10 Body Warning Signs That You Are Burning Out
Are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed and fatigued all the time? You are not alone!
Burnout is increasing because the modern pace of life means people are effectively 24/7, not able to slow down, re-energise and recalibrate. Signs of adrenal burnout from too much stress can creep up on you and wipe you out needing time for recovery.
Is your body screaming for a break?
Here are the 10 warning signs you are heading for adrenal burnout and your body is telling you it's time to put on the brakes ASAP.
1. Exhaustion
If you are constantly on the go from when you wake up to when you fall into bed, it is eventually going to catch you with you. A clear sign of adrenal burnout is exhaustion and fatigue. Exhaustion can be emotional, mental or physical. It’s the sense of not having any energy and felling completely spent most days - despite not having done a lot of physical activity.
2. You Crave Caffeine, Sugar & Carbs
When your body is stressed, you will start to crave caffeine, sugar, and carbs to give you that quick energy boost because you are feeling so tired all the time. While this helps for a short period of time, it can lead to your body feeling more tired and exhausted.
3. You Can’t Remember A Thing
You notice you are making silly mistakes, forgetting important things, losing focus or making poor decisions. Stress and the busyness of our lifestyle hammers our executive function in our brain making it hardy for it to function properly. Memory loss is a sign that your body is under a lot of stress and needs a break to recover.
4. You’ve Developed Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Do you have achy joints, chronic headaches, muscle aches, or digestive complaints? Some of which are getting worse by the day?
When your body is over-stressed and completely burnt out any you may notice some physical symptoms that weren’t there before - symptoms like chronic joint pain, digestive issues, and headaches. This is your body way of telling you, you need to slow down.
5. Your Sleep Is All Over The Shop
You are totally exhausted and all you want to do is sleep but you can’t seem to fall asleep because you are dreading everything you have to do the next day. Your mind goes over everything again and again. Or you fall asleep easily then wake up at 2am and can’t get back to sleep.
When the body is stressed, despite the exhaustion and fatigue it cant switch off - either from too much sugar and caffeine used to “wake up” during the day, or because it’s in “fight/flight” mode ALL DAY and cannot switch off to get a good night sleep.
If your not getting a good night sleep due to stress, your body is telling you it’s time to make a change!
6. You Are Irritable
Being in a constant state of fight or flight may lead you to be extremely irritable and have angry outbursts. The kind of onslaughts of verbal diarrhoea that you could spew all over innocent bystanders. If people are avoiding you or walking on eggshells around you, its time to make some changes!
7. Lack Of Motivation
Stress, overwhelm and burnout can leave you feeling less than enthusiastic about anything. You lose motivation in many aspects of your life, including your work, relationships and social life. The things you used to get excited about gives you no satisfaction anymore, making everything feel like a chore.
8. Feeling Blue
Feeling blue from time to time is normal. You may notice when you are burnt out you feel empty and have more bad days than good. You may also experience nagging feelings of tension, worry, and edginess. Even the most positive person can feel negative when they are burnt out.
Prolonged stress can also wreck havoc on your hormones, which can lead to mood swings.
9. Increased Illness
When your body is overstressed and your adrenals are completely burnt out you are more vulnerable to infections because stress suppresses the immune system.
You will often pick up colds, the flu, and other immune system disorders very easily, and recovery can take longer than normal as your body has minimal stores to support your health recovery.
10. Your Gaining Weight
Stress can wreak havoc on your metabolism. High levels of cortisol have been shown to increase appetite, drive cravings and make it easier for you to accumulate belly fat.
Make A Change For A Healthier & Happier You!
If you recognise many of these symptoms in yourself, don’t worry. Making a conscious decision to make changes within your diet and lifestyle is a great start.
Alternatively, If you're having trouble with stress or adrenal burnout and would like more guidance and support to help you feel better, please BOOK YOUR FREE 10 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL HERE to chat with me about how I can help you recover from stress, adrenal fatigue, and burnout.