What Causes Chronic Fatigue

What Causes Chronic Fatigue

Understanding Chronic Fatigue

What causes chronic fatigue is a tricky question that we’re going to take a look at for today’s article.  Modern western medicine often likes to be able to point to one specific incident, gene or issue when addressing an illness or disease, but this isn’t always plausible.

This is because our bodies and our systems are holistic, integrated and interrelated, and so identifying one singular cause, or prescribing one particular drug is often not possible.

Such is the case with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or CFS.

What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

As the name implies, someone suffering from this complex dis-ease is tired and without energy, frequently or all the time.

Oftentimes, CFS sufferers experience flu-like symptoms after exercise, have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, and lack the energy for daily activities.  What were once normal activities that never caused fatigue before are now followed by a deep tiredness, and recovery time is lengthened significantly.

CFS affects a person’s nervous system, and can strike at any age and either gender.  One may experience problems with thinking and concentrating, sore muscles, disrupted sleep, swollen or sore lymph nodes, gastrointestinal distress, and dizziness, to name only a few of the commonly described symptoms.

So you see, many of your body’s systems can be affected and fall under the CFS umbrella.  This makes a diagnosis problematic indeed.

Common Speculations

The direct cause of chronic fatigue is unknown, so doctors and researchers have some common speculations as to what is going on.

In some cases, CFS develops after a viral infection, though no one virus has been conclusively linked as the cause.  Viruses that have been studied in relation to CFS include Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpes virus 6, Ross River virus (RRV), rubella, Coxiella burnetti, and mycoplasma.

Other patients report that periods of unusual stress, or an inability to deal with stress was a precursor to their CFS symptoms.  For others, the condition may be triggered by a compromised immune system, a hormonal imbalance, toxic exposure, gastroenteritis or other trauma.

Then there are people who report having no sickness at all beforehand, and developed their symptoms slowly over time.

What is really going on here?

The Ails of Modern Industrial Life

If you look at the research provided by allopathic sources, you will see many discussions and facts related to the micro level of the body.

Certainly there are viruses and other distresses within the body that are contributing to the development of CFS, but what of their causes?

If we take a step back with our perspective, we see that what most western research seems to leave out are the macro level issues at play.

We can identify these here as environment, diet and lifestyle, and move a little closer to a better understanding of this illness.

Environment

For most of us living in cities today, we are swimming in toxic metals and chemicals.  They are in the air, in our water, and in our food.

We breath and consume toxicity at alarming levels, and noise and electromagnetic smog stress our systems in ways that we are likely not even aware of.

Add to this the many medications that people take, which are toxic; the overuse of antibiotics, which reeks havoc on your intestinal flora and can accumulate in the liver; and the constant contact with harmful cleaning products and chemicals.

Many creeks make a river, and the body works hard to deal with this overwhelming flow, but too often is overcome by the toxic overload.

CFS rears its head as the adrenal glands and other organs are overworked and start to burnout, so of course we get tired.

Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Nutritional Deficiencies and Toxic Sufficiency

Years of poor dietary choices and terrible food combining will eventually add up and deal out their consequences.  The body works diligently to process these ills, but will eventually be overcome.

This is why most cases of CFS are reported by people in their late 30s, 40s and beyond.

Caffeine drinks and other stimulants like alcohol are also going to contribute to adrenal fatigue in a very direct way.

I wish that was all to say on the matter, but sadly it is not.

If you are eating a standard American diet, then there is a good chance you aren’t getting sufficient amounts of the vitamins you need to function properly and deal with stress.

And, if you are consuming allergenic foods like wheat and dairy products, then you are exasperating the situation by causing damage to the intestines and affecting your ability to absorb nutrients properly.

The last piece of this damaging trifecta involves a quick look at lifestyle.

How Are You Living?

Are you working long hours?  Underslept?  Are you a smoker?  Do you have a fast-paced, high-stress lifestyle?  How about the news you are consuming, is it fear based?

An inordinate amount of people living in America would sadly be able to tick many of these boxes.

Also, many people are disconnected from nature and fresh air, and spend inordinate amounts of sedentary time in artificial environments or in front of a glowing screen.

This behaviour doesn’t build your health.

It is important to mention these lifestyle factors, because these are some of the things to consider when taking a look at your lifestyle to see how it may be contributing to a case of chronic fatigue.

I trust I’ve impressed upon you the myriad of potential contributors to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and moved us closer towards adopting some solutions.

Solutions And A Closing Word

I don’t want to come across as a negative nelly with this article, but we can’t turn a blind eye to the issues we are facing.

The truth is the truth, and awareness of the problem is the first step in moving towards understanding what causes chronic fatigue, so it must be discussed.

This is likely why you won’t here too many MD’s involved in this discourse, for what we are calling into question is our way of life here in the west.

The status quo way of doing things is making us tired and fatigued, and we don’t need to be looking into a microscope to figure out why.

If you are suffering from CFS, you will need to approach your therapy from as many angles as you can.  Fortunately, the solutions are very simple, although they are not necessarily easy.

You need to start treating yourself like you would a delicate plant and give yourself all the requirements to build your health back up.

We’ve identified many of the issues at play, so start there and see where you may be slipping and address them accordingly.

Work on removing one bad habit at a time and replacing it with a healthy one.

It goes without saying that you need to eat well and get proper nutrition.

Fresh, ripe, raw, whole, organic, fruits and vegetables are your friends, and it is as important what you take out of your diet as what you put in, so look at both levels.

You need to reduce the stressors in your life and expunge negative influences.  Consume pure water, give yourself the rest you need, and step by step build your health back up.

If this seems overwhelming to you, look up a Naturopathic doctor in your area to help you come up with a plan of attack.  They will serve as your ally in your pursuit of abundant health.

There are also many resources available to you online, and I recommend this one for a closer understanding of your adrenal glands and many more solutions to what causes chronic fatigue.

Until next time!

Find the cause.

Fix the cause.

Feel normal again!

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