So Christmas is over, now what? How are we doing in the lull after all the busyness? Was Christmas all we hope it would be or are we left feeling disappointed and blue?
For most people, the cycle of Christmas is a perfect example of an adrenal stress curve. We start in early December full of energy and excitement, though the stress feels high – the energy in the city feels frenetic, we have over-scheduled Christmas parties and gatherings, we wrestle in our minds with finding those perfect gifts, the weather is cold and dark, we must finalize travel plans (and deal with the unknowns of weather and travel interruptions), the end of year work pressures pile on, it’s the end of a school semester and the kids have exams or extra pressures, it’s cold and flu season, but you know, we got this.
Then Christmas comes, and we’re doing ok. A little tired and wired, needing a break and hoping the holidays will be all we need to recharge. Sometimes, we truly get some downtime; we love being with family, we eat tons of great food, and the world feels right again. But all too often, family stressors emerge, loneliness can feel unbearable, our travel plans didn’t work out, or it all ended up being much busier than we anticipated. We don’t get the chance to recharge.
By January, then our adrenals are pretty burnt out. We start a new year with aspirations but fatigue. The excitement of Christmas is over, and we’re left with a lot more winter and darkness and feeling a bit tired of it all. When we’re feeling burnt out like this, that’s often when our mood crashes, we can be tired but have trouble sleeping, we often get sick, it all feels a bit overwhelming, we can be irritable and anxious, and generally, we feel like we can’t keep up with the demands of daily life. Our New Year’s resolutions go out the window, and here we are with the winter blues.
This cycle with our adrenals shows what can happen in the microcosm of Christmas, but for many, this cycle is happening in larger arcs. With all the life pressures, we move through the three phases, at first feeling adrenaline and like we can hold it all together, then moving to tired but wired, then finally moving towards burnout. Each phase can last days to years, depending on our resilience.
Our adrenals are developed to protect us from danger, to give that all-important fight or flight reaction that allows us to avert danger. Still, we’ve invited this response into our daily lives and end up living as if there’s a danger lurking just around the corner.
As Naturopathic Doctors, we use different tools depending on which phase of adrenal stress you are in. Early on, we use techniques that have a more calming effect of lowering the adrenaline and cortisol output to preserve adrenals function and prevent burnout. This can range from lifestyle techniques to supplementation and IV therapies. In the second phase, we use tools that have both calming and energizing effects to help balance out the swings in adrenal function. And in the last phase, burnout, we are rebuilding adrenal function through supplementation, injection therapies and rest, lots of rest. And they can make a full recovery; it just takes a little time.
Our adrenal health is foundational to our well-being. When healthy, our adrenals help us to cope with change, adapt to stress, keep our mood level, sleep well, keep our immune systems strong, and literally allow us to thrive through our daily life stressors.
Take good care of those adrenals this new year. We are here to support you in restoring your adrenal function anytime.
Happy 2023!!
