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.
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*jumps up and down waving my hands and yelling in a crowd* DISCORD WAS NEVER MEANT TO REPLACE FORUMS AND WIKIS!!! IT'S JUST EMBELLISHED CHATROOMS WITH MULTIPLAYER GAMING FEATURES AND LOOTBOXES AND SHIT!!! PLEASE PUT FAQS AND MESSAGE BOARDS OR AT LEAST A DIRECT EMAIL-BASED SUPPORT SYSTEM ON YOUR WEBSITE!!! 1GB NEOCITIES DOMAIN ZERO DOLLARS
in my little pony universe youd go to a job interview and theyd be like so how does your cutiemark reflect your dedication to this position. And every time youd have to spew some bullshit about how your cutiemark of two tennis rackets actually means youre a team player and good at multitasking and view the market like a playing field. or whatever. and you wouldnt even get the job
Thanks to Equestria v Sugar Sprinkle, cutie mark interview questions are considered hiring discrimination, so if anypony asks you any cutiemark related questions or even alludes to any questions about your cutiemark such as "In your own words, describe your life purpose" you can and should refuse to answer. Know your rights, ponies.
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it's so crazy too bc i'll be like "this phrase/practice is being touted as ancient knowledge with a secret unbroken lineage, but it was quite literally made up in the 20th century. like we can trace it back to its very inception in like 1961." and someone will be like "that can't be true because my grandmother taught it to me." and i'm like yes your grandmother was 20 in 1961.
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#looked up and thought ‘that can’t be hard’#and then my eyes widened with horror as I realized the sheer number of rectangles everywhere#I’m . I’m horrified
soooo embarrassing to get obsessed w a specific character when no one else gives a damn. like yeah heres post #574934. heres au idea #26482. heres art piece #9383. yes its all about the same person, yes i am rambling in the corner blair witch style. feel free to shoot me dead for this btw
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"Americanization" is a real phenomenon, and how non-Americans should be cautious of it is taught in different countries at school. It's taught in Greece and people from other countries told me their elementary or middle school teachers (using the American grades, to make it make sense to the majority on the site) talked to them about it.
It's common sense here, except for USians, so I'll analyze it a bit more for the dominant demographic here. In a globalized setting, the most dominant culture affects the others and sets the trends. The way our language works, how we think, our levels of politeness and intimacy, and our levels of respect. (flash news, they are going down 😂)
I don't want to imply that there is nothing good in the US. There are plenty of positives in the country. It's just that for the rest of the cultures online it's a constant daily fight to not forget our roots, with the degree US media and brands have permeated our lives. In Greece at least we watch more US American media than Greek media nowadays, and many of our shows are rip-offs of USian ones, with little adaptation to Greek reality and culture.
And to demonstrate the amount of this exposure, a 22-year-old Greek asked me the other day "if something happens we call 911, right?" This might have literally cost them their life, in a dangerous situation! Because all the movies and songs they consumed (not an unusual thing for the Greek youth) were what they knew. And I found a similar comment in this comment thread.
Lots of Americans in the notes failing to understand this post. It's not about not liking the US. It's not about you feeling ashamed or guilty for being American. It's not about you.
It's about American media drowning out native language media all over the world, and workplaces requiring the English language in your repertoire more and more. It's about proper translations and foreign language dubbing of films disappearing because "everyone speaks/should speak English anyway." All of this is leading to the deterioration of native speaker groups of languages worldwide.
In my country, Dutch language courses can't find enough people who want to study the language, while English language courses are overflowing with people who want to study the language. There is even widespread distaste for the Dutch language for being crude or sounding rough or what have you. That's our native language!!! That is our culture in its purest form!!! That is knowledge we inherit from our parents as they did from theirs!!! That is how we learned fairytales and folk stories and myths!!! That is the language that shapes our communication and our way of thinking!!! To hate your native language is to hate yourself at the deepest level.
And yet it's so normalised. Droves of foreigners living in the Netherlands will never learn a word of Dutch, because "everyone speaks English anyway." We are the world's leaders in non-native understanding of English, but it comes at a cost. A grave cost we will continue to pay.
If you're looking to support your non-American friends in any way that is not performatively shouting "I hate being an American" into the void, first of all, unlearn that hatred of yourself and your culture. You are of no help self-flagellating, and there is a difference between holding your country accountable for its issues, and denying yourself your culture because your country is doing and has done bad things.
(I am not going to get into arguments about whether or not US American culture exists. It does, and if you think differently you are welcome to change your mind.)
Secondly, learn about other countries. Learn a bit of Chinese. Take an interest in the Italian political system. Ask your friends about their countries' folklore. Watch documentaries about art from Nigeria. Absorb information that is not fed to you by American media.
And thirdly, quit expecting your non-American friends to communicate in a way that appeals to you. The French and Dutch will always seem rude to you because our way of communicating is far more direct than the way you communicate. People from other cultures may seem vague to you because their way of communicating is far more indirect, and you're not used to that either. Quit being frustrated when you don't get what we mean exactly. Quit assuming we mean the absolute worst thing you could imagine just because you didn't get what we meant the first time. Ask us to explain if you need us to, and learn to accept that we are different from you.
We are already adapting to your culture 100% of the time we are online. It's your responsibility to adapt to us, too. At least do your friends the courtesy of learning about and adapting to them.
We are already adapting to your culture 100% of the time we are online. It's your responsibility to adapt to us, too. At least do your friends the courtesy of learning about and adapting to them.
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