ZenAlex

Hello. I've suffered with long covid since 2023. I was stuck in bed most of last year, and didn't walk at all for most of last year. I'm recovering now, finally start of 2026 I'm getting better, my fitness is improving quite quickly in a cardio sense, but eventually after increasing my activity to a certain point, I noticed pain in my knee, especially when going uphill, and had to say in the house for 2 days to make it subside. I've reduced the activity to a daily amount that doesn't trigger it, and also have had to start doing stairs/uphill for short amounts most days. Went from just being able to sit up and watch TV for a bit start of jan, to pushing myself to do a 14k step walk in middle of march before my injury. Now I'm doing 4-6k steps and with 2-3 flights of stairs a day, and that seems to be an amount I can do without bringing the pain back. I'm now trying to do an amount most days that doesn't trigger the pain, with every 3rd day at a lower amount to rest, and now plan to increase 5% per week. I have a physiotherapist apt in a few weeks. I think I got over excited when I noticed rapid improvement which my original docs said could happen due to my previous fitness, but looks like I've hit a wall. Uphill definitely aggravates it more. Anyone got any advice? I've heard that it can take several months or a year or more to achieve full fitness of the muscles/ligaments/tendons. Thanks.

The gut is linked to MH, has anyone here used gut tests and gut work to improve their health? If so what markers do you look out for?

It almost feels like a huge false dichotomy

The former yes, the latter sort of, it's just difficult to get that excited about something. I have goals in terms of getting my fitness back to be able to explore nature agian. Whenever I think of purpose it's often via a creative outlet.

Hi. I cured my OCD, my ADHD and anxiety are much better. I don't really feel suicidal and I don't suffer much mentally, but I still feel a tad mildly depressed sometimes, like I don't feel strong emotions or get excited much, sometimes there is a complete flatness in my feelings. I accept it ad am grateful for what I can enjoy, but despite my recovery I never quite feel as alive as I used to. After you've recovered mostly, how do you get from feeling flat/mildly depressed to feeling alive? I've done so much work over 10 years. Things just don't hit much these days. I can feel peaceful and take small levels of satisfaction from things, but it's been over a decade since I really felt excited and alive and emotional.

A good family, before long covid I spoke to colleagues regularly and occasionally met up with people of the internet for hang outs. Felt similar back then. Tried lots of shit of open up more, thinking I wasn't socialising enough but it made no difference. Typically I spend time in nature, long hikes/rides in nature, music, audiobooks, going out to watch football. I avoid video games and TV regularly to remain in the present moment. I meditate + just sit for 60-90 mins.

Just being honest here, I'm not sure where to look to find out what a woman actually is. Is it an Adult Female or anyone who identifies as such? Please don't get triggered, I've thought about this quite a bit and my general belief is - There's no objective man or woman. A woman is whatever it is we decide that it is, same as a man. I'd like to think there's some way we can find out objectively what it is or at least create the perfect argument as to why one definition is better than the other, so I can confidently know what a woman objectively is or what we we should consider a woman. The legal definition in my country is Adult Female, I'm from the UK. Please help with this. Please don't get angry, I'm just trying to learn, and I'm not convinced with either side yet.

I'm recovering from it now. Got covid in 2023. Haven't worked since 2024. Was in bed most of 2025. Trying to build up my exercise and getting sad that I've become too deconditioned to do serious exercise, but having faith in rehab with physios. My advice - 1) Limit technology, stay conscious with your body 2) Gradually increase 3) Look into Raelan Agle - Brain retraining and polyvagal theory. It has helped me You gotta convince your brain it is safe to engage in activity. It may take a bit of time before your body lets you recover. I'm 2.5 years in and can do 10k steps with difficulty. I am able to walk 10k steps right now after being bed bound up until january, but the after effect of the activity is sometimes concerning. Try to see it as a an opportunity to get to know yourself. I was fit and active before, but now I'll probably use this as a push towards weight training and conditioning my body more carefully, as opposed to just doing carido. Maybe this expereince will lead us to developing better body conditioning to avoid pain later in our lives. My MH issues taught me things that saved me from suicide during the year I was unable to leaev my bed.

How do you know she doesn't have a husband or a solid enough relationship? Has she said?

Quick question - Who inherits this site if he had no will?

So do you believe a trans woman is a man who identifies as a woman due to hormonal issues, essentially? Do you lean more towards a woman being an adult female? This topic makes me feel like a dumbass sometimes.

Health anxiety. It's fine. Eat healthy, meditate, get outside and be physically active, and just accept you can only do as much as you can do. I learned the hard way over the last few years that you can look after yourself very well and yet you can still get sick. I had no health issues for over a decade and was physically fit and healthy until I got Covid and I spent most of last year in bed, I worry that I'll never get to be able to hike properly again, but I'm just taking shit day by day. My knees hurt after 7-8k steps where as I use to be able to do 35k steps without much discomfort, and do it again the day after. I'm doing physiotherapy and maintaining faith that I'll build myself up again. 1) Do something sensible about it 2) Write and plan it out, reminding yourself it's in your control 3) Meditate and clear your mind, and realise you don't have to be on it 24/7. Enjoy yourself as much as you possibly can with what health you have 4) Gratitude. It could be much worse.

I think he's intelligent, by unstable and egotistical, and struggles to accept when he is wrong or the other person has a point. When he cannot out argue people the right way, which to be fair, sometimes he does, he just tries to overwhelm people to reassert an underserved sense of control over an argument. It's quite sad and immature.

https://www.reddit.com/r/cults/comments/v22bzq/teal_swan_reacts_to_documentary_part_1_there_is/ A documentary about her has been released, and it appears it now doesn't look very good for her. I cannot link to the documentary itself, but here's a reddit post including her response and all the people below, including people who used to follow her. I've seen people on here say she helped them... Always be wary guys... cult leads always help people at first.

Does anyone have any experience with this? The logic seems sound. Willing to try, but wanting to hear what your guys experiences are with it.

Close your eyes and listen to this song - It is the best thing I've experienced in 6 months during struggling with my issues. I love ambience music. My mind isn't a great state right now but sometimes some music breaks through.

I did an gut test with a biomesight who were offering a special for those suffering from long covid. Most of the tests came back with positive results, apart from the section labelled "probiotics" which was scored as "poor". I'm not sure if these bad results are the result of a pre-existing condition or long covid has fucked up my gut. Any advice or even just interpretation would be helpful. Thank you. @undeather @Michael569

Shit just checked you cannot just add any practitioner it has to be one of their registered ones. There's a list of gut microbiome analysts and dieticians available. I'm not sure who I should exactly go to for full understanding and what to do with this. I have the tests and it shows some issues consistent with long covid but not all. Some things definitely do seem to need improving. I was mostly concerned with the below one.

There isn't really a report I can print off, but I can "add a practitioner" on the website, and it gives whoever I choose access to a version of my full health profile, including my results. The website is designed to allow people's doctors and nutritionists access. I understand I'm not paying you so I don't mind if you say no. But if it's something you're intrigued about or interested in, let me know. Thank you

When I hear nihilists and others argue about this subject, I personally find myself a tad uncertain... My question is - What would actually make something meaningful? Is it just something that has significance to you? For it to be objectively meaningful would it have to have some significance to everything in the universe? I believe in subjective meaning if what is meant by meaningful is that it experienced as important/emotionally significant to the individual. I don't know what the exact definition would be for something to be "meaningful".

I just with my palms up, eyes closed or open depending on the day, take some deep breaths and let reality be as it is.

I don't know how to make my time meaningful while housebound guys. I can get out for short walks 15-20 minutes once a day but that is it. I'm still off work, and cannot exert or concentrate for very long without feeling overwhelmed. Even typing this thread feels like an effort. I've got further appointments to see doctors but I feel like I'm gradually getting weaker and less able to handle exertion, physical or mental. Long covid, me/cfs, dysautonomia. One of these. I was on a call with a therapist and was asked to concentrate hard on something for like 30 minutes and I've felt more dizzy and unbalanced ever since. It exacerbated my default symptoms. I feel more drained more easily. I'm making sure to maintain a healthy diet including supplements. So I'm going to take the next month to just chill out. Exertion is something I need to avoid as much as possible right now. My plan is to just meditate for hours with reality, still try and get out for short walks to avoid deconditioning even thought it does bring on symptoms, and listen to audiobooks. But want to know what else you guys can recommend I do while recovering. I cannot work now because concentrating on work eventually leads to tinnitus and blurred vision, as well as dizziness. How to make it meaningful? I feel like I've done as much investigating into my symptoms as I can, and I've got an appointment in 2 months with a syncope clinic. Even concentration on writing threads like these - It's like I can only tolerate it for so long. Meditation is obvious, anything else?

Yes because meditation makes me feel better. Most I've tried to meditate at once is 2.5-3 hours. I do it largely just to see what happens, not looking for anything. After 40 mins to 1 hour or so I feel considerably better.

fuck

Going to document my recent suffering here and talk about everything I'm experiencing and everything I've tried to rule out and considered. Hopefully this will have some value to summarize all of it here, and may one day help someone else in a similar situation. I'll start by saying I'm annoyed at myself because at times haven't really done much practical to resolve these issues, just researched and procrastinated a lot when I couldn't find anything. ------------------------------------------------------------- About 7 months I started getting a strange set of symptoms. I've had unexplained symptoms for 8-9 years, and I'll document them below just in case a connection is made, but the symptoms I had before the last 7 months weren't getting in the way of me functioning like a healthy enough human. It was functional and reasonably enjoyable if I followed the right routine. Symptoms that started around aug/sep 2023 - Exaggerated stress response to physical activity - Any amount of prolonged physical activity makes me feel worse, but anything more than around 40-45 minutes of walking a day and I feel way more depressed, anxious, irritable. There's no way I could handle doing high intensity exercise or hikes right now. I've gotta keep the walks below a certain level or it ruins my mood for a while and also triggers physical symptoms. If I did 1 hour a day, I'd still be able to function but I'd feel terrible. Above an hour a day, I'd be seriously suicidal. At times I experience lightheadedness and weird feelings of being unbalanced - Especially happens on days where I've had to walk more or gone on walks. When I stop physical activity for a few days the symptoms calm right down. More sensitive reaction to mental exertion. Physical exertion impacts me more, but mental exertion is also pretty bad. Random bouts of tinnitus - Exacerbated by physical exertion and sometimes mental. At times sharp pains around my body - Ab, rib, testicular. If I keep physical activity to an absolute minimum, it's minimal pain. Sore stomachs - The worse the symptoms get the worse my stomach gets along side that. I get GI issues, although if I avoid physical and sometimes mental exertion, the symptoms calm and are correlated by the level of physical and mental exertion involved. -------------------------------------------- What have I tried to resolve this? - Tests Had many different blood tests done - Looked at vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, hormones, thyroid, autoimmune. B12 potentially not optimal, although active b12 within range, MMA test showed normal, so although it could be improved, not convinced b12 deficiency to such a degree that I'm willing to do Shots/High strength supps for reasons I'll get into below. Omega 3 ratios weren't in January 2024, but on advice from Michal took a Fatty Acids test and will see what that comes back with. SHBG levels were out of range. MPV platelets slightly high but no concern to docs, HDL cholesterol was slightly low in Feb, but doc was not concerned as LDL cholesterol and other cholesterol was "excellent". Other tests done - 24 hr ECG, 24 hr BP monitor by NHS doc. GP commented that sometimes BP dropping a bit low, have noticed this when taking myself, can do as low as 95/58, but often not that low, GP said it could be because I'm healthy. Heart results sent to cardiology, they want to do a 72 hour test and get me to fill in a diary of activity. Food intolerance and Allergy test - Food intolerance test was IgG, not sure I have much faith in it, but the Food and Environmental Allergy test was IgE - Dust mites was one of the highest and I have known dusty rooms were a big irritator to my eyes. Not sure if my eye problems are related to underlying health issues or one specific allergy, but will continue to eliminate and allergy proof my environment, and see if I notice any patterns and connections. Tests done and awaiting results - Done by me via company - Fatty Acids; Erythrocytes, DAO Histamine (Will consider an anti-histamine at some point to see if that helps). Done by nhs doctor - Fasting "9am test" SHBG/Testosterone, Cortisol, Thyroid recheck. Tests ordered - Cortisol 4 point Saliva test, Active b12 recheck test (to see if dietary changes are impacting or if amount has lowered since nov), Covid antibody check test (not hopeful but might as well). ------------------------------------- Diet - Eliminated Gluten - Stomach at times seems to feel a bit better, but not sure it had much impact. Other symptoms still very present. Am going to eliminate soy starting from later this week. Other - Ruled out hypoglycaemia - One of the first considerations since my issues come during physical activity. Thought it may be a blood sugar issue. My blood sugars were always within range. Even went out for a walk early morning, hadn't eaten since 6pm the day before, it was 8am, so 14hr fast. When I got back home after a walk, blood sugars within range, would often take 2-3 retests. The very occasional low result would be proven false after retests. Blood sugars would always return to normal in reasonable times after eating. Health Anxiety ruled out - I have at times taken holidays from work and using computers, so I wasn't researching or trying to figure out my symptoms at all for 1-2 weeks at a time, it made little difference to my mood, and my symptoms were present. Since physical exertion is the primary exacerbator, I'd say this is unlikely, especially since the symptoms started before I was even looking into the symptoms at all. I highly doubt this is the issue. Am seeing a psychologist - Have had depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD symptoms for many years, plus other negative mental health symptoms. Have never been able to resolve them just manage them. Since my mental health symptoms are obviously worse now, I am still open to the possibility it's a psychosomatic issue, although I'm not convinced. Still, trying to improve my mental health cannot hurt, I will hopefully gain more insight into my issues with a Paid Psychologist, rather than a free NHS one, which in the past have been basically useless. Allergies - Trying to make my apartment less friendly for Dust Mites, Mold, bought an air purifier, will see how this impacts everything. Considerations for possible causes/issues - Adrenal fatigue - I suffer from some of the associated symptoms. Nothing I looked into as an answer really seems to be differing from what I am doing. Nutrient deficiency - Still a possibility, although not entirely sure. Everything so far as come back either optimal or adequate range, except Omega 3 which Is why I'm getting the fatty acids etc test done. Dietary Issue - Gut problem. This shouldn't be too difficult to test for as I eat similar things most days. I'm annoyed at myself a bit for not going through dietary elimination sooner. Long covid - Maybe, although if I did catch Covid, it wasn't symptomatic at least not to a noticeable degree. Some of my symptoms line up with Post Exertional Malaise, although I don't feel particularly fatigued, just mentally bad amongst other physical symptoms. Cortisol Dysregulation/Nervous system issues/Mental health issues/Chronic stress - I haven't drank alcohol regularly or caffeine in years, but I have at times binged video games. I often am concerned about times in my life where I may have overstimulated myself. But the only thing is the only real answer to managing this seems to be stuff I'm already doing. My life isn't particularly stressful, there have been times I've not worked out as often, times where I've been less enthusiastic about meditation, times where I've allowed video games back into my life, but never have I allowed Allowed regular alcohol use, caffeine use, back into my life, and my diet has been healthy for a long time, I've never really slipped up on that. Potential bad reaction to supplementation - I have seen some people talk about b12 supplementation triggering symptoms, and the months leading up to my symptoms starting I supplemented Cyanocobalamin daily, which is something I'd never done before the months leading up to these issues. I've even found people with Adrenal issues talk about this specifically. I hate when people say "just take supplements", as if there are no downsides lol. Supplements are unnatural to the body, they could definitely have side effects. https://www.reddit.com/r/adrenalfatigue/comments/16e0szn/adrenal_fatigue_through_vit_b12_supplement/ https://www.reddit.com/r/adrenalfatigue/comments/16gyp1i/b12/ I'm very concerned about supplements and medications, I'd love a natural solution to all of this.