Lost my entire twenties to mystery exhaustion - 11 years and counting
This feels really vulnerable to share publicly, but I'm getting desperate for answers. Maybe someone here has experienced something similar and can help me figure out what's happening.
I'm 28M and have been dealing with crushing fatigue since I was around 17. There might have been some kind of trigger - in fall 2013 I had this strange incident where I was hugging goodbye to a tall friend at train station, and when she lifted me up slightly, my neck bent backward. Wasn't painful or anything dramatic, but I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. I warned her and then just collapsed backward onto the platform. Was unconscious for maybe 45 seconds - could hear everything but couldn't respond or move. Went to hospital right away but they basically said since I wasn't throwing up, I was fine to go home.
That's when everything started getting worse. First just falling asleep during lectures, feeling more tired than usual. But by next year it became unbearable - my mental health crashed completely, and I had zero energy for anything. Watched my friends finish their degrees while I failed out in final semester because I missed too many classes from feeling absolutely terrible.
The middle years are mostly blur because brain fog got so intense. I'd drive home from seeing people and suddenly have no memory of who I'd been with or what we talked about. Every day I'd try so hard to work in creative projects or be productive, then end up crying in bed because I couldn't even sit at desk for more than few minutes.
Anyone else been through something like this? I'm running out of hope that there's explanation for what happened to me.