I remember lying on the bed wanting to crawl out of my skin.
As I stared up at the ceiling, waves of panic overtook me…but I wasn’t sure why. Prior to becoming hypothyroid, I could handle any stress…every stress really. Whatever came my way, I was able to deflect, like Wonder Woman with her magic bracelets. Really, stress was no problem. I actually thrived on it. I piled it on, never really feeling it…or so I thought.
Then, I had my baby. Everything changed. My moods were like a tsunami crashing the shore. At first you’re sitting on the beach, enjoying a peaceful sea and in the next moment a tidal wave of anger, sadness, panic would topple me destroying everything in its path. I thought this was just hormones and the intense sleep deprivation of new motherhood but eventually, I learned it was my thyroid – powerful and completely out-of-whack.
Why am I so much more anxious since becoming hypothyroid?
This question has a tricky answer. As we now know, the adrenals, thyroid and your gut are inextricably linked. The adrenal glands, part of the sympathetic nervous system, secrete hormones including cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones are important as they regulate the stress response and our ability to handle stress. The problem is that the adrenal glands are the glands most negatively affected when we are stressed.
So it’s a chicken and egg scenario as to whether a malfunctioning thyroid affects your adrenals or if your adrenals are taxed and that affects your thyroid. What we know is that stress greatly affects the adrenal glands, and that is directly related to the health of your thyroid. When it comes to your thyroid, the ways in which our adrenal glands respond has far reaching consequences.
[bctt tweet=”Feeling stressed, sad, anxious, and overwhelmed? Your thyroid might be the connection.”]What affects the adrenal glands?
Well, it’s more than you think. Beyond the obvious daily stressors in our lives, the adrenal glands pump out more stress hormones when your blood sugar isn’t regulated, your gut is leaky, you have food sensitivities (such as gluten), toxins and infections are present, or you are inflamed and under an autoimmune attack. All of these factors can affect your adrenal glands which is why it is important to take a holistic approach to healing. You can’t look at one without the other and adrenal stress could possibly be the most important component.
Why this is important
Adrenal stress creates a host of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, insomnia, mood swings, sugar and caffeine cravings, irritability and dizziness. It also affects how your hormones are used by your cells, reduces the conversion of T4 to T3, weakens immune barriers, causes hormonal imbalances, promotes the autoimmune response and disrupts the interactions between the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands. This affects how you react to stress or trauma, your temperature, digestion, immune system, mood, libido and energy.
How does this play into your anxiety and panic attacks?
Adrenal stress feeds into your sympathetic nervous system which mobilizes your fight-or-flight response. So, something simple like sitting in traffic, standing in line somewhere, getting the kids out the door, or completing a general task will suddenly put you in survival mode and manifest itself as an anxiety attack. What’s happening is that stress gets triggered and that stresses your adrenals which signals your sympathetic nervous system that it’s “high alert” time and that spirals into your personal freak out.
Stress begets stress – this is why even when you’re trying to be a “normal” person, you may have trouble managing your emotions and reactions to situations. When your thyroid and adrenals are out-of-whack, it creates a recipe for panic soup – and that’s not tasty.
Ready to learn what techniques I used to banish anxiety, panic and overwhelm from my life for good?… And how that helped me reverse my thyroid condition?
I recently hosted a workshop with guest expert, Chad Brown, on a new approach to overcoming thyroid disease and anxiety. The first step…reducing anxiety in as little 2-3 minutes a day. Click here to learn more about the Thyroid Anxiety Workshop.
For even more information, tips, and practical solutions, I provide a ton of resources on healing your thyroid naturally, including:
- Our totally free Thyroid Healing Type Assessment, Report and Coaching Sessions
- Right here on my blog, where I talk about what’s worked best for me and my clients, as well as the latest research and resources I come across. You can subscribe to get new blog posts delivered right to your email by signing up on the righthand side of the page.
- My book, Healing Hashimoto’s Naturally — part memoir, part instruction manual for how I personally healed my Hashimoto’s disease.
- My exclusive free 6 Thyroid Myths That Can Keep You From Healing workshop — with info on the comprehensive Thyroid Fix in 6 program, which walks you through, step-by-step, the exact actions you need to take to heal your thyroid and get your life back! We’ve seen hundreds of participants in the Thyroid Fix in 6 avoid, decrease, or even eliminate the need need for thyroid medications.
- The incredible Your Best Thyroid Life Video Bundle, in which I personally invited 27 of the world’s top health experts to share their best tips for living with and healing thyroid disease.
No matter what diagnosis or symptoms you’re facing, you always have options. With a holistic approach to your health you can heal and have a normal life again!
Jen Wittman is a Certified Holistic Health Expert, Chef, Author & Vitality Coach, who teaches women how to reverse thyroid and autoimmune conditions naturally. She’s helped hundreds of women decrease (or even eliminate) their thyroid medications and has helped others stay off thyroid medication entirely.
Through her free Thyroid Healing Type Assessment, Jen teaches easy and simple steps to thyroid healing that can fit into your busy day. She also provides print outs to bring to your next doctor’s appointment so you can get the support and respect you deserve.