maddening that there is a common medical condition whose symptoms consist of massive long-term loss of mental and physical functions, due to the incredibly damaging effects of prolonged stress overextending the mind and body by pushing it into survival mode beyond endurance—and that there is no medical term for it. despite the fact it's so damn common that everyone knows of someone suffering from "burnout."
While there are many reasons to be experiencing burnout nowadays, there is a very real possibility that, in the wake of COVID, you are not suffering from just burnout, but from something called ME/CFS. It’s something you can get from any number of sources, but it’s gained recent notoriety as a part of Long Covid.
Unfortunately, I don’t currently have the spoons to attach resources (because I have the condition myself 🙄) - but in the meantime, there’s some info under the readmore that might help? I’d give it a look if you think you might be suffering from burnout, just to check.
EDITED ON MAY 12th 2026 WITH CORRECTIONS, INFO, AND RESOURCES. Edits in blue!
it’s worth doing a little research yourself and acquainting yourself with the symptoms. Here are a few:
Post-exertional malaise: this is the big one. This is what makes it so much like burnout. Basically, you tire out much easier from exertion - your ability to recover is sabotaged, and takes a lot longer. Practically anything can count as exertion if you’re sick enough - exercise, talking to friends, reading, video games… massive pain in the ass. And weird, shitty, seemingly unrelated symptoms can pop out of nowhere the sicker you get.
Brain fog: another form of fuckery. Cognitive impairment. Your energy levels are lower, so your brain doesn’t cooperate the way it should. This leads to trouble recalling things, trouble making decisions, lack of coordination, and many, many other frustrating things.
Immune system problems: these are a cluster of symptoms that can vary quite a bit from case to case. I hear your immune system can get underactive, and you can get diseases more easily, among other things? (Fact check this.) EDIT: While I’m uncomfortable writing this off completely, and I haven’t fully fact checked this, it’s looking a lot more like an overactive immune system is part-and-parcel of ME/CFS. My mom and I, on the other hand, have overactive immune systems, and we get lovely symptoms like food sensitivities from out of nowhere. Like eggs? Good source of nutrients? Fuck you, stomach don’t like them anymore, have headaches and gastric agony from the pain dimension.
Generalized muscle and joint pain: I don’t have the research in front of me, but from what I can remember, lactic acid builds up more easily in the muscles of those with ME/CFS. Basically, it doesn’t take much effort for you to get sore, and you have achy spots on your body that improve with massages but don’t seem to go away completely or permanently. (My mom and I both get sore in our lower backs)
These are just some of the symptoms you can get. Still with me? Good.
Think you might have it?
Things can be done about this. Really smart people have been working hard to find a cure, and there’ve been some really promising discoveries.
Now, ME/CFS is a real sonuvabitch to diagnose because so far, there’s been no way to test for it directly - you have to use process of elimination instead, and rule out other conditions. This is a long and annoying process.
EDIT: There might just be a blood test for ME/CFS on the horizon, which would make things SO much easier. In the meantime, it still helps to rule out other conditions (as frustrating as it is), and there is a certain exercise test which produces a unique result for people with ME/CFS. This test is called the CPET test, and it may be worth talking to a doctor about. More info on this test and other stuff in the reblog.
Unfortunately, I can’t speak when it comes to other forms of health insurance in the United States besides Medicaid. But what you’ll wanna do is basically take various lists (which are part of a packet that my mom put together - I’ll link said packet on a reblog) to different specialists, and test for the conditions on those lists. Rule ‘em out, make sure you don’t have them.
Again, this is arduous and difficult. But getting a diagnosis can be very helpful when it comes to getting support or benefits.
That said, there are things you can do without having to get a diagnosis. Certain medications have been known to help with the symptoms. I’ll list a couple that have helped me here.
DO NOT TAKE MEDICATIONS WILLY-NILLY WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR DOCTOR. MAKE SURE THEY’RE SAFE FIRST.
I recently had an incident where I took one of these meds, and some potentially deadly complications came up. It got resolved, I was able to continue taking it, but you can’t be too careful!
Metformin has helped some people with ME/CFS. I happened to have other reasons for taking it, but once I did, I noticed that my energy levels raised a bit and I had less brain fog.
Naltrexone is a medication best known for treating cravings and addictions. In smaller doses, it can help diminish the negative impact of the symptoms. (However, it’s been known to amplify the effects of some other medications - this is what I had trouble with earlier. Be cautious and pay attention to your body!) EDIT: You’ll want to start with an extremely small dose - less than a milligram. Then, if you’re finding that you need more, start increasing the dose gradually, bit by bit. If you experience a lot of tightness in your head, neck, and shoulders, it’s too much.
Trazodone can be used in small doses to help with sleep issues, including those caused by ME/CFS - more lovely symptoms that I didn’t mention earlier. Again, pay attention to this one, because it can cause problems if you’re not careful - especially if you take a lot of medications.
You’ll notice that use of these medications are generally off-label, as they’re usually prescribed for other reasons.
Now, don’t create more problems for yourself or lie to your doctor(s), but if you happen to have the problems those medications are intended to treat (i.e. you struggle with cravings or sleep problems), then by all means, use those problems to get the help you need!
…
This is a lot of information, I know. And I’m sorry. This entire disease is bullshit.
I have one final piece of advice. The most annoying, frustrating, and yet important part of all this.
The most consistent way you get better - improve your condition, become less sick - is by resting.
It is the hardest fucking part.
Because there will be things that you will want to do. Or need to do. Or have to do. Some of those things will be unavoidable, and you might take a hit when you do them. But otherwise? You’re going to have to rest.
You’re going to have to listen to your body when it tells you ‘no.’ Even if it means not hanging out with friends. Or doing something that would normally be really good for you. Or, hell, even just getting outside of the house. There will be times where you have to lie in bed and just… do nothing.
And you will fuck up sometimes, because you want to live and exist in the world. That’s okay - don’t beat yourself up about it. Just do the best you can. The whole game is rigged, and you shouldn’t have to play it in the first place, but that doesn’t mean you can’t win.
All of that up there - the more intense stuff - that can be avoided if you take care of yourself and start resting up early, before things get too bad. But if not, don’t give up, you can make it through this.
Hopefully no part of this comes across as unhelpful or pretentious or anything - if this helps at least one other person, I consider it a success. But hopefully it’ll help more people than that.
Video summary: Tiktok by @pippabarnes - clips of a person with alopecia applying colourful makeup and other decorations to a bald spot as part of very dramatic looks, narrating now her relationship to her bald spots has developed over time
They say that sudden, intense cravings for very specific foods are usually a sign of a vitamin deficiency. If so, that I'm presently making myself french toast, scrambled eggs, and a bacon and cheese sandwich at 11:45 PM must mean the vitamin I'm missing is grease.
Not to put too fine a point on it but Fat is a macronutrient. Like you need a lot more mass of it every day than all the vitamins combined. Like haha funny post but no really Fat is a nutrient yes your body is craving vitamin grease.
Do you think tumblr will ever learn the difference between “I’m defending this person because I agree with them wholeheartedly and I am also like this person” and “I’m defending this person because your behavior is dangerous and you need to stop”
IMO, blurring the lines between “I’m defending them because they’re right” and “I’m defending them because you’re taking this too far” is step numero uno to cutting down the very existence of fair trial and democracy–even in places where saying that might seem a little dramatic.
Mob mentality is extremely strong in humans and it’s also extremely dangerous. Mobs don’t think things through. Mobs kill and they destroy and they can’t be reasoned with. Someone trying to calm a mob down isn’t someone defending the ~problematic party~ It’s time we re-learn that.
My favorite pokemon game is Sun and Moon, tied with Pokopia and PMD EoT! I liked the change up in how the villain team acted, how yhe gym challenges were more varied, and getting to surf on mantines very much. Pokopia and PMD are addicting to play and have some of the best story work in the whole franchise to me.
My favorite trainer... I don't know a ton of them by name. But I DO really enjoy Plumeria. She's cool as heck. Also my wet cat bug man, Guzma.
“The police spend very little of their time dealing with violent criminals—indeed, police sociologists report that only about 10% of the average police officer’s time is devoted to criminal matters of any kind. Most of the remaining 90% is spent dealing with infractions of various administrative codes and regulations: all those rules about how and where one can eat, drink, smoke, sell, sit, walk, and drive. If two people punch each other, or even draw a knife on each other, police are unlikely to get involved. Drive down the street in a car without license plates, on the other hand, and the authorities will show up instantly, threatening all sorts of dire consequences if you don’t do exactly what they tell you. The police, then, are essentially just bureaucrats with weapons. Their main role in society is to bring the threat of physical force—even, death—into situations where it would never have been otherwise invoked, such as the enforcement of civic ordinances about the sale of untaxed cigarettes.”
— An excerpt from Ferguson & the Criminalization of American Life by David Graeber (via actjustly)
since i think many will have had the memory slip with just how many other atrocities have occured in the past 11 years, or are simply too young to remember, the last bit about the sale of untaxed cigarettes isn’t just some hypothetical, it’s a reference to the killing of eric garner
this is the origin of the slogan “i cant breathe”, which was revived in the wake of the killing of george floyd.
tom nook is NOT a landlord!!! he is a construction worker! he SELLS you a WHOLE HOUSE! He is not CHARGING YOU however many bells a month to live there! You PURCHASE a HOME that he BUILDS FOR YOU and then you PAY HIM FOR HIS SERVICE. He charges no interest he sets no time limit it is a relationship built on trust. the only penalty you get for not paying off your home is that he won't build more home until you pay him for the first one. A guy that builds you a house wherever you want him to and then charges you for the cost of construction is not a landlord you own the fucking home
I love people who are cis+. The ones who took the time to think about gender and decided they liked the one they were given. They project good gender vibes even if they aren't trans.
the best death note joke format will forever be L asking light a simple question in which logical answer A might increase the likelihood of light being kira and logical answer B similarly might increase the likelihood of light being kira and after a short internal struggle light comes up with answer Y, which no human being has ever thought of as being a normal response in all of living history
