Emuna and Adrenal Fatigue

I’m crashing in a big way.

My body has had  it. I’m exhausted to the point that I honestly can’t tell if I’m getting sick or if it’s just exhaustion. This last pregnancy nearly sucked the life out of me – but Baruch Hashem, I have a beautiful baby to enjoy after it all. Except after holding him for about 18 hours a day, my arms want to fall off and run away. Or when I put him down to nap and then he realizes that I’m not holding him, and wakes up 30 seconds later. My husband says he naps about 40 times a day. My house has turned into Chaos Central. We’re moving in a few weeks, and everyone knows how stressful a move is. One of my kids keeps calling my cell from the house phone. Over and over and over again! I’m so tired, even yelling at him from across the house is too much. Forget about going over to stop him. My two-year-old is crying in the hallway because he doesn’t want to come inside. My four-year-old decided to give himself a haircut with my husband’s beard trimmer.  And those @#$%* LEGO’s!! Everywhere I go, I step on them!!! I HAAAAATTTEEEEE LEGOOOOOOOOOO’S!!

Okay, now that I vented a bit, let me get back to- me. If I were a patient of the Rambam, he would say I am a person of weak constitution. I’m not a high-energy person, even though my personality is anything but quiet. I get run down a lot. I can’t function well on little sleep. My body makes numerous protests in physical manifestations when I put it under too much stress, both mental and physical.

When I get super-stressed, super-tired, and overwhelmed, I start to break down. I’ve read about living under constant stress (who doesn’t these days), and that feeling like your body is breaking actually happens because the adrenal glands are under tremendous stress. Our adrenal glands are responsible for releasing hormones that mobilize the body and enable it to respond to all types of stress that we experience. When they get over-stimulated, either due to a single traumatic incident or a lifestyle with chronic stress, their ability to maintain homeostasis and regulate the body’s response to stress is diminished. As a result, they are not reacting as efficiently to stress. The less efficiently they react, the more the other body systems are stressed, and the cycle continues until a person reaches the point of burnout.

I think that most of us live with some degree of adrenal fatigue. However, we exacerbate the problem because we continue on with our high-stress lifestyle. A poor diet, particularly drinking a lot of coffee and caffeinated drinks, too little sleep, chronic illnesses, and repeated infections, all contribute to the reduced functioning of the adrenal glands.

Emotional and psychological stress also compromise adrenal function. Everyone has experienced the physical effects of mental stress. When the body releases those stress hormones, every organ and body system suffers.

Diet and lifestyle changes are obviously a necessity in order to correct this problem. However, there is another area that must also be worked on: emuna.

Emuna- it really is the panacea that everyone is looking for. What is so great about it? Well, think about this- imagine that no matter what challenges and difficulties you go through, you really know that everything is happening for your ultimate benefit. I don’t mean “know” in an intellectual way; I mean “know” in your heart. Imagine having that feeling of unbelievable inner calm and confidence that doesn’t waver no matter how difficult the tests are.

Could most of us even relate to such a feeling? I know I can’t. However, I know that it is an achievable goal and it is one that must be worked on every day.

So, what’s the connection between emuna and relieving adrenal fatigue? Emuna takes away 99.9% of the stress in our lives! All the worry, anxieties, fears, anger, whatever it is- it all creates mental and physical stress! More emuna = less stress. Less stress = less high blood pressure, less ulcers, less muscle tension, less heart attacks, less stomachaches, less insomnia, less overpriced doctor bills and medicine, etc., etc.

Who doesn’t want that?

Luckily, the Doctor of the Soul, Rebbe Nachman, gave us an easy-to-follow prescription for a happy, healthy life. An hour of personal prayer a day keeps the doctor (and therapist) away!  While it’s true that most of us don’t have a solid hour during the day, we can still accomplish this goal. Split up the hour into time blocks: 30 minutes, 15 minutes, even 5 minutes at a time, if that’s what you can manage. The important thing is to give personal prayer as much effort as you can. Your life is worth it!