The Article of the month of January – Burnout and adrenal hormone deficiency – Dr. Guy Gerin

For some, the beginning of the year can be a little complicated to manage, consider checking your adrenal hormone levels. Dr. Guy Gerin will talk about cortisol, the key hormone to avoid burnout.

“This is an increasingly common pathology linked to the overly stressful situations, for example the working conditions that we are confronted to and that are not very rewarding.

It is more often encountered in perfectionist patients, very involved in their function and looking for a certain form of recognition, of appreciation which is naturally lacking.

I encounter quite systematically a problem of weak adrenals and in particular a problem of cortisol deficiency in these patients. Cortisol has the effect, among other things, of improving mood, dynamism, work capacity, resistance to stress and reducing the excessive activity of the sympathetic nervous system producing adrenaline. A cortisol deficiency will provoke an excessive production of adrenaline accompanied by its harmful effects (tantrum, emotional crises …). These crises are very exhausting for the patient.

I always recommend analyzing the adrenal function of these patients by dosing:

– On the blood: the total morning cortisol, free cortisol, pregnenolone which if it is low (very common) can be the cause of memory problems. Also, DHEA, for its beneficial effects on fatigue, depression and anxiety. And finally, aldosterone, which is very important for blood pressure and its importance on concentration.

– In 24-H urine: measure the free cortisol and aldosterone and the 17 OH steroids (cortisol metabolites which therefore reflect its metabolic impact) levels.

We can greatly improve the situation of burnout patients and speed up their return to work by correcting deficiencies in adrenal hormones and in particular cortisol. Do not forget that you should never administer a corticosteroid without adding DHEA in order to counter the catabolic effect of the corticosteroid by the anabolic effect of DHEA. ”

*Consult a Doctor before starting a treatment.