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Something’s not right

Desperate for Direction

Desperate for Direction

Hi all, I'll share a bit of my story in hopes someone might be able to point me in the right direction.

I had a stress related burnout in 2017, which left me with fog brain and lethargy for about a year, I started taking good care of my heath with diet and exercise and my energy returned, I was motivated and went flat out at work. I had a poor sleep one night and still went flat out the next day, by the afternoon something didn't feel right, I crashed and burned out badly with my head, its like I had completely fried my brain.

What resulted was a very limited capacity mentally, I would read a couple of pages, feel my brain straining, read another paragraph and my brain would "fry", which was a very tangible strain in my head. It would be often completely debilitating. I struggled with this for a long time, sometimes it would be better sometimes it would return for several months, sometimes caused just by having a cup of coffee but then it would stick around for months.

In October 2019 I burned out and this is where my chronic fatigue started. I had a string of "burnouts" and would eventually start recovering, only to go flat out again, or be forced into doing too much ie. at work. The more this happened the harder it would be to start recovering. I was very much in a survival mode, just trying to get through the day, for several years.

A bit over a year ago, a cup of coffee caused my head to significantly to "fry", it hasn't recovered since. My brain can't handle much of anything, I won't get through a movie without frying my brain, I can rarely read much, or do anything slightly mentally taxing. I have been incapable of working, and now I'm starting to get more desperate as money is running out.

I've seen several doctors and a naturopath and it's like no body has any clue whats going on with my head. I've got quite severe chronic fatigue, I've tried all kinds of supplements to no avail. I can live with the chronic fatigue but having no mental capacity is wearing me down. Sometimes it has felt like it's started to recover, only to go back to square one because I read a little too much or watched YouTube.

It's so hard to explain what I'm feeling but it's like my brain is strained/sprained, often not going away till I wake up the next morning. I'm struggling to finish writing this, I won't have the capacity to check what I've written so hopefully I make some sense.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!



3 replies

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In response to: Desperate for Direction

Re: Desperate for Direction

Hi @cyberfunk

Sorry to hear about your situation, it sounds like things are really tough going. It's great you've found us though so welcome!

I'm wondering if you've see a GP or psychologist. I know you said you saw a naturopath and several doctors but just wondering what type of doctor you mean. Some have not much of a clue about mental health stuff. Not to disrespect naturopaths but their training can vary greatly and the industry isn't strictly regulated. You may need someone with more expertise in what's going on in the brain.

Sending warmest wishes

Hanami

In response to: Desperate for Direction

Re: Desperate for Direction

Hi @cyberfunk,

Welcome to the Forums. My name is FloatingFeather and I am one of the peer support workers at SANE. It is nice to have you with us.

I'm sorry to read how challenging things have been for you over the last few years. It sounds like a pretty tough road to navigate.

It's a shame you can't find a professional who can help you better understand and remedy what is going on for you. Hopefully someone on the Forums can relate to what you are experiencing and offer some wisdom / advice. The good thing about the Forums is that it is a pretty big space with a lot of members so it's a good place to cast a wide net.

I really wish you well in finding the help and answers you are looking for.

Warm wishes,

FloatingFeather

PS. just a couple of tips to help you get started on the Forums:

Tip 1 - if you want to directly chat with someone on the Forums use the @ symbol and then start typing their name directly after it. A dropdown box should appear, and you then select their name. This ensures that they are notified of any posts you mention them in.

Tip 2 – the most recent posts are the latest page numbers.

In response to: Re: Desperate for Direction

Re: Desperate for Direction

@cyberfunk

I can relate to a lot of what you say. I always have a sore head. I have not discussed it with doctors cos I figured I would not make sense. Whatever it is, you need to work within your own capacity.

For me, getting out of my head and into practical activities really helps. Somehow it slows things down and my head gets a break. I have adopted that approach most of my life, whether it is walking or shopping cooking painting music ... gardening ... are there any activities that you like to do? I would say do more of that ...

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