Constantly drained in my early 20s
I’m a (22/M) and have been dealing with what I consider to be chronic fatigue for as long as I can remember. I’ve suffered from anxiety, panic attacks, and depression since I was in elementary school and overall have a very deregulated nervous system. I wake up almost every morning feeling as if I never slept at all, rely on caffeine to get through everyday, and feel overall weak despite doing everything in my power to get better.
I go to the gym regularly, sleep 8-9 hours straight, I’m at a healthy weight, I eat decent, I’m on SSRIs and have been in and out of therapy for years, and I’ve had all sorts of medical AND functional testing done. I’ve been told that I have “adrenal fatigue” by a functional doc and my tests showed that my body produces enough cortisol (total cortisol), but burns through it too fast to leave enough in reserve for actual use (free cortisol). I believe this is a large portion of my issue, though I’m skeptical of functional medicine after trying many supplements with no results.
I’m also vitamin D deficient and take the supplement for it, but otherwise all of my hormones including testosterone and thyroid are normal.
The constant absence of energy is genuinely ruining my life. Everything feels like a chore and I never want to go out of the house or do anything that requires a lot energy. I feel so alone because I don’t know anyone else my age who struggles with this so if anyone else is or has been in a similar situation it would help to hear your experience.