Book review: Is It Me or My Adrenals? – Your Proven 30-Day Program for Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue and Feeling Fantastic Again by Marcelle Pick (Hay House, 2013)

Do you wake up every morning feeling tired, overwhelmed, and stressed? Are you constantly reaching for coffee, soda, or some other promise of energy just to keep yourself going? Do you struggle through the day—sluggish, irritable, forgetful, depressed, and craving sweets—only to have trouble sleeping at night?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you’re not alone. In fact, hundreds of thousands of women are fighting these same feelings as they strive to live the lives they want.

In Is It Me Or My Adrenals?, Marcelle Pick gives you the knowledge and tools to overcome this epidemic of fatigue. She uncovers the root cause of these symptoms: adrenal dysfunction. In our modern lives, the adrenal glands, which provide the fight-or-flight hormones in response to stress, are triggered much more often than they should be. Everything from challenges at home and at work, to environmental toxins, to chronic health problems cause the adrenal glands to produce a constant flood of stress hormones that can ultimately lead to multiple health issues, especially severe fatigue.

The good news is that through diet, lifestyle adjustments, and reprogramming of stressful emotional patterns, this can all be fixed!

Pick helps you identify which of the three adrenal profiles you fit—Racehorse, Workhorse, or Flatliner—and then lays out an easy-to-follow, scientifically based program to help you restore adrenal balance, regear your metabolism, and regain your natural energy to live a happier and less-stressed life.

Soooo on Monday, I said that Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome lacked depth in places. This is the book I was referring to as a comparison.

First of all, it has to be pointed out, this book is entirely geared toward women. If you’re a man and want to know more about adrenal fatigue, you’ll have to put up with a book that’s entirely written in a way to not include you. Sorry. It bugged me, because it’s a very useful book, so in a way it’s a shame it’s not inclusive.

Aside from that, I found it very, very useful. As I read a review copy on the Kindle (thank you, Hay House!), the formatting was off, so I’m tempted to get the printed book, just to have an easy reference, especially since Is It Me or My Adrenals? also contains a lot of adrenal friendly recipes, meal plan suggestions, and the likes.

It’s not too medical, so easy to read and follow, and the suggestions it gives you are very good too. What I really liked was that Pick has put adrenal fatigue sufferers into three main categories, which is very useful. Perhaps you can find one of them fits you to a tee, and then it’s easy to follow the suggestions for that particular type. (I was somewhere in-between two.) If you’ve only got a slight problem, or it’s only just started, it’s easier to turn around than if you have it bad and/or have had it for years, and they also need slightly different ways to get back to optimum health again.

The book also placed a great emphasis on emotional baggage. It doesn’t have to be the present that’s weighing you down, but it could be stuff left over from your childhood, even if you aren’t aware of it. It certainly had me thinking and I wouldn’t even touch the book for a couple of days after reading that bit, so I guess it really hit a nerve.

What to do about it? You’re supposed to write a journal. A little in the morning and the evening, and answering some questions. While I love writing, journaling has never been a strong point. Maybe I’m paranoid over someone finding the journal and read my innermost thoughts, or I just don’t like to see it myself years down the line. Then there’s the whole thing about when waking up in the morning, before getting out of bed, I’m not reaching for pen and paper to write down what I wish to accomplish with the day, because I’m a) asleep, or b) having to get out of bed. Before bedtime, writing down what I’ve accomplished doesn’t really happen because putting the washing machine on doesn’t exactly feel like something I need to put down for posterity, you know? “Today: popped to the post office, put the dishwasher on, let the cats explore the garden, did some work, wrote a blog post” … wow. I’m bored just writing that, and none of those feel like accomplishments, they’re just day-to-day stuff.

But then again, maybe the journaling block is a key to something, and maybe that’s why I’m so stubbornly resisting it?

At any rate, this book made me think in a way that Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome didn’t, and for that I’m grateful. Perhaps if I start utilising some of the suggestions Dr Pick has suggested, it will be easier to turn this ship around than going by dietary supplements alone. Is It Me or My Adrenals? has definitely made me see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel after all.

5 out of 5 doctor’s orders.

Is It Me or My Adrenals? is out now. If you suffer from stress and suspect your adrenals are a bit knackered, you should definitely check it out.

P.S. Here’s a guide to adrenal fatigue you might find useful.