Let's face it. Anyone who is in the real estate industry is under tremendous amounts of stress, especially with today's market conditions. Take a close look at this pattern--does any of this sound like you?
Three alarms in the morning and it's still all you can do to get out of bed. Not to worry, you'll jump start yourself with a hot shower and a couple of cups of coffee. Even though you slept eight hours, you're still exhausted. Besides, nothing happens before 10 a.m. in the real estate business and that's about the time you come to life.
It seems like your allergies are kicking up again or is just that stupid cold that you still haven't been able to shake? Who knows. Work seems to be all you do. You're so exhausted the thought of exercise is overwhelming. Having fun is a distant memory. Thank goodness for the soft drinks and coffee that keep you going. You're not eating that much but you're still gaining weight. You have even given your spare tire around your middle it's own name.
Besides, between 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., you are just beat. Some chips, chocolate, and a diet drink are just the cure. The good news is that after you have dinner you get a second wind--at least until about 9:00 PM when you get really tired and feel like you should go to bed. No problem--you push through the fatigue with your fifth cup of Starbuck's and at around 10:00 you're awake. Problem is that now you can't go to sleep until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. No wonder you're struggling with depression--who can feel great when you're exhausted all the time?
While you may not have all of these symptoms, the real problem may be something that your doctor may not know anything about. In times of stress, our adrenal glands are responsible for controlling the stress that we experience. They are part of your first line of defense against illness and stress besides mediating blood sugar, sex hormones, and a number of other functions.
Our chiropractor shared a book with us called "Adrenal Fatigue: the 21st Century Stress Syndrome" by James L. Wilson. Although he has a website that is packed with information, the book has a detailed assessment that lets you determine to what extent you may be functioning from adrenal fatigue. There's also a simple salivary test that you can take (information on the Wilson's website) that let you determine if this is happening to you. Sadly, doctors today are no longer trained to identify the symptoms. Instead, they're likely to prescribe anti-depressants or tell you there's nothing wrong. The more symptoms you have from the description above, the more likely you are to be experiencing this.
The treatment is pretty reasonable. More sleep, a better balance in your eating, more frequent balanced meals, no caffeine or alcohol, and light aerobic exercise. I was having many of the symptoms described above, made some changes in my diet, started exercising more, and started seeing an acupuncturist. My energy is better than it has been in years, I'm sleeping better, and not craving the sugar and chocolate (well at least not all the time.) If you suspect that you are possibly suffering from adrenal fatigue, take the simple salivary test to find out for sure. Then make the changes. You won't believe how much better you will feel.
Posted by Bernice Ross author of the #1 Best selling book at NAR 2008, Real Estate Dough(TM) Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.
Great post, Bernice! I suffered from adrenal fatigue for years until I finally got a proper diagnosis from my doctor about 2 years ago. What a difference changing my lifestyle has made! I feel 100% better, am more caring & productive with my clients and still have energy at the end of the day. In short, the program works but you do have to make a commitment to a permanent lifestyle change, which realistically took me about a year to accomplish.
Meredith--wow--thanks for sharing about that. Glad to hear that it worked!
Posted by: Meredith McKenzie | July 17, 2009 at 09:21 PM