By: Michael A. Smith, MD
Although the human body is pretty good at managing acute stress, chronic psychological stress can produce a variety of dangerous medical consequences — including premature aging.
Chronic stress can increase our risk of suffering from a barrage of anxiety and pressure-related diseases ranging from high blood pressure1 and depression2 to dementia 3.
Chronic stress has also been associated with some types of cancer. 4,5
To counter the significant adverse health effects produced by chronic stress, conventional medicine regrettably often relies on prescription drugs to mask stress-related symptoms.
However, these drugs fail to address biochemical abnormalities such as imbalanced adrenal hormone levels that contribute to a phenomenon known as adrenal fatigue.
Chronic Stress Fatigues the Adrenal Glands
At the core of chronic stress is deregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or HPA, an interconnected nerve network that governs the production of stress hormones like cortisol and catecholamines like epinephrine.
The subsequent imbalances in stress hormone levels are a critical feature of stress-related illness.
Some alternative doctors will refer to the dysfunctional HPA axis as adrenal fatigue. It seems to be caused by constant stress or poor nutrition which can deplete and weaken the adrenal glands.
There are many symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue, mostly fatigue and weakness. In some patients, thyroid problems overlap or are concomitant with adrenal problems.
