Can stress lead to chronic fatigue? It now seems to be an accepted part of modern life that we feel stressed, often on a regular and long term basis. The majority of people I see in my practice will tell me that they feel their lives are stressful. This may get expressed in many ways, including the following:
- feeling anxious and edgy
- tired all the time or ‘tired but wired’
- low mood
- hormonal issues
- insomnia
- migraines
- brain fog
- getting lots of colds and viruses
- IBS symptoms
Not everyone will recognise initially that stress could potentially be an underlying cause of these issues but once they do, we can get to work using nutritional and lifestyle measures to improve their situation.
Stress – A Natural Response
Our nervous system and adrenal glands are programmed to get ready for ‘fight or flight’ when we experience stress. Our ancestors needed this response to ensure survival and would literally need to fight the tiger or run away! The body’s response to stress is designed to be short term but our modern day stresses are more likely to be chronic and ongoing. This may manifest as feeling anxious about work, concerns about the cost of living, worrying about the kids, and even sitting in a traffic jam or pressures stemming from social media. A hair trigger response to stressors, which could be physical, emotional or environmental, leads to the body feeling under constant threat, eventually inhibiting our parasympathetic or calming response. Negative or anxious thoughts exacerbate the issue, leading eventually to the possibility of mental or physical exhaustion.
The Tipping Point
Generally, if strategies for calming a busy brain and an over-triggered nervous system can be put in place at the stage of feeling stressed and ‘strung out’, then ‘burn out’ can potentially be averted. However, if this doesn’t happen then adrenal and nervous system dysregulation can become a significant issue, sometimes leading to a virus resulting from lowered immunity. (A virus, rather than chronic stress, is sometimes mistaken for the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome when actually it is usually just the final straw)
How To Prevent Tipping Over Into Chronic Fatigue
This will vary, depending on the individual but dietary measures are fundamental, along with specific supplements and possibly herbs. An Adrenal Stress Profile to measure cortisol levels and/or a thyroid test may be useful, alongside addressing emotional health and calming the nervous system through wellbeing coaching, mindfulness, yoga etc.
It is thought there may be a certain personality type who is more likely to develop chronic fatigue syndrome and who will generally find it more challenging to manage stress (at least until they have developed an understanding). These are often ‘A’ types, high achieving perfectionists who are usually highly sensitive. Recognising the pros and cons of these traits can be vital to recovery and to understanding and handling stress better in future.
Can grief and trauma lead to chronic fatigue?
Trauma is a stressful event so, depending on how this has been processed, there will be the possibility of trauma contributing to the development of chronic fatigue. Grief, especially if the loss was traumatic, is considered to be a major stressor – and can be long term – so therefore grief can sometimes lead to chronic fatigue, perhaps most especially in cases where the griever pushes on through, ignoring the signs the body may be giving them. An example of this would be a widow with young children who has no choice but to keep going, overriding her need to stop and fully grieve her loss. There can be a crossover in the physical symptoms of grief and chronic fatigue. They may both include insomnia, anxiety, digestive issues, low mood and, of course, fatigue.
So often, regardless of individual reasons, I see someone pushing themselves too hard, overriding the signs from their body telling them to slow down but if help from a nutritional therapist and wellbeing coach specialising in this area can be sought in time, then tipping over into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or M.E. can certainly be prevented and, going forward, strategies for managing stress can be successfully implemented.
I’ve undertaken training in ME/Chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia and specialise in working with women who are stressed. In addition, I’m a certified grief educator and holistic grief coach and always consider the impact grief might have on the body, including fatigue.
Are you feeling tired and stressed?
If you think you may be suffering from chronic fatigue or feel you’re in danger of developing this debilitating condition, I can help – so please get in touch.
You can read more about how to work with me here
or contact me: vanessa@wellbeingandnutrition.co.uk