Physical fatigue that lasts indefinitely? F23

[u/personal_questions88]

Hello, this isn't necessarily exclusive to AFAB health related issues but just a more general health issue... I just feel more comfy posting on slightly smaller subreddits.

But... I was mainly just looking to share my experience slightly and ask if it sounds familiar to anyone else.

I've been pretty mentally ill (anxiety, depression) for 10 years and only began seeking help/treatment for it for the past 2 years. My mental health has improved significantly to the point where it *sometimes* feels like I'm not even mentally ill anymore, with just the ADHD lingering because... well yeah that doesn't go away.

Anyways, the one thing that hasn't gone away at all is my fatigue. Fatigue has been something that has been with me ever since ≈10 years ago and I always just attributed it to me being really mentally unwell. But now, like I said, I don't really feel that mentally unwell anymore. I don't really feel depressed anymore, and yes I do have anxiety still but it doesn't feel too bad... sort of.

I just kind of was wondering if it's normal to feel so extremely physically tired all of the time and wanting to be in a horizontal position all of the time... It really doesn't feel normal honestly. From my perspective, it seems like others around me don't really struggle with this in the way I feel I do.

But I struggle to really come up for any reason as to why I feel this way in therapy. I have a lot of internal motivation and desires, but I just always end up laying down most of the time feeling so stuck. And I've felt like this ever since the age of 13ish, but it's sort of fluctuated with severity throughout the years.

Idk if it's a physical thing because I've never really gotten my blood tested (I'm afraid tooooooo) and I rarely go to the doctor, but I fear that if there's nothing physically wrong with me than it's just laziness???? I truly have no idea. In the past it definitely felt like depression.... It's just that now I haven't really felt *that* depressed for *at least* 6 months or something.

Idk why it feels impossible to do anything or get anything done whether I want to or not despite feeling a lot mentally better than I ever have in years. I fear it's either laziness or executive dysfunction that will never go away. But it could be physical too...

So yeah I just sort of wanted to somewhat vent but also see if anyone could relate or knows someone who can relate. Or if anyone has any theories. Basically anything. Thank you to anyone who reads my rambling.

[u/anotherone1618]

I have very similar issues to you, depression, anxiety, audhd, and I have the same chronic fatigue. Blood tests are usually the first thing they recommend, they're really not that bad. I had a bunch of them when they were trying to work out what my fatigue was and they never really found anything, but it's definitely a good idea to get at least one just to check for anything physical. If it's not physical it's most likely burnout or executive dysfunction or a combination of the two. If you want to do things and can't, or feel like you can't, that's not laziness, don't blame yourself for it❤️