The Myth of “Pushing Through”
In a culture that glorifies endless hustle and resilience, we are often told to “push through” fatigue, busy schedules, and stressful milestones. However, when you live with an autoimmune disease or an immunocompromised body, pushing past your limits operates under a completely different set of biological rules. On Episode 82 of the Tea Time Podcast, host Sharissa Bradley explores the hidden physical and emotional costs of forcing your body forward when it is screaming for rest.
While a healthy individual might require a day or two to bounce back from a major event, the recovery window for someone with chronic illness is exponentially greater. Failing to recognize this difference can turn a rewarding life event into weeks of debilitating physical setback.
The Adrenaline Trap: Running on Cortisol vs. Caloric Energy
During a recent 8-day cross-country drive to help friends move 3,000 miles to Maine, Sharissa found herself facing an intense physical challenge. Navigating the trip with Celiac disease presented severe food limitations. Without easy access to grocery stores or safe dining options along the highway, she went 16 to 17 hours at a time without eating, surviving on as little as 3 hours of sleep per night. Facing the choice between eating unsafe food that would cause severe illness on a long road trip or restricting calories, she chose calorie restriction.
To keep going, her body shifted into a fight-or-flight survival mode. Instead of running on caloric energy (calories converted directly into sustainable fuel), her body produced high levels of adrenaline and cortisol.
While adrenaline provides a temporary surge of focus and stamina—allowing you to power through 14-hour driving days—it places immense stress on the adrenal glands, kidneys, and overall endocrine system. For Sharissa, whose autoimmune profile includes Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (a condition housed directly within the endocrine system), this prolonged surge triggered severe adrenal strain, inflammation, and deep systemic imbalance.
Stealing Energy from Your Future Self
Operating on adrenaline creates a false sense of energy. You may feel like a “superhero” capable of achieving anything, driven by the determination to reach the finish line. But biologically, adrenaline does not generate new energy; it simply borrows energy from your future self.
When the event ends and the adrenaline clears, your body is left in an energy deficit. The resulting crash is often confusing because you felt so capable during the event itself. In reality, the physical debt simply waited on the other side.
The True Toll of an Autoimmune Relapse
The aftermath of pushing through can undo months or years of hard-won health progress. Following her trip, Sharissa experienced a severe flare-up that required over five weeks of recovery:
- Severe Sleep Disruption: It took a full month to restore normal sleep patterns. After falling asleep from exhaustion, she woke up 2 to 3 hours later with sudden insomnia, heart-racing fear, and disorientation about where she was or what time zone she was in.
- Digestive System Breakdown: It required 2 to 2.5 weeks of dedicated care to eliminate nausea, restore natural hunger cues, and resume a regular three-meal-a-day nutrition plan, temporarily undoing a year’s worth of digestive healing.
- Mental Fatigue & Brain Fog: The combination of adrenal strain and poor sleep led to intense brain fog, difficulty processing thoughts, and days of emotional frustration.
3 Questions to Ask Before Your Next Big Event
Major life events—such as moving across the country, getting married, having a baby, executing a major work presentation, or embarking on a wilderness adventure—are often deeply meaningful and worth doing. However, to protect your health, you must plan for the aftermath. Before committing to your next big project or trip, ask yourself these three critical questions:
- What will this cost my body tomorrow? Recognize how much physical energy the event will demand and whether it will force you to run on adrenaline.
- What will I need to recover afterward? Plan your post-event environment in advance. Prepare freezer meals ahead of time, block out a full week of minimal commitments, and avoid scheduling major presentations or deadlines immediately following the event.
- Am I willing to let my body set the timeline? Confirm that you have the space in your life to allow your body to heal at its own pace—whether that takes a week or over a month—without piling on shame or guilt.
By asking these questions upfront, you can embrace life’s big adventures while giving your body the preparation, rest, and radical grace it needs to recover.
