Burnout: Are you SPENT ?

I have been reading the book, CLEAN: Remove - Restore - Rejuvenate by Alejandra Junger, MD., and preparing to start his cleanse.  This book was sent to me as curriculum from American College of Healthcare Sciences, where I am pursuing an Associates of Science degree in Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM).  So I trust the wisdom and knowledge contained within. This morning I was reading through the warnings of who should NOT participate in this cleanse when I came across the section called, Are You Spent?  Yes, being "Spent" is an actual syndrome that is not recognized by most traditional physicians.  Dr. Junger goes on to give the following information about the "Spent" condition.

     "The Spent syndrome has been identified an treated extensively by my colleague, Dr. Frank Lipman, and it refers to patients who are exhausted, have low blood pressure and a host of other symptoms attributable to the depletion of their hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the body's stress-regulating system.  Depletion of the adrenal system is rarely diagnosed by conventional doctors, largely because most blood tests and other laboratory evaluations come back as normal, despite the patients' experience of being constantly exhausted.  Dr. Lipman, my partner. . . and I, are seeing that this condition disproportionately affects women.  This could be because their hormonal systems are more complex, because they tend to express the effects of fatigue more acutely, or because women, as natural caregivers, are more likely to let themselves reach a point of burnout before asking for help."

Dr. Junger goes on to request that you ask yourself the following questions in order to help determine whether you have a problem with your adrenal function.

• Does it take you longer that average to recover from illnesses or injuries?
• Do you regularly have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning?
• Do you feel a sense of ongoing fatigue that is not relieved by a good nights sleep?
• Do you feel light-headed when getting up from a lying-down position?
• Do you have abnormally low blood pressure?
• Do you have extreme sensitivity to cold or tend to feel cold in environments where other do not?
• Do you have chronic level of anxiety or have you ever had panic attacks?
• Do you have periods of depression or frequent crying jags (also a hallmark of toxicity)?
• Do you have a tendency to bruise easily?

If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, it is important to find a health-care practitioner who understands how to check your level of adrenal function and work with you to improve it.

I answered yes to 8 of the 9 questions!  Luckily, I am working with two wonderful Naturopathic Doctors who are helping me get back on track.  I was diagnosed in June with Hypothyroidism and Iron-deficient Anemia.  While my symptoms are improving, I am still dealing with them all to some degree.  In order to go ahead with this cleanse, I will discuss it with my doctors and make sure my body is ready for this undertaking.

Dr. Junger recommends anyone with symptoms of the "Spent" condition, should read Dr. Lipman's book, Spent, which describes the syndrome and its treatment plan in detail.  He states, "The ability to tune in to what you need and distinguish between the conditions of toxicity and of being Spent may be one of the most important tools you can use to create a future free of hospital visits and prescription drugs - and full of vibrant health.

I just went on amazon and found that the book, Spent, was re-published as, REVIVE Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again.  I was able to purchase the Kindle Edition for $7.95.

Once I have read it, I will give you my full review.  

Have a great Sunday!

Namaste, Beci

Reference:

Junger, A. (2009). The Clean Program. In Clean: The revolutionary program to restore the body's       natural ability to heal itself. San Francisco: HarperOne.