Adrenal Health in Current Times

Going through a divorce and a re-framing of family life I did not want, losing a business I had put my heart and soul into, losing my mother, plus passing through the gates of menopause (all within a 4- year period) inadvertently and unexpectedly brought me huge gifts of resolution in the arena of early life traumas.

These events also revealed to me my truly buoyant nature. Even though this chapter has been very challenging I would not trade it in for another.

An additional piece to all these events, however, is the multitude of physical details that had to be taken on during this time frame. Since becoming divorced I have moved into 7 different houses and 2 different business locations.

The first year of being divorced I slept an average of 4 hours per night, partially due to stress, but also because of being perimenopausal with an inability to track that dynamic at the time.

Rebuilding my business was another large piece.

Assisting my daughter to traverse this new terrain of family changing forms another piece of this landscape.

Fortunately, my sister, Dr. Bonnie Nedrow, persistently supported me in taking on becoming keto adapted. I stubbornly resisted for 2 years because life’s details felt overwhelming.

Now, my gratitude to her is boundless for her tenacity in supporting me in such a huge way. Becoming keto adapted has allowed my Liver and Kidney systems to work more efficiently and effectively so that I made it through the fire intact.

Currently I have noticed some minor signs of adrenal fatigue because of pushing for 4 solid years. Thank goodness I became keto adapted or otherwise this would not be a minor adrenal issue.

The symptoms I have been experiencing lately have led me to quit my life-long habit of caffeine plus initiated getting to bed much earlier.

My bedtime for a long time now has been mostly between 10 and 10:30 p.m. My new bedtime is at 9 p.m. Switching to the earlier time has made a huge difference.

Now I am more closely following the natural rhythm all animals imbibe.

Acupuncture has a back drop of studying the ways in which we humans connect and are affected by nature.

Modern times add some overwhelming top notes, such as artificial lights, screen time, and large levels of toxic elements, to name just a few.

It is much more important these days to try and follow the natural order of things to facilitate traversing this terrain with ease and grace.

Especially for those of us who are either perimenopausal or postmenopausal.

I think of it like this; When we have a good quality new car it can be potentially driven up to 120 miles per hour. As the car ages, if we take good care of it along the way, we can still go down the freeway at a good speed, but it would be unwise to drive it at 120 m/p/hr anymore.

Aging gracefully means letting go of habits that hinder the smooth transition we are navigating.

Our culture does not embrace this concept.

We are expected to have things within our bodies and minds to be exactly the same until we die without making any corresponding changes.

This is both unrealistic and also potentially damaging to the last chapter of our lives. Letting go of things along the way, which is the natural order of aging, makes it potentially easier for the final letting go to be acceptable.

In the words of the Dalai Lama:

In the end, what matters most is

How well did you love?

How well did you live?

How well did you learn to let go?

Yours in Health & Vitality,

Leslie Shanai

P.S. This article was seamlessly and easily written in the early hour of 5 a.m. Dawn, and hours close by, are some of the best for utilizing the natural abundance of energy that comes with switching gears internally with the coming of the light. Nature gives our bodies the best boost, if we follow its rhythms, when we allow it to lead us.