I saw an article last week about adrenal fatigue and was intrigued. I read it and was even more intrigued since it seemed to explain why I’m so exhausted all the time these days.

Then I did some more research.

Turns out that adrenal fatigue isn’t a medically defined condition. Now, as you know, I do not believe that doctors are either gods or the end all and be all of everything; however, I think that they’ve spent an awful lot of time studying the human body and can be good resources. I also believe that this Information Age is just as easily the Disinformation Age and anyone with an idea or product to sell can create a condition for their idea or product to cure. The symptoms of adrenal fatigue are really just the symptoms of exhaustion…..adrenal fatigue just sounds so much better. Right?

Hospitalization for exhaustion or bed rest for fatigue sounds awfully Lindsay Lohan, n’est pas? It sounds like you’ve been out partying too much, you’re secretly in rehab, you’re having a nervous breakdown or you’re just a wimp. I mean, the Mormons walked across the country pushing wheelbarrows, for crying out loud. What do any of us have to be exhausted about?

Well, actually, we have a lot.

I don’t think that anyone can deny that this is a very stressful time to be an adult in the United States. The news tells us that the country has recovered; but, I talk to an awful lot of unemployed or underemployed people who have not seen that recovery. Paychecks don’t go as far as they used to. For instance, I now make the same amount of money that I made 20 years ago – not the same amount adjusted for inflation, the actual same amount. However, the cost of living certainly isn’t what it was 20 years ago. That causes a tremendous amount of stress for me. That kind of stress will just wear a body out; but,  it still sounds kind of wimpy to say that I’m suffering from exhaustion, doesn’t it? Makes me sound like some silly Victorian female suffering a fit of the vapors on my reclining couch. But, if I’m suffering from adrenal fatigue, well, that’s a whole different kettle of fish, isn’t it? It’s not that I can’t handle the stress, it’s that my adrenal glands are letting me down. Damn the luck! Wimpy glands.

Okaaaaaaay.

Here’s what I found most amusing about the condition – its prescribed treatment: get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, and eat a balanced diet including lots of fruits and vegetables. That’s really the prescription for everything, I think: obesity, arthritis, high blood pressure, and, now of course, adrenal fatigue.

It’s hardly earth-shattering. It’s hardly revolutionary. It’s what our grandparents knew and what we also know, if we’re honest with ourselves. It’s just that simple.

And it’s just that hard.

In our stressful, fast-paced world, we want an immediate solution. We want a pill. We want someone else to do the work for us. We want an overnight miracle. But, it just doesn’t work that way. We have to prepare our meals. We have to make healthier choices. We have to do the work and take care of ourselves.

And I, for one, have got to get started right this very minute.