How I Got Through Grad School with Adrenal Fatigue

The following is a list of things I did to support my body and heal adrenal fatigue while completing my Master’s degree. I am not a medical professional, but want to share strategies that helped me personally.

No. 1: Find the right help.

Over the course of months, I found a doctor who listened to me. I started with my general practitioner, who gave me a prescription for laxatives. I tried another general practitioner, who tested me for celiac disease, then referred me to an endocrinologist. In the mean time, my mom did some research and found a private practice that specialized in thyroid issues and looked at symptoms as a constellation, versus the same standard battery of bloodwork. This independent doctor listened to my symptoms and came up with a comprehensive treatment plan.

I was also fortunate enough to have a mother with a flexible schedule who was able to help me. When I was at my lowest, my mom was able to drive me to appointments, pick up supplements, buy groceries, and help me cook. My energy at that point was so limited that this was huge. Having a close friend or relative assist with odds and ends can truly make a difference. It was hard to admit I needed help with these basic things, but I think this really sped up my recovery. Resting as much as possible cannot be emphasized enough.

No. 2: Self-advocate.

It is extremely discouraging to have medical professionals shrug off your symptoms or suggest “it’s all in your head.” Listening to my body, and my gut feeling, that something was not right was absolutely the catalyst for identifying and treating my adrenal fatigue. I had to trust myself and stay persistent, scheduling appointment after appointment and reporting my symptoms (ALL my symptoms) as accurately as I could. At the endocrinology appointment, the nurse told me I would have to pick a few complaints I wanted to talk about because the doctor would not have time to address them all. No consideration was given to the fact that the laundry list of symptoms could all be related. Sticking with it, advocating for myself, and asking all the questions I had was crucial.

No. 3: Cut down on stress.

Stress is addictive. Cutting down on stress is physically and mentally a lot harder than it sounds. During this process, I found out I loved stress. I loved stressing about things because it gave me something to focus on and motivated me to work hard and “problem-solve” all of my possible stressors. Managing stress became a conscious effort during this period of time.

In addition to simply increasing my awareness of how often I was stressing and what I was stressing about, I began meditating. The Cleveland Museum of Art hosted monthly, hour-long meditation practices in the Indian and Southeast Asian Art Gallery. My mom and I would go (another lovely idea of hers) and relax for a full hour. Three of the gallery walls were entirely glass and meditation is beneficial for a plethora of reasons, so we really couldn’t go wrong.

I also did my best to let go of making things “perfect.” This was especially relevant to my life as a full-time graduate student. Grad school is bursting at the seams with papers, presentations, group projects, and daily assignments. I did my best to let go of some of my Type-A tendencies and allowed myself to turn in work that was “good enough.” I worked extremely hard on most things, but some nights one round of proofreading was healthier (and just as effective) as three or four.

I went back-and-forth on this last piece, but I eventually decided to share what was going on with one of the faculty members in my program. In this instance, it was definitely the right move. I went to grad school for school psychology, so naturally my professor was more than understanding. She was already well aware of adrenal fatigue and the impact trauma and stress has on one’s physical and mental health. Additionally, it was cathartic to let someone know what I was dealing with, considering grad school is grueling enough on its own. I ended up missing one of her lectures that semester because I was exhausted to the point of nausea; it was such a relief to give her a look and excuse myself.

No. 4: Rest.

I already said this process was not glamorous. I truly slept every chance I had. I lived in an apartment building basically next door to our program’s main building. I’d sleep in until the last minute, between classes, and after class. As nice as this sounds, I felt a lot of guilt for being so lethargic. I had to redefine what productive meant for myself, and during this time “productive” was resting so my body could heal. I also used the 1-2 “unexcused absences” I had in most of my classes. If I was especially drained and knew I could get the notes online or from a classmate, I stayed home. Obviously this was helpful a finite number of times, but it all adds up. The sick days were there whether I used them or not, so I used them instead of making myself miserable on especially-low energy days.

As someone that experiences the need to be busy and/or productive all the time, I found other ways to make these rest periods feel beneficial. If I couldn’t fall asleep, I would make a point to watch or read things that had been on my list. I watched a lot of Netflix documentaries that I probably would not have made the time for if I wasn’t glued to my couch trying to feel better. I also watched a lot of fun, lighthearted shows, like Bob’s Burgers, to zone out and laugh. Being tired all the time really took a toll on my mood, so funny TV was the perfect antidote. Lastly, I made up movie marathons for myself based on whatever actor I thought was cute that week (e.g. Miles Teller, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey). Sounds weird, but I felt productive checking off every Miles Teller movie I had watched.

No. 5: Go to therapy.

Adrenal fatigue is often the end result of extensive stress and/or trauma. Seeing a therapist regularly to manage stress and heal from trauma is necessary to get to the root of the problem. Therapy was also extremely beneficial in my case, because I really struggled with feeling guilty about “doing nothing.” I was obsessed with being productive and busy, and truly had to work on letting myself sleep more, work out less, and prioritize things I needed to do for myself. With the help of my therapist, I began to frame rest as a form of being productive. It was also great to have someone to vent to about how tired I was and how miserable I felt. Adrenal fatigue can be frustrating for a variety of reasons and having someone to talk to other than family and friends was definitely freeing.

No. 6: Filtered water.

Do you know how much crap is in our water? A LOT. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, you name it. I would need to write an entire post just about water (and I just might). The main gist here though, is that I bought a water filter and it made a world of difference. I wasn’t guzzling water filled with endocrine disruptors all day every day.

No. 7: Taking the right supplements.

Thankfully, I found a great doctor who knew exactly what my body was lacking. What to take will be different for everyone, but my doctor’s guidance in this area made all the difference. I had been guessing and trouble shooting with different supplements for a while and he was able to address deficiencies I wasn’t even aware of. He was also able to recommend high quality brands for each supplement I took.

Now, I try to get all my nutrients from the food that I eat (because it is more easily converted) but at the time, my levels were so low I really benefitted from the bigger doses a supplement can provide.

No. 8: Organic foods.

Again, there are so many chemicals in and around conventional produce that I chose to buy 100% organic. These chemicals are so disruptive to our bodies’ hormonal balance and I was done playing around. Additionally, at the suggestion of my doctor, I cut out dairy, sugar, wheat, caffeine, and alcohol for a few months. I have since added some of these foods back, but when I was in bad shape it really helped to remove these foods that were more irritating for my struggling system. I also focused on when and how much to eat. I made sure I ate first thing in the morning, which has always been hard for me. Breakfast always included protein. I also made sure I was never hungry for long and packed ridiculously big lunches and snacks when I would be gone for the day (which was Monday-Friday). Having enough food around was extremely important because I was trying to lower stress in my body, not only mentally but also physically. Feeding your body nutritionally dense foods, and enough food, will keep stress levels down and help keep blood sugar stable.

No. 9: Research.

I am lucky in the sense that I am very interested in nutrition and health. I did a lot of research on my own while going through the healing process and felt like that was another large part of my success. It gave me a sense of agency and control. I had the knowledge I needed to get better, and I was able to make good choices to support my body. I read Womancode by Alisa Vitti and a handful of books about gut health. Toward the end of the summer when I went back to the endocrinologist and my numbers had “magically” all gone back to the normal range, she asked what I did. She also asked for the book title so she could share it with her patients.

No. 10: Limiting exercise.

I have already touched on this a little, but I had to significantly decrease my workouts. It is super important to move, walk, and stretch, but I cut out my more intense workouts for a while. This was really hard for me because I was always an athlete. There’s also the mental block of thinking you’ll gain weight and lose all your muscle once you stop working out. Although this was a tough mental obstacle, in the long run it was the smart choice. Because my body was so depleted, I really and truly needed the rest. Putting my body through an intense workout at this time would’ve upped stress levels even more–I was running on empty.

To make up for not working out, I really enjoyed going for walks and practicing light yoga. Being completely sedentary is never ideal.

No. 11: Environment.

Last but not least, considering the environment I lived in was huge. My surroundings have always influenced my mental state, and that feeds into physical well-being. I made sure to have plants around, which naturally detoxify the air and also just brighten up any living space. I bought flowers for myself, just because they looked pretty and made me happy. Keeping things clean, using non-toxic cleaning products, and decorating with things that bring joy are so important to the healing process as well. Surrounding yourself with art, music, plants, and any other things that make you happy can only aid in the healing process.