Toxic exposure in my apartment cost me my health, my business momentum, and almost my financial safety net. I don’t know what to do next.
Maybe someone here has been through something similar, or can help me think clearly about my next steps.
I’m in my mid-40s. Last year, I moved into a beautiful new apartment (built in 2022) and used my financial cushion to finally launch my own business.
Within a few weeks, I started feeling increasingly unwell. At first, I pushed through it and did everything I could to keep going. I even made some revenue. But by the end of the year, my symptoms had become so severe that I was essentially unable to work.
Earlier this year, I finally realized that my apartment itself was likely the source of my health problems.
I consulted several building biologists/environmental consultants, and they all advised me to move out as quickly as possible rather than spend thousands on extensive environmental testing. Based on my symptoms, they suspect exposure to biocides or another chemical substance in the apartment. Mold was considered, but seems unlikely.
So in February, I moved out.
The hardest part: I had to leave behind, or discard, almost everything I owned, because my clothing and personal belongings had absorbed whatever was in that apartment. Even now, being near some of those items still triggers symptoms for me (headaches, tinnitus, digestive issues, insomnia).
I’m now two months out of the apartment and improving, but very slowly.
I’ve had to replace almost everything: furniture, clothing, household items, everything except metal, glass, and ceramics. I was able to save my laptop and phone, but not much else.
Financially, this has been devastating.
The savings I had built to support my business launch are almost gone, between months of reduced income, moving costs, replacing essential belongings, and medical expenses.
I still have some passive income from real estate, so I’m not in immediate danger, but my safety net has largely disappeared.
What’s hardest now is the mental block.
I would like to continue building my business, but I feel exhausted, shaken, and mentally stuck.
I also feel embarrassed. Last year, I publicly announced my business launch, and then everything seemed to collapse. I worry that others see me as lazy, unreliable, or incapable, even though they have no idea what happened behind the scenes.
Going back into employment feels, emotionally, like failure, even though part of me knows that stable income might be the fastest way to recover financially.
What has affected me most deeply is how much this has shaken my trust in life.
I’m not someone who complains much. But what happened genuinely shocked me. It feels like, for months, every single day brought another setback or unexpected problem.
So I’d really appreciate perspective from others:
- Would you return to a regular job for stability, or try to keep building your business?
- How would you deal with the mental block after such a disruptive experience?
- Has anyone here experienced a major loss—health-related or otherwise—and managed to rebuild successfully?
Thank you for reading.
Edit:
Environmental testing would have cost around €3,000–€4,000 total, because each chemical group would have needed separate testing (€600–€1,200 each), and multiple consultants advised against spending that money unless mold was strongly suspected.
Edit 2:
I know this may sound difficult to believe. I struggled to believe it myself. But multiple environmental specialists confirmed that cases like this do happen, even if they’re rare.