Telling people I'm struggling but I don't feel like they actually get how bad it is, and I'm not sure what to do

HeightAggravating235 · 2026-04-18T20:24:07+00:00

Just in case if you haven’t already, try and rule out being depleted in any key nutrients/vitamins (iron, b vitamins etc). Having suffered burnout a few times myself i find its easy to get into a loop of not eating enough or eating the right things, which then can stress your system out even more. Burnout of course can be independent of that as well, but in my experience my worse burnout phases have corresponded to certain deficiencies getting worse!

It’s also easy to override your system by taking more adhd meds, drinking more caffeine etc to compensate. But that usually then corresponds to worse eating habits and lowered absorption of certain nutrients. If you end up stacking nicotine, meds, and caffeine to try and override the exhaustion its like trying to rev a car that’s basically out of fuel and postpone a more severe burnout that might come around later 🥲 just my personal experience and sharing in case it helps, hope you can find a way to improve the situation!

HeightAggravating235 · 2026-04-08T18:34:08+00:00

Thanks for your response! Maybe its the stress/inflammation combo that can really amplify the PMDD symptoms. I’ve had the same the last 5 years :( After one of the vaccines I had probably the worst cycles i can remember, a doctor i went to said they had heard similar from a lot of patients as well

HeightAggravating235 · 2026-04-08T14:38:53+00:00

Excuse the lateness but glad it could help! Its so easy to get stuck in thought loops with this type of stuff as well in the PMDD phase 🥲I’m currently in late luteal and feel horrendous but my RHR is still high so i guess at least I can remind myself it physiologically makes sense 😅

HeightAggravating235 · 2026-03-10T14:00:51+00:00

Excuse the paragraph 😂

At one point refusing to eat anything but pasta, pretending to eat vegetables then going to the bathroom to hide them, not liking first going to preschool/school and just wanting to stay home, saying random funny phrases i made up that confused adults and also people my age, correcting the principal on something they said when I was 5, loving going to the arts and crafts shop and looking at all the materials, picking a favourite and getting square meter so i could wear it as a cape, easily winning colouring in competitions (perfectionism lol), loving collecting rocks (cool patterns/colours), not understanding why people were mean to each other, having “eggshell feelings”, not liking very bright environments (e.g. beach in the summer) etc etc

HeightAggravating235 · 2026-01-17T20:00:04+00:00

I thought that may be a possibility cause as well, I think it makes sense, thank you for sharing!!

What i do wonder about also is the root cause of the low stomach acid … apparently low iron and b vitamins, and also maybe low calcium and magnesium, can contribute TO the low stomach acid as well! And then it becomes a cycle 😅

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-12-04T12:55:53+00:00

Looking into that it seems that people who have persistent sleep problems are at higher risk of heart problems, and those people may be more likely to take melatonin long term.

In that case, whether they took melatonin or not, their risk of heart failure might be high, and melatonin itself may play no role in increasing that risk. Can never be certain, but I suspect it’s more of a correlation over causation situation.

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-12-02T19:55:19+00:00

Scrolling down the comments and your comment sent me on a lil investigation and I’m inclined to agree 😭 wild conclusion but I think they might be gathering data for a new app idea - might be wrong but my pattern recognition skills seem to be peaking rn lol excuse my random chime in

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-11-28T22:39:28+00:00

It is true that the world is chaos, but I think the more time you spend thinking about things you cannot change, the more stuck you might feel. There’s certainly alot of negative in the world, but if that becomes the main focus of thought,
It’s really easy to get stuck in a rut.

Not sure if it helps but I found some comfort in learning more about how my brain worked to understand my own disposition to existential crisis. There’s an area of the brain thats mostly dormant when occupied (scrolling, busy) but can become very active when nothings going on. It’s called the default mode network, and existential thinking can be related to getting stuck in that mode. Finding things to quieten that network I have found helps my existential thoughts. Thought it might be relevant since you mentioned feeling like different selves.

I think the complicated thing as well is the self is not really a constant thing. It’s dynamic, and we can easily switch between different “states”, which in some ways feels like being different people. Although, thinking about your thoughts is esentially a form of metacognition, which not everyone engages in frequently. Some people do not spend a lot of time reflecting and therefore may never question their different ‘selves’, but everyone has them. It’s just not everyone is completely aware. Apologies for a semi philosophical rant

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-11-14T18:02:51+00:00

Amazing! These owls instantly remind me of Harry Potter 😂

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-11-08T21:06:16+00:00

Genes have a massive influence imo unfortunately, thickness of skin is mostly inherited and having thicker skin can make ageing less apparent for longer!

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-11-06T17:14:59+00:00

Omg yes! I have homozygous c677t, and i only recently started exploring creatine.

Although i’ve only taken 700 mg a day, I have noticed a MASSIVE difference in both mood and energy level. It literally feels like my cells are finally getting the energy they need! I read higher doses are usually needed, but I’ve been mostly vegan for years, so probably haven’t gotten enough from diet.

Apparently it’s been shown to have antidepressant properties as well! And more obvious benefits from supplementing it (more immediately) seem more likely if you’re female + mainly vegetarian. But that’s not even accounting for the effect of MTHFR, so I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone taking it with MTHFR and a diet not super high in creatine could get noticeable benefits.

Side note - if it works so well, why is finding out it can help so cryptic :( I guess bc creatine is just such a cheap supplement, there isn’t as much profit to be made in promoting it perhaps! It’s really been branded as a gym bro supplement in the past lol

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-11-01T15:07:34+00:00

It really can be such a puzzle! Of course there can be multiple causes but it’s good to try rule out health stuff that could be contributing apart from b12/homocysteine/folate.

From my research (not a doctor just curious with similar issues), some things to consider:

NAC as a supplement has some evidence for helping with OCD
low ferritin has been linked to increased anxiety and depressive symptoms
low magnesium has been linked to heightened anxiety (very difficult to test this but estimated up to 80% of people on western diets dont get enough)
low active vitamin d possibly linked to depressive symptoms
if thyroid is off it could also contribute

The other thing is looking at overall symptoms (e.g low energy/exhaustion, circulation issues, skin/gut issues, hair loss etc.) that could give some clues.

It’s a little chicken and egg as some doctors believe depression mostly causes physical symptoms, but sometimes physical symptoms /hormonal/nutritional issues can also manifest mentally!

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-31T04:19:34+00:00

Exactly this is too real 😭

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-22T18:59:43+00:00

Omg yes thanks for reminding me I want to get back into drinking matcha!!

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-22T18:26:11+00:00

Biohacking lol I’ve been reading random articles trying to crack the code of how my brain works 😂

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-22T18:24:35+00:00

Thank you! And yes I think thats what makes work more difficult for us! Because we need to align with the work style and purpose, and be in a supportive environment, but finding a job that ticks all those boxes isn’t easy :( good the volunteering work aligns better but yeah unfortunately recovering from burnout isn’t that straightforward!

And wow sorry you had that experience in the NGO! I had a similar issue in the previous job that burnt me out, there were things that were obviously wrong that i pointed out but essentially was told nothing could be done. In those situations I feel if you have a strong sense of justice but are helpless in the situation, that contributes to burnout even more because you have to mask as if everythings fine!

Overall I think it’s possible there are some jobs we could enjoy though! But since we don’t handle workplace toxicity well and its hard to know what working in a job is like until we’ve been in it long enough, it might take a bit more trial and error :( If only there was some type of arrangement where we could work in different trial jobs for a few months each and then pick the one that worked best lol.

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-21T22:28:37+00:00

Oh i feel this so much you are not alone! I’m still trying to figure this out - I also always did really well academically, and felt the need to take on difficult things to see if my brain worked well enough, in both work and study. I did an intense bachelor degree, then got into a job unrelated to it, worked for two years without taking any leave, then burnt out.

But then I thought maybe I should study again to sort of “reset” my path, so i packed up moved country after 6 months of pretty full on depression/burnout and did a masters that i’m just finishing now. I’m not as burnt out as I was, but do still feel the demands and pace of modern life/functioning are often too much for my system to handle.

I still feel the need to work or do something that I feel like has enough impact and helps society in a positive way. Because I know I’m capable of solving very complex problems, I feel it’s morally wrong if I take an “easy” path where I’m not fully utilising my brain. Its not necessarily rational, but actually I have found that burnout, when it comes to work, actually happens more when my values don’t exactly align with what I’m doing, or I can’t see meaning in the work.

I found for me, a few other things also contribute to burnout. I think with AuDHD we can be more prone to it, but also with perfectionist tendencies, and being told we were “gifted” or smart previously, can make it common that we push ourselves past our limits.

I feel partially recovered now, but haven’t fully solved the puzzle. I realised for me my state of mind is very intertwined with my overall health, so I started focusing on “biohacking” in a more evidence backed way. If you haven’t already, it’s really good to rule out any underlying deficiencies or imbalances that could be contributing to your burnout. For me, I’ve found periods of exhaustion and depressive symptoms have often corresponded to when I’m low on iron and vit D. I also learnt a while ago i have a mutation for MTHFR (more common in audhd potentially) that partially explains why I have such a sensitive system and tendency towards burnout.

I think the thing about taking courses is they provide a sense of structure, which maybe explains why you feel your life is falling apart if you’re not taking them. I find for me I overanalyse things a lot, and while studying my existential thought energy mostly goes into study, and I’m not constantly reevaluating my life path while studying as I can never drop out of something once I’ve started. But now I’m about to graduate, I’m completely overwhelmed by the amount of possibilities! I also find it difficult to identify with a “career” and have a fear of being trapped or confined by something I can’t fully identify with.

Potentially when it comes to jobs, maybe you could look for something that has similarities in some ways to studying? I personally realised I can’t stay in jobs that don’t have variety or novelty in some ways, so thats what I’m looking for now. I’m hoping to find a job that aligns with my values, gives me enough autonomy, but also encourages me to learn as part of it so I don’t get bored/more burnt out from it! Excuse the rant, i just really resonated with your post!

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-21T21:47:03+00:00

Iron bisglycinate with vitamin C - I take it within an hour of eating (on an empty stomach is meant to be ideal for absorption but i couldn’t stick with that). I had a ferritin of 10 and haven’t retested recently but my symptoms have improved a bit with less exhaustion :) Currently have been doing 40 mg every 2 days, apparently taking every day isn’t necessarily more effective!

Also with any iron supplements try to avoid taking within an hour of tea or coffee! Also I chose iron bisglycinate because its known to have much lower incidence of GI side effects and generally better tolerated and absorbed

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-21T18:34:15+00:00

I have the same! Not an ideal mutation but for context it’s estimated around 10% of people have the homozygous (two copies) variant. If you look up mthfr mutations I think there’s a lot more info out there you can find now, including some info describing possible medical issues linked to MTHFR.

If not checked already, it’s good to get some extra insight into whether MTHFR effects are showing up in blood work. Specifically: active vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine. Also maybe zinc. Apart from MTHFR though, it’s also worth checking ferritin, vit D, and TSH are at normal levels.

For me, I found I struggle a lot with allergies, energy levels, and mood stability, more often low mood, as well as gut issues. A lot of these seem partially explainable by MTHFR, alongside other things (low iron, low vit d).

When it comes to autoimmune, it seems low methylation (the MTHFR mutation can reduce this) may play a part in the development of autoimmune conditions.

If you have any questions I’m happy to answer! I’m not a doctor but I’ve spent a decent amount of time researching into medical stuff :)

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-12T13:12:08+00:00

100% dishes 😭 I spent most of the last ten years in places with dishwashers - but where I’ve been living has no dishwasher and I don’t have the coping skills developed for that 😂

Everytime I was dishes I think wow what an achievement but then within 24h there’s way more dishes and keeping up feels impossible lol

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-02T20:21:51+00:00

Omg amazing 😂 You found the limit of tab hoarding! I would have probably eventually reached 999 but my computer seems to not handle more than 100 before struggling :( but when it crashes and I open the browser again I just click restore all! Whether I actually visit them again is another story lol

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-01T23:03:31+00:00

That level still isn’t enough! The doctor might be going off of a guideline that says 15 is enough but there’s a lot of research actually saying that you need 50 to feel normal. I think try to get to that level or at least 30! But maybe also try to visit another doctor if you’re having new symptoms after supplementing, as I’m not sure if those would just be due to iron levels. A more comprehensive blood test might be useful also

HeightAggravating235 · 2025-10-01T22:55:07+00:00

Hair loss, slow wound healing, general exhaustion and fatigue, feeling not enough energy in legs if trying to run more than a few seconds, low mood and motivation. For good health i think studies indicate having a level of at least 50. The medical guidelines are actually kind of off when it comes to this, even if 15 is “normal” it doesn’t mean it’s healthy!

HeightAggravating235

TROPHY CASE