As the owner of a luxury wellness travel company it seems like a bit of an oxymoron that I was recently diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue whilst on a work travel trip to find new wellness partners. We’re often advising stressed out CEO’s and worn out parents about how to avoid this type of sustained fatigue ourselves!

So what is Adrenal Fatigue and how can you be rid of it?

Researching Adrenal Fatigue is like surfing an ocean of uncertainty because it does not currently have a medical diagnosis, yet complementary medicine experts recognise it as a term applied to a group of non-specific symptoms. Googling the term results in numerous ‘is it real’ articles, which doesn’t help when you’re waking up after eight hours sleep and feeling exhausted or unable to shift that extra mid-rift weight even though you’re hitting the gym.

Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms can include:

• Extra difficulty getting your butt out of bed in the morning
• Inability to handle stress effectively
• Cravings for salty foods (or in my case sweet!)
• That 3am weird wakeup call
• Reliance on stimulants such as caffeine
• Weight fluctuation
• Non-specific digestive issues

Going through the menopause myself and with a history of unbalanced hormones, I tend to put everything down to this period of change in my body. Running Soul Sanctuaries means that I’m super fortunate to have global experts on hand, offering holistic health advice.

I recently travelled to Bali and later Thailand, to update the company on all luxury wellness retreats and healthy holiday options in Asia. I met with my long term meditation teacher and healer. Bapak Merta Ada of Bali Usada meditation, who gave me a ‘body scan’ (it’s a spiritual thing!). He told me to be aware of stress on my large intestine (ulcerative colitis runs in the family) and to continue to meditate regularly to manage my stress. Later, on arrival in Phuket, I was fortunate enough to spend three nights at Thanyapura, a superb health and sports fitness centre. With a wonderful blend of Western medicine and holistic health, I was able to receive consultations from the American Registered Nurse and Clinic Manager Nicole Bravata, the Ayurvedic Doctor Dr. Sujeet Kumar Gupta and undergo a variety of clinical tests to determine the current situation with my hormones. It takes around five days for the results to come back, but if you’ve already left the resort by then, no worries, the team will give you a login in code to access your results and organise a conference call to chat them through.

With my hormones out of whack, my low cortisol and DHEA readings indicated adrenal fatigue. So what’s next?

The resident dietician Morgane has given me some guidelines on helping me to restore balance and vitality, which included more fibre in my diet and leaning towards plant based meals. The Ayurvedic Doctor discussed how to incorporate the routines I loved in Asia into my life on the move and the Medical Doctor Dr. Narinthorn and I discussed methods of balancing out some of my imbalanced hormones. Not one for synthetics, I’m going to give some bio-identical hormone therapy a try and see where that leads me. It’s not for everyone, but that, coupled with lifestyle and diet adjustments and I’m hoping I’ll be back to my vital and energised self soon!

What to share your experience with these symptoms, then please chat away in the comments below.

If you feel that you may be suffering from adrenal fatigue, gift yourself some time away from your triggers and let us develop a luxury health retreat that’s entirely personalised with you in mind.

In Health and Happiness

Joanne