If a disease could be hip and trending, then adrenal fatigue would have its own hashtag.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances, dark circles under the eyes, and even digestive problems. Sounds terrible, right? Maybe you even think you are suffering from it...

Only problem is, this “disease” likely does not exist!

The phrase first entered the alternative medicine lexicon in 1998 with the publication of James L. Wilson's book, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. Wilson described a condition brought on by "below optimal adrenal function resulting from stress." His thesis was that we could inadvertently push our adrenal glands – the ones that sit atop our kidneys and produce adrenalin in response to stressful situations – into a reluctant overdrive, resulting in a boat-load of miserable symptoms.

Nearly 20 years and a generation of hypochondriacs later, there is still no way to test or formerly diagnose for Wilson's boogeyman. The Endocrine Society flat-out calls adrenal fatigue a myth. Perhaps in the spirit of P.T. Barnum, a whole cottage industry has grown around providing supplements and other elixirs to “cure” the “disease.” The Endocrine Society frets that “supplements and vitamins made to 'treat' adrenal fatigue may not be safe. Taking these supplements when you don’t need them can cause your adrenal glands to stop working and may put your life in danger.”

Making matters worse: “adrenal fatigue” reads a bit too much like “adrenal insufficiency,” a long-established condition (and also known as “Addison's disease”). Some supporters of Wilson's premise uphold that adrenal fatigue is actually a mild form of adrenal insufficiency brought on by chronic stress. It is worth noting, however, that adrenal insufficiency is extremely rare, only affecting 110 to 144 of every 1 million people in developed countries.

How did this apparently mythological ailment gain so much traction?

"The symptoms people experience [when they believe they have adrenal fatigue] are very real, and sometimes it's difficult to have symptoms and not have a diagnosis, so that could be where the persistent myth of 'adrenal fatigue' syndrome comes from," Salila Kurra, MD, co-director of the Columbia Adrenal Center and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City told Health.com.

But “accepting a medically unrecognized diagnosis from an unqualified practitioner could be worse,” writes Dr. Todd Nippoldt, board-certified specialist in internal medicine and endocrinology and metabolism at the Mayo Clinic. “Unproven remedies for so-called adrenal fatigue may leave you feeling sicker, while the real cause — such as depression or fibromyalgia — continues to take its toll.”

In other words, don't get your diagnosis from the internet – call your doctor!