Rewiring Your Brain: Healing Begins with Safety in the Body

You are not broken; your body is protecting you.

What feels like illness, exhaustion, or endless symptoms is often your nervous system’s way of keeping you safe. If healing begins with safety in the body, then restoring the brain’s perception of safety is the next frontier. This means your symptoms are not a sign of failure, but signals inviting you to create new pathways for healing.

In Part 1, we explored how the vagus nerve and somatic practices help shift the body out of survival mode. That wired-but-exhausted feeling is one that so many people with chronic symptoms know well. You’re trying to breathe deeply and “be present,” but somehow end up Googling “Why my Lab Work Came Back Normal And I Feel Terrible?”

Now, in Part 2, we turn to the brain. Specifically, the limbic system, trauma loops, and how neuroplasticity gives us a real path to deep healing through brain retraining. It’s not all in your head; it’s in your brain, and that’s hopeful.

We’re going to unpack why those nagging thoughts, like “I’m never going to get better” or “maybe I missed something,” keep showing up repeatedly. And more importantly, how to gently rewire them with the right tools and strategies. Healing isn’t linear, but the brain’s ability to change means you’re never truly stuck.

Build healing pathways for your Brain 

Brain retraining is the intentional practice of shifting how the nervous system interprets internal and external cues, moving from a default state of threat detection to one of safety and connection.

It’s not about “thinking positively.” It’s about changing the wiring that governs how your brain and body respond to life, using specific tools to interrupt chronic stress patterns and build healing pathways. These responses, often rooted in past trauma or chronic illness, become automatic loops that keep the body stuck in survival mode.

When Trauma Makes the Past Feel Like the Present

Understanding the Loop That Keeps You in Survival Mode

When it comes to chronic stress and trauma, two key brain regions play a major role in how we perceive and respond to the world: the amygdala and the hippocampus.

The Amygdala
Often called the brain’s “fear center,” the amygdala is constantly scanning for danger. When overactive due to trauma, chronic illness, or prolonged sleep deprivation, it can trigger exaggerated fight-or-flight responses to otherwise neutral stimuli. In this state, even minor events, like a sudden car honk, an unexpected schedule change, or the ding of a single new email or text message, can feel life-threatening.

For those living with chronic illness, this hyper-alert state can feel all too familiar. Imagine waking up already exhausted and then opening your inbox to dozens of unread emails. To a calm nervous system, that’s just “a busy morning.” But for a brain wired by chronic stress, the amygdala may tag that inbox as danger. Suddenly, your heart races and your body braces, as if answering those emails is a matter of survival.

The Hippocampus
This region is responsible for memory consolidation and contextualizing present experiences. It helps determine whether something is a true threat or just a reminder of a past one. Chronic stress and inflammation can impair hippocampal function, making it harder to “update” the brain’s perception of safety. As a result, people may feel stuck in the past, reacting as if the trauma is still happening.

For someone living with chronic illness, this might look like preparing to meet a friend for dinner, only to have symptoms flare at the last minute. A healthy hippocampus would remind you: “This is just a temporary setback, I’ve gotten through this before.” But when stress and inflammation disrupt its function, the brain instead pulls forward old memories of canceled plans, embarrassment, or fear of letting others down. The result is a loop where the past overshadows the present, and your body reacts as though the disappointment is happening all over again.

Together, the amygdala and hippocampus shape how we process emotions, store memories, and respond to stimuli. When the amygdala is overactive and the hippocampus is under-functioning, the brain struggles to distinguish between past and present. This can lead to a kind of neurological “time warp,” where old wounds feel vividly current and the body remains in survival mode long after the threat is gone. This imbalance also creates a negative memory bias, where the brain unconsciously prioritizes threat-based interpretations to protect you, even when they’re no longer helpful.

But the good news is this: healing begins when we teach the brain a new story.

Brain retraining helps restore balance between these regions. It calms the amygdala, supports hippocampal recovery, and creates new neural pathways grounded in safety, connection, and presence. Over time, the brain can learn to respond to life with more flexibility and less fear and recognize that you are safe now.

The ABC Dimensional Shift Technique

1. A) Awareness
   Notice when you’re caught in a stress loop. Maybe your thoughts are racing, your breath is shallow, or your jaw is tight. This is your cue. Recognizing the pattern is the first step in breaking it.
2. B) Body Presence
   Ground yourself in the here and now. Feel your feet on the floor. Take a few deep, intentional breaths. Gently name your state: “I feel anxious right now” or “My body feels tense.” Bringing mindful attention to your physical sensations helps re-anchor the nervous system in the present.
3. C) Choice
   Here’s where you shift the loop. Choose a new signal of safety, something that evokes calm. This could be visualizing a peaceful place, recalling a comforting memory, listening to soothing music, or engaging in light movement. You’re not pushing the fear away; you’re showing your brain a new, regulated experience to attach to instead.

These ABC shifts only take a few minutes, and when practiced consistently 2 to 4 times a day, they start to reshape your brain’s default settings. Think of it like strengthening a muscle. The more you practice, the easier and more automatic it becomes for your nervous system to return to safety.

At first, it might feel subtle or even awkward; that’s normal. But over time, you’re building a new internal rhythm. Each shift tells your brain, This is what calm feels like, and with repetition, it starts to believe you.

The Power of Self-Compassion

Your perception can change your biology. Studies show that shifting from fear to compassion can influence gene expression and reduce inflammation. When we meet ourselves with curiosity instead of shame, we make space for deep healing.

Rewiring Is a Daily Practice

Brain retraining is not about quick fixes. It’s about consistently offering your brain new information that supports regulation and safety. You are not trying to override your symptoms. You are helping your nervous system learn a new way to respond.

If visualization feels difficult at first, begin with your senses. Play calming music, smell a familiar scent, feel the warmth of sunlight, or focus on a grounding texture. These simple cues can gently guide your brain out of a stress response and into a more present, safe state.

In real life, this might look like feeling anxious before a social event. Instead of spiraling, you place a hand on your chest, take a deep breath, and say, “It’s okay to feel this. I can choose calm.” Or when a symptom flares, you remind yourself, “This is a stress response. I’ve felt this before, and I know it passes.” Medical fears- MRI, presentation 

Waking up with dread? Try putting your feet on the floor and taking three slow breaths. Let natural light in, or step outside for a moment. When critical thoughts show up, meet them with curiosity. Ask, “What do I need right now?” or say, “I’m doing the best I can.” 

If you’re overwhelmed by too many tasks, pause. Choose one thing. Take a simple action like drinking water or stretching. Tell yourself, “One step is enough.”

These daily practices may seem small, but over time, they build new neural pathways. Just like a muscle strengthens with use, your brain becomes more flexible and resilient the more you practice returning to calm and presence.

Why Brain Retraining?

Your brain’s threat detection system, which includes the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, was designed to protect you. These regions work together to detect danger, process memories, and make decisions that help you stay safe. However, under prolonged stress or past trauma, this system can become hypersensitized and get stuck in a chronic state of defense. When the brain stays on high alert, it begins to perceive even neutral experiences as potential threats.

This kind of chronic activation can manifest in many ways. You might experience persistent hypervigilance, where your body and mind remain tense or on edge. Over time, this wears down your energy reserves, leading to deep fatigue and burnout. Many people also become more sensitive to things like certain foods, supplements, or environmental stimuli that didn’t previously bother them. Emotional symptoms like anxiety or mood swings may surface, alongside physical ones such as pain amplification or hormonal imbalances.

Retraining these neural loops through somatic practices, vagus nerve toning, and nervous system support helps shift the body and brain out of survival mode, creating space for healing and restoring a sense of safety. This is an essential foundation for individuals living with chronic illness or stress-related conditions.

Conditions That Benefit from Brain Retraining

These practices help shift the body from defense mode to healing mode, a crucial transition for clients dealing with:

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): marked by unrelenting exhaustion that isn’t relieved by rest, along with brain fog, sleep disturbances, and post-exertional malaise, where even minimal activity leads to a crash.
• Autoimmune flares (Hashimoto’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and others): Symptoms may include joint pain, fatigue, brain fog, temperature dysregulation, and heightened sensitivity to stress or environmental changes
• Mold and Chemical Sensitivities (Mycotoxin illness, MCS): Often show up as headaches, dizziness, sinus congestion, fatigue, skin rashes, breathing difficulties, and neurological symptoms triggered by everyday exposures like perfume, cleaning products, or water-damaged buildings.
• Histamine Intolerance / Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS): Symptoms can include flushing, hives, itching, rapid heartbeat, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and food or temperature sensitivities that seem to come and go unpredictably.
• Environmental Illness and Toxicity (Heavy Metals, Pesticides, etc.): May cause cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, irritability, tingling or numbness, digestive distress, and a general feeling of being unwell without a clear diagnosis.
• Unidentified Chronic Conditions: Many clients experience clusters of symptoms like bloating, constipation, food sensitivities, rashes, anxiety, insomnia, or a general sense that their body is stuck in overdrive, yet labs come back “normal.”

In all of these cases, the nervous system often becomes hypersensitive and stuck in a loop of hypervigilance. Brain retraining helps calm the overactive limbic system, rewire stress patterns, and support the body’s return to a state of homeostasis.

Introduction to Somatic Movement 

Brain retraining works top-down, while somatic movement heals from the body up by restoring the brain–body connection. Mindful practices such as yoga, Tai Chi, dance, or gentle movement help regulate the nervous system, release emotions, and support detoxification. Chronic stress can cause sensory motor amnesia, meaning the body “forgets” how to move freely. Somatic movement reawakens natural rhythms and pendulation, the cycle of expansion and contraction that is vital for regulation and resilience. Starting with trauma-informed videos or gentle classes allows you to tune into body sensations, honor your limits, and avoid pushing through pain. Over time, these practices create a safer, more resilient foundation for lasting emotional and physical healing.

Brain retraining and somatic practices aren’t new. Throughout history, humans have rewired their nervous systems through meditation, breathwork, chanting, prayer, and community rituals, practices that cultivate calm, balance, connection, and healing. What’s changed is that modern neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and neuroplasticity research now provide frameworks that explain why these techniques are so effective, giving us the language and tools to apply them with greater precision

You Are Not Broken

Illness and stress-related conditions do not mean you are broken. Your brain and body have been doing their best to protect you, even if those patterns no longer serve you. With gentle retraining and somatic practices, you can guide your nervous system back to balance, safety, and resilience. Healing is not about fixing what is wrong with you; it’s about remembering your body’s innate ability to restore itself. With consistent practice, you can feel calm, joy, and vitality again. Your biology is adaptable, and your healing is not only possible but inevitable. Most importantly, you are not broken; you are your own best healer.

Ready for a Shift?

Book a 15-minute discovery call to explore how we can support your healing through nutrition, nervous system regulation, and brain retraining practices.

While this all may seem overwhelming on your own, working with a registered dietitian is the best place to start to find the root of your symptoms! Schedule a free 15-minute nutrition strategy call to discuss the best approach for you! This is the very first step before beginning the initial “Comprehensive Root Cause Analysis” appointment. Working with a skilled Kalish Method Practitioner, detoxification specialist, and functional medicine dietitian is essential in developing an individualized plan for long-lasting success!

Creating a Healing Terrain For The Vagus Nerve

Healing is more than addressing lab markers or optimizing nutrients. It’s about restoring safety to the body on a cellular level.

Functional lab testing and personalized nutrition are powerful tools. They help us identify root causes, target deficiencies, and tailor protocols with precision. For some clients, this targeted support is enough to create significant change. But for many others, there’s still something missing: a sense of internal safety.

Nutrition addresses the biochemical side of healing. What often goes unaddressed is the electrical side: the nervous system’s tone, signaling, and ability to shift out of defense mode. When we integrate vagus nerve toning and brain retraining into a personalized, lab-informed plan, we begin to create a true healing terrain. This foundational wellness allows the body to move from survival into repair.

In this state, nutrients are better absorbed, inflammation quiets, hormones recalibrate, and cellular healing activates. The body is no longer stuck in defense. It begins to remember how to restore balance. This is when true transformation happens: not just symptom relief, but lasting homeostasis, resilience, and vitality.

In our recent post, we explored the Cell Danger Response (CDR)—a protective metabolic reaction our cells initiate when faced with physical, emotional, or environmental threats. When the CDR becomes chronically activated, the body remains stuck in a loop of defense, impairing mitochondrial function, gut health, and immune balance. This disruption can block the natural healing cycle, impairing mitochondrial function, gut health, and immune balance, blocking natural healing, known as salugenesis.

What happens after infections are cleared, nutrient levels are replenished, gut imbalances are corrected, and the body still doesn’t feel safe enough to heal?

That’s where nervous system regulation and vagus nerve activation come in.

The Missing Link in Healing: Nervous System Healing Starts with Safety

Several individuals with chronic illness face an invisible hurdle: their nervous system has been wired for survival for so long, it doesn’t remember how to rest. This chronic state of fight-or-flight isn’t just a psychological issue; it’s a physiological pattern. And unless we address it directly, healing may be impossible.

This is why we view nervous system work as the foundation of healing, not a replacement for nutrition and lab-based care, but the grounding that allows all other interventions to truly work.

When the nervous system is regulated, clients often experience better digestion, balanced hormones, stronger immunity, and greater tolerance to treatment. These improvements occur because the body shifts out of survival mode and into a state where healing becomes possible.

Chronic stress follows a predictable loop: alarm (fight or flight), resistance (pushing through), and eventually exhaustion, where chronic symptoms emerge. This isn’t just psychological; it’s deeply embedded in the limbic system and autonomic nervous system. Left unaddressed, this loop can drive inflammation, fatigue, digestive issues, and hormonal imbalances.

The key to breaking this cycle? Rewiring the brain’s response to stress and restoring a sense of safety in the body.

The Role of Brain Retraining

Brain retraining programs, such as Primal Trust or the Dynamic Neural Retraining System, work by rewiring neural pathways that have been shaped by chronic stress, trauma, or illness. These patterns can cause the brain to continually scan for danger and overreact to stimuli, including foods, supplements, people, or even benign environments.

Your Healing Can Become “Stuck”: Why Vagus Nerve Toning Matters

The vagus nerve is one of the most important communication pathways between your brain and body. When stimulated, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, your body’s “rest, digest, and heal” mode. This activation helps regulate everything from digestion and inflammation to mood, sleep, and heart rate. Daily vagus nerve exercises can support your body’s ability to bounce back from stress and restore balance at the cellular level.

Think of vagus nerve toning like strength training for your nervous system. Just as physical strength requires consistent effort, easing chronic stress takes regular practice. Even 15 to 20 minutes a day can make a big difference. Over time, you teach your body to return to calm and connection more easily, creating nervous system muscle memory.

You can stimulate the vagus nerve in many ways. Gentle humming or chanting activates the vocal cords, which improves vagal tone. Splashing cold water on your face triggers a parasympathetic response. Gargling, heart-focused breathing, and slow grounding movements also help release stress and shift the body from threat to safety.

These techniques work by releasing stored stress and shifting your body’s internal state from a place of perceived threat to one of safety and trust.

Breathwork: VU Breathing Technique

One of the simplest and most effective ways to tone the vagus nerve is through breathwork. Slow, deep belly breathing signals safety to the body and shifts you out of fight-or-flight mode. A practice is called the VU Breathing Technique, sometimes called the “Breathifier” method.

Begin by inhaling deeply through your nose into the lower abdomen, allowing the diaphragm to fully expand. As you exhale, create a low, vibratory “VU” sound—similar to a long hum in the back of your throat, like a foghorn. Repeat this cycle for two to five minutes while seated or lying down in a calm space.

It might feel unusual at first, especially making the vocal sound, but with practice, it will feel natural. Over time, this practice can help stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, induce calm, and support emotional regulation and nervous system balance.

HeartMath and Heart Rate Variability Training: Tuning the Heart-Brain Connection

Heart Rate Variability, or HRV, is the natural variation in time between heartbeats. A healthy heart does not beat evenly but adjusts constantly to your internal and external environment. High HRV shows nervous system flexibility and resilience, while low HRV may signal chronic stress, fatigue, or inflammation.

The HeartMath technique helps increase HRV by combining breathwork with emotional self-regulation to create “coherence,” a state where the rhythms of your heart, breath, and brain align. This promotes healing, focus, and emotional balance.

To practice, focus on the area around your heart and breathe slowly, inhale for five seconds, exhale for five. Think of a positive feeling like gratitude or love. Start with one to three minutes daily and increase gradually.

This practice calms the nervous system, lowers cortisol, supports hormone balance, and strengthens the heart’s electromagnetic field, improving both your inner state and connection with others.

Why HeartMath and HRV Training will lead to healing

Heart-focused breathing, like HeartMath or HRV biofeedback, is a powerful tool for regulating the nervous system. Start with one to three minutes daily and gradually increase as you become comfortable. These practices create harmony between the heart and brain, calming the nervous system, reducing reactivity, and boosting HRV, which is a key marker of stress recovery. They also lower cortisol and support healthy DHEA levels, linked to energy and resilience.

Consistent practice enhances the heart’s electromagnetic field, influencing both internal physiology and emotional state. Over time, it aids emotional regulation, promotes healing, and reshapes stress responses. Benefits include improved calm, energy, sleep, and resilience to anxiety, trauma, and chronic illness. It also supports cardiovascular and immune health and offers real-time tracking through HRV devices.

Eye Gaze Stabilization involves fixing your gaze on a stationary object while slowly turning your head side to side or up and down. This strengthens the vestibulo-ocular reflex, stabilizing vision during movement by improving coordination between your inner ear and eyes. It reduces dizziness, motion sensitivity, and improves balance while gently activating the brainstem to help regulate overstimulation. It’s useful during brain fog, after screen fatigue, or when feeling ungrounded.

Pursuit Eye Tracking means following a moving object, like your thumb or a pen, with your eyes while keeping your head still. This engages the cerebellum and frontal cortex, improving attention, visual tracking, and executive function. It’s especially helpful for anxiety, ADHD-like symptoms, or recovery from stress. Use it in the morning, before focus tasks, or during breaks to calm and refocus.

Near-Far Gaze (Accommodation Shifts) alternates your focus between a close object (like your finger near your nose) and a distant one (across the room). This trains your brain to shift focus efficiently, promotes neuroplasticity, reduces eye strain, and improves depth perception. Use it to relieve screen fatigue, before or after breathwork, and to reconnect with your surroundings.

Vagus nerve stimulation reduces stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering cortisol, calming heart rate, and building resilience. It improves nervous system regulation and vagal tone, supporting emotional stability and reducing reactivity. It also enhances digestion and immunity by boosting gut motility, reducing inflammation, and strengthening immune response, which helps with issues like bloating or constipation. Overall, a regulated nervous system promotes hormone balance, detoxification, and cellular repair, creating the foundation for lasting healing.

Creating a Healing Terrain

When vagus nerve toning and brain retraining are layered into a root-cause nutrition and lab-based protocol, we create a healing terrain, one that supports both the chemistry and the electrical wiring of the body. This is when transformation happens, not just symptom improvement, but a true restoration of homeostasis.

If your healing has plateaued despite doing “all the right things,” it may be time to consider nervous system work as the missing link.

At 23 Nutrition Therapy, we guide our clients through this integrative approach, blending evidence-based nutrition with nervous system regulation so the body feels safe, supported, and ready to heal.

From CDR to Trust-Based Healing

The Cell Danger Response reveals how stress disrupts mitochondrial and immune function. But unless we address how the brain and nervous system store that stress, we risk staying stuck in survival, even after we’ve addressed the physical root causes.

What often keeps people stuck is the unprocessed stress stored in the brain and nervous system. Unless we address this component, the body may continue to operate as though it’s under threat, even if lab markers improve or symptoms temporarily ease. For those with high-achieving, Type A, or perfectionist tendencies, this is especially important. These individuals often push through discomfort, override body signals, and internalize high stress as “normal.” They may hold themselves to impossible standards and struggle to rest, slow down, or trust the healing process. Ironically, these very traits, while often praised in our culture, can make it harder for the nervous system to shift out of fight-or-flight and into a state of repair.

This is why our approach at 23 Nutrition Therapy combines functional nutrition testing and molecular therapies with brain retraining and nervous system healing. We work with tools that address not just the biology, but also the lived experience of stress, helping the body re-establish a felt sense of safety. Because when we combine these modalities, we’re not just managing symptoms or checking boxes, we’re creating the conditions for the body to remember how to heal.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Rewiring Your Brain

In the next post, we’ll explore how memory, stress, and trauma shape our neural pathways and how brain retraining techniques like the ABC Dimensional Shift can help rewire your nervous system and unlock long-term healing.

Ready to Rewire Your Healing?

If you’ve addressed the root causes but still feel stuck, your body may not feel safe enough to heal. Let’s set you up with the tools to feel safe again.

Book a free 15-minute strategy call to explore how nutrition, vagus nerve training, and brain rewiring can support your healing journey.

While it can be overwhelming trying to navigate this on your own,  working with a skilled Kalish Method Practitioner, detoxification specialist, and leap certified functional medicine dietitian is essential in developing an individualized plan for long-lasting success! The very first step before beginning the initial “Comprehensive Root Cause Analysis” program is to schedule a free 15-minute nutrition strategy call to discuss the best approach for you!

Have you been extra stressed out recently due to the pandemic? Do you feel that your stress levels have negatively impacted your life and have contributed to you feeling burned out? You’re not alone! You may be dealing with something commonly referred to as Adrenal Fatigue. This blog will outline what exactly adrenal fatigue is, and give you some support for adrenal fatigue recovery.

Like many people nowadays you might be facing financial insecurities, unsure how to handle childcare or homeschooling, worrying about online classes, or just generally worrying about the future. All of these things are considered stressors.

Life sometimes hits us in a way that creates a cycle of constant stress. Many people have been under an unprecedented amount of stress due to the pandemic. And you are probably aware of how badly stress can make your body feel!

The human body has a hardwired response to stress, which enables us to focus and activate a response in the face of danger. However, the stress we face most days isn’t a matter of life or death… We can have emotional, perceived stress, physical stress from injuries, or chemical stress from smoke or pollutants. The human body reacts the same way to these types of stressors as it does to life-threatening situations.

When stress becomes chronic, the body’s adaptive response to danger becomes dysfunctional and ends up hurting our health in the long run. One of the results of this chronic stress is something called adrenal dysfunction often referred to as adrenal fatigue.

What is adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is the end result of the constant cycle of stress. When people say adrenal fatigue, they probably mean adrenal dysfunction or HPA axis dysfunction. If left untreated, adrenal fatigue is often the end result of chronic adrenal dysfunction caused by chronic stress. 

The adrenal glands produce multiple hormones, most notably cortisol and epinephrine (aka adrenaline). These hormones are the ones that help us react to stressful situations. When the brain registers a stressor, a specific cascade of hormones are produced, eventually resulting in the release of adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands. 

However, if the brain is constantly triggering the stress response, eventually the adrenal glands will not be able to keep up with the demands to produce these stress hormones. This is where adrenal fatigue sets in, and your entire body faces the consequences. This can happen quickly, or over the span of decades – it is all dependent on the individual!

Why should I care about cortisol for adrenal fatigue recovery?

Cortisol is a catabolic hormone, meaning that it helps to break things down within the body. This probably doesn’t really sound very good to you, and you would be correct – in chronically high levels, cortisol can do some serious damage. 

Excess cortisol:

• Suppresses immune function 
• Breaks down the gut mucosal barrier
• Increases insulin resistance
• Fat gain, especially around the abdomen
• Inhibits the production of testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, and more
• Increases sodium retention and causes high blood pressure
• Reduces levels of magnesium and zinc in the body
• Alters thyroid function
• Stimulates bone loss, contributing to osteoporosis

In addition, the downstream consequences of adrenal dysfunction can lead to the erosion or break down of the gut lining, which contributes to poor gut functioning.

Another problem that occurs is that when cortisol is being produced in excess, a very important hormone called DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone gets produced in lower amounts than usual. Cortisol and DHEA have the same precursor hormone, called pregnenolone. When the demand to produce cortisol is consistently high over a long period of time, one of the results is that there is much less DHEA production.

What is DHEA?

DHEA is essentially the opposite of cortisol – it is an anabolic hormone, which does jobs that involve building materials and structures within the body.

Some benefits of DHEA include:

• Opposes the negative effects of cortisol on the immune system
• Improves muscle mass and decreases body fat
• Precursor to testosterone
• Supports recovery from stress
• Lowers total blood cholesterol and LDL cholesterol
• Involved in conversion of thyroid hormone to the active form
• Stimulates building bones to prevent osteoporosis

You should notice that DHEA generally opposes the effects of cortisol.

So, in addition to all of the negative effects cortisol is having on your body, excess cortisol also reduces the positive effects of DHEA by limiting its production.

The relative amounts of these two hormones are important in determining which stage of adrenal fatigue you are in. Knowing which stage you are in helps your functional medicine dietitian determine what kind of treatment is required to get you back to optimal health. In other words, knowing which stage you are in sets the stage for adrenal fatigue recovery.

There are 3 stages of HPA Axis Dysfunction / Adrenal dysfunction

A skilled practitioner is able to determine which stage of adrenal dysfunction you are in by looking at your adrenal hormone test results.

• In stage 1 of adrenal dysfunction, your body is in a permanent alarm phase and is producing extremely high levels of cortisol, and DHEA levels are dropping.
• During stage 2 of adrenal dysfunction, cortisol levels may seem normal, but DHEA levels are low. 
• In stage 3, the body is producing very low amounts of cortisol and DHEA. This is the result of the system crashing completely. If this stage is reached, you will need more than just a lifestyle overhaul to address the issue. This is the stage that we consider true adrenal burn-out. 

Possible signs and symptoms of chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction, and adrenal burn-out:

• Fatigue
• Feeling tired but also wired
• Sugar and simple carbohydrate cravings
• Insomnia
• Increased belly fat
• Low energy and poor recovery from exercise
• Poor immune function
• Anxiety
• Memory problems
• Depression
• Nutrient deficiencies

Chronic conditions that can be affected by a hyperactive stress response:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Autoimmune illnesses
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Osteoporosis
• Infertility
• Digestive conditions (SIBO, IBS, IBD, etc.)

How to know if you are suffering from adrenal dysfunction 

If you are dealing with any of the symptoms or conditions listed above, you might be suspecting that you are in one of the stages of adrenal dysfunction. The only way to truly determine if this is true is to have your adrenal hormone levels tested with a saliva test. Salivary cortisol is used because it is the most convenient way to measure cortisol.

These adrenal hormone tests are noninvasive and easy to do in the comfort of your own home. Saliva testing involves spitting into a tube at specific intervals throughout the day. These saliva samples are then graphed and compared to the range of normal cortisol levels.

The adrenals produce cortisol in what is called the circadian rhythm. This means that naturally, cortisol is produced throughout the day in a typical, distinct pattern.

Comparing your cortisol values to the standard circadian rhythm allows your functional medicine dietitian to determine whether or not you’re in adrenal dysfunction, and if so, which stage you are in. This information is usually enough for your practitioner to give you a treatment protocol that will help you get back into the normal range. Sometimes, other testing may be required in your personal adrenal fatigue recovery journey.

So how exactly do we begin our journey to adrenal fatigue recovery?

Healing Adrenal Fatigue

The first step to improving your adrenal function is to test your adrenal hormone levels to be sure that you have adrenal dysfunction or insufficiency in the first place, and if you do have it, knowing which stage you are in. Depending on which stage you are in, there are different protocols.

Improve your stress resilience…

Remember that the stress response actually starts in the brain. How you perceive an event is actually more important than the event itself. This is why two different people who experience the same event may have drastically different emotional and psychological responses.

One person may get a parking ticket and think “UGH… this always happens to me! Why am I so unlucky?” and then they ruminate over the ticket all day. The other person who got a parking ticket may brush it off, consider it not a big deal, and not even think about it again. These two people experienced the same event, but only one of them triggered their stress response – and that person triggered it continuously throughout the day!

So, the first thing you can do to improve adrenal function is to dedicate some time to cultivating a more positive mindset and to make an effort to learn how to remain calm in the face of a potential stressor. Reminding yourself of things you are grateful for can help you in working towards a less reactionary approach to stress.

There are many relaxation techniques that you can practice that will help you gain more resilience in the face of stress. These relaxation techniques include: breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation, vagus nerve activation, yoga, and much more. Find what method works for you, and remember that improving your stress resilience takes time!

Clean up your diet!

Adjusting your diet is also usually necessary. Reducing the amount of added sugars and highly processed foods in your diet is a good first step towards reducing hidden inflammatory stress within the body. Be sure to stay hydrated and to fuel your body with plenty of fiber, lots of fruits and vegetables, and sufficient amounts of protein and fat.

Variety is the key in any diet to ensure you consume adequate amounts of all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Don’t take any supplements without the approval and recommendation from your dietitian. These recommendations should be based on your lab results, because toxicity is always possible, which can do even more damage to your already stressed out body.

Get plenty of sleep!

Since cortisol is linked to our sleep-wake cycles, quality sleep is key to improving health outcomes. Blue light glasses are useful while looking at screens throughout the day and in the hours before bedtime to block the blue light emitted from the screens of our electronics.

Blue light exposure close to bedtime tricks the brain into thinking daylight is still present, and alters the circadian rhythm. Of course, it is much better to avoid this blue light exposure right before you sleep. Getting at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a dark, cool room is essential for high sleep quality.

Get to the root cause of digestive issues

If you’re experiencing gastrointestinal distress, it is possible that additional functional medicine testing is needed to determine the next steps. Any symptoms you have may be connected to the HPA axis dysfunction, so communicating with your functional medicine dietitian is extremely important. Chronic stress is linked to digestive issues such as microbiome imbalances (dysbiosis), small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), constipation, diarrhea, and much more. 

When one system in the body goes awry, many others may follow. Catching adrenal dysfunction before it gets to stage 3 is ideal. However, there are treatment options if you do find yourself in stage 3.

Following the guidance your functional medicine dietitian sets out for you can improve so much more than just the adrenal fatigue alone.

Improving your quality of life starts with simply knowing where to begin!

Have you been feeling burned out? Do you want to get to the bottom of what is causing your symptoms? Schedule your appointment today to get started on your journey to adrenal fatigue recovery!

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Before electricity, our ancestors woke with the sun and slept with the moon. Humans have evolved to exist in 24 hour sleep-wake cycles, or circadian rhythms, that operate as part of our biology.

Circadian rhythms can be disrupted by the modern conveniences of technology, and these disruptions have real impacts on our health.

What are Circadian Rhythms?

Your circadian rhythm is essentially a master clock along with a set of other internal clocks that regulate various bodily processes. Circadian rhythms run on a 24 hour cycle, can be trained, and can be affected by temperatures.

This master clock is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is located above the optic nerves that send signals from the eyes to the brain. The master clock directly responds to light, and is the reason why we have sleep-wake cycles that are determined by light exposure.

Light exposure (or lack there-of) can impact these sleep-wake cycles, especially in modern society with light switches and high levels of screen time.

How does the Cortisol Circadian Rhythm work?

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is in control of your stress response, also follows a circadian rhythm for its release of cortisol from the adrenal glands.

Cortisol levels typically peak when we awaken (6 to 8 am). Then cortisol levels decrease throughout the day, staying low from around 6 pm until we fall asleep, when cortisol release starts to rise again. Check out the cortisol circadian rhythm graph below!

Cortisol’s circadian rhythm is essential for our health, playing a role in various processes that impact metabolism, repair cells, and strengthen our immune system. Disruptions in your HPA axis circadian rhythm can increase the risk of developing chronic conditions like obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

There are many symptoms listed below that can be present when you are experiencing HPA axis dysfunction that precede these chronic conditions, which can definitely be addressed before the chronic conditions have a chance to develop.

Being exposed to threats throughout the day, whether real or perceived, causes spikes in cortisol that disrupt this important, natural rhythm. If stress is a normal part of your daily life, then this has an even greater impact on your cortisol circadian rhythm and may mean that you need extra support to reestablish a healthy hormone balance.

Signs you need a Circadian Rhythm Reset:

• Fatigue
• Body aches, especially in the neck and back
• Poor memory and feeling “foggy headed”
• Poor immunity, or getting sick frequently
• Gastrointestinal dysfunction
• Weight gain, especially around the abdomen
• Hair loss
• Skin issues like acne, dryness, and dullness
• Reduced sex drive
• Depression or anxiety
• Sleep disruptions, like insomnia or trouble staying asleep

So how do I know if my circadian rhythm has been disrupted? There is a test for that! 

How to Check Cortisol Levels 

One of the most accurate ways to determine whether you’re experiencing some HPA axis circadian rhythm disruptions is to get your cortisol levels tested with a practitioner-ordered home cortisol test.

Your functional medicine practitioner will order your adrenal stress hormone test, and after the results come back you will be able to get a better idea of how your cortisol circadian rhythm is functioning (or malfunctioning). Depending on where you fall within the cortisol normal range, you may find out that you are on the path to adrenal burn out.

This test is an easy and effective means for determining whether your stress response is hyperactivated. Cortisol patterns are considered markers of wellness and can be used to draw a roadmap to recovery. Knowing the effects that stress is having on your stress hormones is the first step from which a personalized protocol can be developed.

How to Reset Circadian Rhythm – Getting Back into Rhythm

Once you get started on the road towards recovering your circadian rhythm, there are many lifestyle factors that can be adjusted in order to achieve maximal results. Getting started by adding some relaxation techniques into your daily life will help set the stage for healthier responses to stressors, whenever they occur.

If you’re one of those people who is getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night, one of the simplest things you can do to better your health is to improve the duration of sleep to a minimum of 7 hours per night, along with synchronizing your sleep-wake cycles to your natural circadian rhythm.

Humans need to sleep to survive, and we need enough sleep to be healthy. No matter how much we need to accomplish in our daily lives, the fact remains that sleep is essential at the end of the day, and most people should be trying to get more of it.

Sleep isn’t always a simple thing for people, even if we know how important it is.

In fact, if you are under high amounts of stress (and thus consistently have constant spikes in cortisol), it is likely that sleep is quite difficult for you. So, addressing your cortisol circadian rhythm imbalances is actually one of the best things you can do in order to improve your sleep, improve your health, and improve your life.

So how can you get more sleep? There are many ways to improve your sleep hygiene in order to prime yourself for better and longer sleep. You can learn about these methods, along with many other lifestyle hacks, when you sign up for my Adrenal Reboot Program!

Joining my Adrenal Reboot Program will help get you started on a personalized track towards improving your HPA axis function, your cortisol circadian rhythm, and improving your overall health!

Schedule your free 15 minute Discovery Call today!