Why would a healthy 32 year old feel exhausted all the time? The label given to this dilemma is “adrenal fatigue.” Okay, that’s the label; so what is the cause? We are not designed to be exhausted. We are designed to create energy so we can create joy in our lives. To do that, we must feel energized. What causes exhaustion in the body? Better yet, what creates energy?
John and I have been working together for three years. I cannot remember the original reason he came to see me. However, as time went on, many issues came to light; and for quite a few layers, John started to realize that everything he does in life is surrounded by discouragement.
That “discouraging” information was actually quite encouraging, mainly because the adrenals store the energy of discouragement, and discouragement creates exhaustion. John was beginning to see and feel the connection between the adrenals and his discouraging personality.
Whenever we attach the energy of discouragement to our choices, it is stored in the adrenal glands. The more we use this energy in our day to day activities, the greater the strain on our energy system. The opposite of discouragement is excitement; the adrenal glands are stimulated by excitement. The more we attach excitement to our choices, the less energy we give to discouragement. Hence, the adrenal glands can begin to heal.
As John worked deeper and deeper into his layers, he realized that excitement has alluded him for a very long time. Each choice he made, from relationships to careers and everything in between, always ended with discouragement attached to it. It was time for John to remember the energy of excitement and bring this energy back into his thoughts, words and actions.
During our last session, John was very excited! He was beginning to heal his adrenal glands. For the first time in many years, John stepped out of his box (his patterns of behavior) and joined a new group that loved playing volleyball. John remembered that he loved volleyball too and interestingly enough, John played for hours without draining his adrenals. John was remembering that playing sports excited him. This old memory from his early childhood years was coming back to “light.”
When did John forget that playing was fun and exciting? I took John back to the time before first grade when playtime was exciting. He remembered a little boy that loved to play with his toys; he also remembered that he loved to draw. Where did that little boy go?
Once John entered first grade, his love of drawing was quickly replaced with the need to compete. Comparing himself to others, John’s artwork no longer excited him. He believed that his classmate’s artwork was superior to his own. Drawing now discouraged him. From that experience, John’s need to compete began to replace his love of play.
John is being given the opportunity to love who he is and what he can do, separate and unique from what anyone else does. John can now love his own gifts - the athlete, the artist and the worker - without comparing himself to other’s gift. As he heals, he can learn to share this exciting personality with others, ready and willing to create healthy relationships based on the person John came to be.
John was gracious to share his thoughts about his healing experience:
“I’ve worked every angle to address the adrenal fatigue: nutrition, supplementation, yoga, QiGong, stretching, journaling and emotional work, and even took my first antibiotic ever to support thyroid function. None of that had nearly the effect of the shifting of energy away from discouragement toward excitement. It was not until that shift that I began to feel the healing effect.
“I would describe my exhaustion as completely debilitating - physically, mentally and emotionally. The frustration around that was also debilitating, when none of the above things had any effect.
“The understanding of who I am and how I share myself has been of critical importance to this process. Just now beginning to understand, “I am fulfilled sharing myself as an athlete in a social setting” has been very freeing (freeing is a good word).
“Its definitely still a process, but the type of energy is different and that is clear.”
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