Wipe Out!

Last year, after two years of to feeling 'quite right', I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue.

I was knackered - every afternoon between 2-6, I could better dribble than speak, I felt dizzy a lot of the time, I'd had heart monitors, blackouts and I had lost my old sparkle and lust for life.

Lucky for me, a clever doctor put all these things together, checked my blood and nailed it.  Turns out I also had Vitamin D deficiency - hilarious if you knew how much time I am outdoors!  A bit of research later though, along with 2 months dedicated to getting better and I'm definitely feeling on the mend.

People complain of stress.  Celebrities check into clinics and we all nod, knowingly.  When it actually happens though, and it happens a lot I've discovered, it totally wipes you out.  I'd always had a stressful job which I took in my stride.  A couple of years of change and my ability to cope with the tiniest amount has gone out of the window.  Even an elongated telephone call with a customer service department could render me useless for the rest of the day.

My biggest problem is my personality.  Im highly competitive (those who know me will laugh here!) I have to win at everything ... And I could never sit still, ever... Yes I do yoga and meditate regularly, but I treated them like everything else, as challenges to be mastered.  I even compete with myself!

My other problem was radiation.  Mobile phones, computers and airplanes.  In fact after a flight from the UK to Australia last year, I blacked out and ended up in hospital.

Obviously everybody has their ways of coping.  I've tried hard not to be an evangelist.  But here are the things that have helped me so far....

• Magnesium - this has literally changed my life...!  Its given me my energy back, taken away my bad PMT and made me strong again.  This one (make sure you get the ENERGY one), along with some epsom salts in my bath every other night.  

• Vitamin C and adrenal support pills - again, having tried a few, these work best for me and are less horse-pilly than others.  

• Getting to bed before 10.  Every night.  And no technology in the bedroom.  In fact I turn the internet off at the wall, every night.  Sarah Wilson has written a very helpful piece on this here.  

• Giving up sugar and fructose - yes a hot topic at the moment but my heart palpitations literally stopped after 3 days of no fruit.  I've now done 8 weeks on this ezine from Sarah Wilson again, and I certainly have my bounce back.  A booze free month has left my head very clear too.

I also rate highly the advice given in the book SPENT - simple stuff but easy to follow and take on some of the stuff and exercises that do actually help - most of it we all know but just don't do!

My house looks like a tip and Im trying hard not to worry too much about it - just to let things slide.  Gradually, I've begun to feel happier about it too.  Brene Brown spoke at TED about this very subject and I'm about to tackle her book - and probably uncover some more truths!