeschooling can potentially impact students for a lifetime. There are very few reasons I can think of for postponing what can be a very positive experience for all involved.

Positive Impacts of Temporary Homeschooling

Positive impacts of temporary homeschooling
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Reconnecting as a unit

During periods of change, there is nothing greater than being surrounded by those you love and who matter the most. The solidarity of a family unit combined with the practical aspects of having everyone in the same place can be invaluable during a crisis, or any time the need for support and understanding is higher than normal. Family and friends often come together to circle its vulnerable members for protection. Tested over centuries, this is especially valuable for children, and should be considered any time a child’s well-being is at stake.

Getting to know your children as students

Too often, often through no fault of their own, parents become disconnected from their child’s experiences outside the home. By working with children not just as kids, but also as learners, parents glean valuable information about what has (and hasn’t) been successful in traditional school settings. Even when issues cannot be addressed at home, they can be brought to a school’s attention at a later date. In either case, children win by receiving needed services, remediation, or a change of environment altogether.

Opportunities to teach life skills

When life gets busy and chaotic during the school year, it leaves little time to teach the practical skills kids really need for their futures. In only short periods of time at home, kids can be taught simple things like cooking, laundry and minor household repairs. And, without a whole lot of effort (comes mainly via modeling and participation) children who spend time with their families gradually learn such valuable life skills as personal finance, health and wellness, team work, child care, and so much more.

Sparking (or fueling) new interests

Homeschooling comes with more flexibility, which usually equates to less rushing to and from meaningless activities. And when time resources are increased, children benefit by finding time to do the things they love to do. Whether it’s discovering a book series or starting a new hobby, time means igniting new passions or practicing existing skills. Extra time also gives parents an opportunity to facilitate a child’s efforts, by providing supplies or just offering praise and support. With minimal supervision, children’s lives are expanded and enhanced with the gift of time, something not always afforded during a traditional “school year”.

Filling in gaps of all kinds

It usually isn’t until we’ve spent a lot of time with someone that we notice what they’re truly like. This is exceptionally true in families who never spend more than a few hours together per week. When students are home — even for a short while – parents tend to observe what they didn’t realize was there. Mending emotional hurts, correcting simple misunderstandings, even noticing educational holes means these can be addressed before sending children off the next year. The simplest of things sometimes make the greatest impact. There is no better use of time than focusing on small problems before they snowball into larger issues later on.

Positive experiences and outlook

I’d be remiss by not listing all the other benefits of short-term homeschooling that are impossible to measure, or even define. While homeschooling doesn’t work for everyone, those who do it tend to look back with much fondness. Pointing to benefits in lots of different areas — from health and well-being, to greater access to resources, to flexibility of lifestyle, to overall contentment – homeschoolers tend to really enjoy the experience, even when it didn’t last forever.

What About The Future?

In all the examples you’ve just read, it’s easy to see how the benefits earned by homeschooling temporarily should never be lost, even when children go back to traditional school. Any possible inconveniences or schedule disruptions are usually more than outweighed by the lasting impacts of being home, even if just for a little bit. Knowing how successful homeschool graduates tend to be, there is no need to worry about doing it for a short length of time. If anything, it should be a boon to both student and family.

Regarding concerns over educational outcomes, it’s important to remember that educational content is recycled and revisited many times before students ever graduate from public schools. What that means is, there’s very little chance students won’t get to make up “lost” material before they’re through. And older students, especially those nearing graduation, are very well-practiced and capable of producing work in short periods of time, not to mention exceptionally resilient over many years of functioning within the same system under fluctuating circumstances. It’s highly unlikely a brief period in which students missed classroom lessons will make any difference at all.

Yet, time spent with a family, whether it’s shoring up relationships or mending wounds, can’t ever be replaced. All that said, if temporary homeschooling is what your family needs at this time, you have permission to do so without guilt, and without excess worry about the future.

Are there ways that homeschooling has positively impacted your family — even if you only did so temporarily? Please share a COMMENT to encourage more of my readers. And, thank you, for all you do for your children and family, no matter what form of education you choose.

Related Articles:

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Can you homeschool after public school…

Why I wasted a good education…

As families flock to homeschooling…

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA/Tampa, H.E.R.I., HECOA, Start Homeschooling Summit, Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT, Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

What’s your adrenal story? Are you lazy? Are you crazy?

I am not a medical doctor. Use this information at your own risk. 

I’ve been writing about my journey to adrenal health (starting here), sharing my research, and explaining what has worked for me and countless sufferers I’ve met over the years. In the previous article, I recommended adding nutriceuticals to your diet. In upcoming articles, I’ll share even more tips for achieving adrenal balance.

Today’s topic is about looking back on your adrenal journey. This exercise is important since it identifies behaviors leading to adrenal imbalance in the first place. Looking to the past is crucial in avoiding the same kinds of problems in the future.

I’ll use myself as an example. Bear with me as I describe how long this took me to finally figure out.

Back to My Story 

The first time I experienced adrenal fatigue, I was married and in my early 30’s, juggling a challenging job with a stressful daily commute, and trying to deal with several difficult people who just wouldn’t go away. I didn’t know what it was then, but I see clearly in the rear view mirror. I was skipping meals and skipping sleep. Most days, I was even skipping going to the bathroom. I wasn’t taking proper care of myself.

The second time I had adrenal issues, I was chasing around a toddler and expecting another child, trying to maintain a successful career, and still be the kind of wife and mother I thought I should be. Also, those stressful people were still making me miserable — I hadn’t learned how to disconnect from others who stole my happiness. Again, I didn’t know what was going on. But, looking back, I see the stress I put on my adrenal glands (and, frankly, other parts of my body too).

In those early cases, I tried different things and eventually felt a little better. But I didn’t have a comprehensive plan for healing (articles like these weren’t available). Worse, I went back to the same habits after every crisis.

Which explains why it happened a third time after delivering a third child and enduring a houseful of foreign guests a few weeks later. I was beginning to understand myself at that point, so I knew some of the things that sent me over the edge (overscheduling myself, too high expectations, energy vampires, and house guests). Though I finally started disconnecting from people who caused me stress, I remained stubborn about the other life changes I really needed to make.

By the fourth time my adrenals went out, I studied about hormones and the human body and learned everything about natural healing I could get my hands on. Feeling the worst I’d ever felt in my life, I was desperate for answers. With no other choice, I finally put all the pieces together, and healed myself for good.

Examining past behaviors can prevent the same crisis from happening in the future #adrenal fatigue…

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What’s Your Story?

The reason I told you my history was so you would understand how these things can go. It isn’t mysterious, but a clear pattern of not listening to the body as it gradually falls apart.

As you can see, I wasn’t lazy and I wasn’t crazy — what happened to me was real (and perfectly understandable). No amount of being told I needed  exercise or a trip to the psychiatrist would’ve helped. In fact, those things only added guilt and frustration to a struggle that was already hard enough to figure out.

Maybe your story is like mine, or maybe it’s quite a bit different. Your body might be like mine, but probably it’s a little different, too. I could tell you what I did each time my adrenals broke down, but could never guarantee the same results. It’s like that list of stressors I wrote about. I felt better after eliminating certain stressors of mine, but there are likely others that really bother you.

What’s important, then, is to review your own life story. What kinds of things set you over the edge? What are your exact symptoms? When do you notice your adrenal fatigue is at its worst (morning, late at night, after a meal)? Do you notice anything different when you eat/don’t eat certain foods? Keeping a journal for a few weeks can be really helpful when answering these questions. If you’ve got recent labs or blood work, tuck those in your journal, too.

You’e not lazy or crazy. Here’s what to do. #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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Stick with me as we conclude this series in the next few articles (SUBSCRIBE on my home page if you like). If you start doing the things I’m suggesting, I think you’ll notice improvements very soon.

As a coach, writer, recovered over-doer and busyness addict, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle while the mind tries to sabotage your success. In my journey to vibrant health, I created a personalized health system of nutrition and supplementation, lifestyle changes, and I retrained my mind and the energy of my body. I view my success as the formula to my happy, healthy life. I now empower other women to create their own personalized formulas, including the tools and strategies just right for them! Amazing life shifts come from our relationships. I look forward to helping you, too!

Healing Adrenals by Reducing Stressors

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I’ve been sharing advice about dealing with adrenal fatigue over the last few weeks. If you’d like to read the articles from the very beginning, click HERE . If you only want to back up to the previous article, click HERE.

I need to remind you that I’m not a medical doctor. What I am doing is sharing what I’ve learned in over a decade of research, years of personal experience, and a good bit of professional experience working with women who share this particular problem. I also remind you that traditional medicine doesn’t understand this dilemma the way I’m helping you understand it. Finally, remember that the only way to truly recover from adrenal fatigue/overload/exhaustion is to get to the source and take a holistic approach to resolve it. Trust me on this — conventional medicine doesn’t understand what you’re going through and has no idea how to help.

I know you’re anxious to get answers. So, starting with this post, I’m going to share specific things that work for many people. Obviously, you’re unique, so I make no guarantees. Also, there’s always the possibility that something else is going in addition to your adrenal imbalance. All that being said, you agree to read this at your own risk.

So, the first step to healing the adrenals is this: Eliminate your stressors.

Not stressed, you say? Think again.

It’s easy to look at our lives and wonder what could possibly be affecting us so profoundly that our bodies stay on high alert. Even I sometimes fall back into the trap of listening with my brain instead of listening to my body. Our brains tell us to look around at our beautiful homes and our healthy families, reminding us how happy we must be and how blessed we really are. And these are good things, don’t get me wrong, because gratitude is important for healing, too.

The problem is, our outer lives don’t tell the whole picture. Counting blessings doesn’t explain what’s happening with the adrenal glands. As in, why do we feel so crummy if everything else is going so well?

So, because the adrenals don’t function on logic, neither should your assessment of the number of stressors that are in your life. Modern living is full of stress, so people’s lists of stressors are usually quite long.

When tackling adrenal fatigue, it’s crucial to expand your understanding of stressors, and begin actively removing a bunch of them. Now. This isn’t the time to wait around for things to change (if they ever do). If you’re serious about healing the adrenals, you must take an honest look at what’s going IN and AROUND your body. You might be surprised what many of them are.

List of common stressors to eliminate (at least some). Starting now. #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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List of Stressors

  • People: Yes, even (often especially) family members, neighbors, close “friends”, people who annoy or disagree, people who are “vampires” of your energy or good will
  • Past emotional hurts: Even those we’ve long forgotten (especially those)
  • Jobs and Organizations: Those that suck your time, provide little fulfillment, or don’t suit your purpose
  • Commuting: How long, how often, and conditions thereof
  • Other health issues: Which can add layer upon layer of additional stress
  • Household toxins: chemical sprays, cleaning products, candles, air fresheners, beauty products
  • Other household toxins: carpeting, furniture, paint, pretreated fabrics, flame-retardant items
  • Outdoor toxins: swimming pools, bug sprays, lawn treatments, vehicle emissions
  • Positive things: Which can also be stressful, even if they’re fun (vacations, toddlers, out of town guests)
  • Plastic: water bottles, storage containers, mattress liners, and any non-safe plastic items
  • GMO foods: Research and anectodal evidence beginning to show many harms and dangers
  • Non-organic foods: Improperly handled, grown using pesticides, unsafe soils and packaging
  • Processed foods: Contain all manner of artificial ingredients, colors, sweeteners, and non-food
  • Caffeine and alcohol
  • Sugar: Plain sugar plus the sugar hidden in many foods
  • Indoor living and lack of sunshine
  • Electronics: Overuse of devices, sitting near devices, using too close to bedtime
  • Finances: Living above means and struggling, or sensing lack even where there is none
  • Lighting: Improper lighting, not enough light, light too close to bedtime

I’m not kidding when I say that ALL those things affect your body, therefore your health. There are others, but those are some of the major culprits when it comes to solving adrenal imbalance.

Which Ones to Eliminate

In my experience, people usually know specifically the people and things that are creating stress in their lives. But, thinking about disconnecting from those stressors creates stress for them, too. Weighing that situation adds to their stress, making eliminating stressors a tough problem in itself.

Despite how hard it might seem, everyone can at least identify at least 3 to 5 stressors (more is better) get rid of them right away. It’s important not to cave in, and to follow thru with the changes as consistently as possible. The rewards will show themselves eventually as a reduction in the level of stress the adrenals have to deal with each day. Ideally, one would take a long vacation and return home after several months completely stress-free. Since that isn’t usually possible, eliminating stressors a few at a time is the only way.

And what about stressors that can never be eliminated? That’s a topic for another article, but the trick is to eliminate those that are possible and train yourself not to react to the rest. I’ve linked a book at the end that might help with the problem of taking on the energy of difficult people.

Final Advice On Stress

It took a while for adrenal fatigue to set in, so it will take a while to go away #adrenalfatigue…

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Always remember that it took a while for adrenal fatigue to set in, so it will take a while to go away. Dealing with stressors systematically, one at a time, consistently and patiently, will help without a doubt. Though it may take a bit of time to start noticing the effects, a greater sense of calm will eventually return, sometimes within weeks, but definitely within months, and especially if you do some of the others things I’ll talk about in the next article.

Also remember the story about the camel’s back, where it took just one straw to cause the camel’s demise.  Though it may have been that final straw that caused your adrenal fatigue to show itself, it took a lot of straws in your personal story to get you to that point. Removing that one straw might help with adrenal fatigue temporarily, but it will only take another straw to break you all over again.

Eliminating many stressors is really required for success. Remove as many “straws” as you possibly can.

Eliminating stressors a key component to dealing with #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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Ill keep sharing if you’ll keep reading. Follow me by entering an email address into the SUBSCRIBE box at the bottom of my HOME PAGE.

Book recommendation for “empaths” and others who take on the stress/negativity of others (affiliate):

To your good health,

As a coach, writer, recovered over-doer and busyness addict, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle while the mind tries to sabotage your success. In my journey to vibrant health, I created a personalized health system of nutrition and supplementation, lifestyle changes, and I retrained my mind and the energy of my body. I view my success as the formula to my happy, healthy life. I now empower other women to create their own personalized formulas, including the tools and strategies just right for them! Amazing life shifts come from our relationships. I look forward to helping you, too!

Adrenal Fatigue: What it is and how it happens

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I recently wrote an article about adrenal fatigue (here). In it, I revealed how I had suffered with adrenal exhaustion years ago, and I listed some of the symptoms I had when my adrenal fatigue was at its worst. The article is being shared rather widely, validating once again how many people suffer from adrenal issues and are searching for a cure. The information I shared wasn’t readily available when I looked for it in my 30’s and 40’s. That’s part of why I decided to share more about this problem with you today.

Though my adrenals have been fine for a long time, I began noticing they needed attention again this year. After dealing with a difficult problem over the last 10 months, I can’t say I’m surprised my adrenals began to speak out. If you think of the adrenal glands as the “first responders” of the body, it’s easy to see how they produce some of the first noticeable signs when the body falls out of balance again. Because the adrenals are quick to react but slow to calm down once they’ve been stressed too long, they produce a range of uncomfortable symptoms that are just too hard to ignore.

I’d like to offer a short anatomy lesson, for those who aren’t familiar with the location and job of the adrenal glands in the human body.

Learn what the adrenals do and how they do it #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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Adrenal Glands: A Quick Overview

Every one of us has 2 adrenal glands, each about the size of a thumb, which are located on top of each kidney on either side of the body. The primary job of the adrenal glands is to produce a variety of hormones (more than 50 I believe) that are necessary for human life. Most people have probably heard of the adrenal hormone called “adrenaline”, which is the one that comes to our rescue during times of extreme fear or situations requiring quick action. Adrenaline is the hormone that rushes blood to our heads so we can think clearly in emergencies. It also rushes blood to our hearts and muscles so they can briefly become super-powerful and quickly react to whatever emergency situation is at hand (think of the parent able to lift a vehicle off a child after an accident).

Another hormone released by the adrenals is “cortisol”. In a perfect world, cortisol would be released in precise dosages into the body throughout the day, helping us rise in the morning, perform our daily activities with an appropriate amount of energy, and feel ready to go to sleep at night. Cortisol function is disturbed when the adrenals are severely under stress, however. What would normally proceed like clockwork becomes greatly out of balance, and the changes in cortisol levels are felt as the various symptoms we commonly associate with adrenal fatigue or exhaustion. (See this list of symptoms.)

Typically, this excess cortisol produces a feeling of being on constant “high alert” without the ability to calm down. With the  adrenals overloaded and hormone levels unregulated in the cyclical way I described earlier, the body remains in a continually heightened state (some call it fear, nervousness, stress, or anxiety). It’s like the high alert can never be turned off. Which is why adrenal fatigue sufferers always feel so wired, so anxious, so nervous, and so jittery all the time; or in contrast, so utterly exhausted and practically unable to move when the alert has finally ended.

Fight or Flight Response

In reality, the stress response I’ve just described is life-saving and necessary for humans to react to real emergencies. If we look back in time to when humans would flee from wild animals or, later, human predators, we can understand why “fight or flight” is necessary for actual survival.

[An easy book for learning about stress and relaxation is, “The Relaxation Response” by Dr. Herbert Benson. If you’re interested in learning more, even though it’s an older book, it’s a good one to start out with.]

A problem today is that the human body hasn’t quite adapted to face the situations it’s living under in modern society.  We are constantly bombarded with information and other stimuli, and we’re surrounded by mock emergency situations, or at least those we perceive as being urgent RIGHT NOW. The typical American lifestyle can wreak havoc on a body not designed to handle the overload of modern western culture. Our bodies lose the ability to chill out between episodes of stressful activity and bounce back to its naturally restful state.

Here’s a simple equation representing what I’ve just said:

Modern living = too many emergencies = adrenals can’t rest = bodies unlearn how to calm down.

Here’s the translation:

The adrenals get fooled into thinking there’s an alarm going off all the time.

The adrenals get fooled into thinking there’s an alarm going off all the time. #adrenalfatigue…

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I’ve learned so much by healing myself and helping others over the years. In the next installment I’ll begin sharing specifics to start healing the adrenal glands. There’s a subscribe button at the very bottom of my home page if you want to follow along.

Here’s that book by Dr. Benson again (affiliate):

To your health and healing,

As a coach, writer, recovered over-doer and busyness addict, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle while the mind tries to sabotage your success. In my journey to vibrant health, I created a personalized health system of nutrition and supplementation, lifestyle changes, and I retrained my mind and the energy of my body. I view my success as the formula to my happy, healthy life. I now empower other women to create their own personalized formulas, including the tools and strategies just right for them! Amazing life shifts come from our relationships. I look forward to helping you, too!

Adrenal Fatigue: Symptoms List (plus a little about my journey)

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I was first introduced to the adrenal glands by reading Dr. James L. Wilson’s book, “Adrenal Fatigue: 21st Century Stress Syndrome” (see it here). The first to discuss adrenal fatigue to my knowledge, Dr. Wilson’s words spoke to me like he was reading my mind. I had been struggling with a strange (and seemingly unrelated) set of symptoms for at least 15 years, probably longer since I’d ignored so many subtle signs prior. Aside from constantly feeling crummy, I was tired of being misunderstood by doctors who did nothing but hand me prescriptions for drugs  to shut me up.

That feeling when you find proof you’re not making stuff up #adrenalfatigue #notlazyorcrazy

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You know that feeling when you finally find proof that you’re not making stuff up? That book was the first time someone validated my intuition and told me to listen to what my body had to say. It was, you might say, my first step to freedom. (I just bought another copy as a kind of memorial to my health journey. I’d loaned my original copy so many times, it finally disappeared.)

The Start of My Journey

Before learning adrenal exhaustion was real,  I had reached the point where if one more person told me I was making it up, needed more exercise, needed to relax, needed a pain pill, needed an anti-depressant, needed to stop eating so much, needed to have more sex, or needed to get my head examined, I would explode. Believe me when I tell you I would’ve tried anything to feel better, but I was an educated woman who’d lived in this body a long time — I knew those weren’t what I needed to fix me.

I found zillions of people on the internet (usually women) who felt like I did. Knowing I wasn’t alone was incredibly empowering, since I had no idea this was even going on. By reading their stories and reflecting on my own, I grew in knowing there had to be answers beyond what traditional medicine currently understood. So began my journey to learn as much as I could about adrenal fatigue and restore myself once and for all.

In this article and others to come, I’ll talk more about my journey to solve adrenal fatigue. I plan to be transparent hoping my findings will also help you, too. Please remember I’m not a medical doctor so you’re agreeing to read/apply this information at your own risk. I’ll be brutally honest, though. After years of going to doctors, I’m confident I know more about the adrenals than most of the doctors you’ll ever meet.

Symptoms Inventory

I’ll begin by listing common symptoms. There are more than the ones on my list, but I’m naming some of the symptoms that personally affected me and I’ve observed in other women I know.

Also know the language I’m using isn’t clinical, but I’m writing this for real women to relate to right away.

Finally, understand these symptoms alone don’t necessary indicate adrenal exhaustion and could each have other causes. It’s the combination of a bunch of these symptoms together that likely indicates the adrenals are on the way out, or shot altogether. The grouping of these symptoms is what you want to pay attention to.

Common symptoms of adrenal fatigue/exhaustion/total wipeout:

  • Stress and anxiety, often extreme, and at unwarranted times (like when you’re relaxing or doing something fun, or when you know there’s not really much stress in your life)
  • Dizziness or faintness, like waves that strike for no reason at all
  • Inability to bounce back after emotional or psychological pressure (not like you used to anyway)
  • Excessively moody, weepy, touchy, or emotional (more than is usual for you)
  • Mental confusion, hard to focus, “brain fog” (having to re-read paragraphs several times, not able to think crisply and clearly)
  • Anger, irritability, argumentative (even when you know it’s not appropriate, but you can’t help it)
  • Fatigue during the day, especially in the afternoons (crawling up the stairs on all fours <sigh> as I did)
  • Wide awake at night when you need to go to bed, but staying up just to get some “me time” or to finally get things done
  • Neck pain, shoulder pain, headaches, pain in the trapezius or other muscles in those areas
  • Unexplained cough
  • Low blood pressure, or BP that doctors say is “low-normal” even if it isn’t normal for you
  • Feeling of hopelessness, despair, general depression, even though logic says you have a wonderful life
  • Low tolerance for people, stuff, and anything you used to be able to handle before
  • Autoimmune issues, like Hashimotos, or being told you have Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue
  • Skin issues, like rashes or hives, when they persist for years with no known cause
  • Excess fat storage, especially around the middle, and especially when you’re eating relatively well
  • Food cravings, for sweets, or for sweets that just don’t satisfy
  • Food cravings, for salty snacks, or some feeling you need extra salt
  • Food cravings for high fat foods, which fuel you for a little while until you crash again
  • Feeling better after a meal, or feeling worse after a meal
  • Over use of coffee or alcohol, more than you know you should (sometimes with guilt attached to using these substances to get through the day)
  • Crashes in between eating, and urgency to eat soon (scrambling to stuff something in your mouth)
  • Heartburn or indigestion
  • Gum bleeding or swelling
  • Sighing, gasping for air, feeling like you can’t fill up your lungs or get a full breath of air, but you keep trying anyway, so much it becomes an obsession
  • Blurry vision that comes and goes with no apparent cause, rubbing your eyes to clear them, getting glasses
  • Jaw pain, TMJ, teeth grinding at night, face tension or headaches from clenching so much
  • Heart pounding, racing or rapid heartbeat, even when resting, and especially when getting out of bed in the morning
  • Muscle cramps, “charley horses”, during the day, in bed, when you haven’t done any exercise or anything else to cause it
  • Constipation, irregular bowel movements, or different stools than you know is normal
  • Shaking or trembling, like having slightly shaky hands or an internal trembling in your mid-section
  • Low or no libido
  • Feeling like nothing is ever fun any more, you’re no fun, or there’s just no joy in life left
If you have these symptoms, you may have adrenal fatigue

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In future articles, I’ll describe some of the things that helped me and specific techniques that healed my adrenals for good. If you’d like to follow along, there’s a box where you can subscribe at the very bottom of my HOME PAGE.

Meanwhile, if you want to grab a copy of Dr. Wilson’s book, click the image (affiliate) below:

To your good health,

As a coach, writer, recovered over-doer and busyness addict, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle while the mind tries to sabotage your success. In my journey to vibrant health, I created a personalized health system of nutrition and supplementation, lifestyle changes, and I retrained my mind and the energy of my body. I view my success as the formula to my happy, healthy life. I now empower other women to create their own personalized formulas, including the tools and strategies just right for them! Amazing life shifts come from our relationships. I look forward to helping you, too!