How am I already fatigued?

I (M, 19) started college this year as a pre-vet. My first week in college I moved in with my disabled boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, I love him, but I am so tired and I feel so guilty for it.

He's physically and mentally disabled so if his hEDS isn't flaring then he's in a depressive episode or panic attack or his paranoia gets to him. Somehow I think I became sort of a caregiver to him? if not physically then emotionally at least. I get him food at least once a day (it's a walk), I do a lot of his non-school related work (scheduling appointments, housing applications, disability accommodation requests, ect) and I clean our room as often as I can (usually daily or twice a day). He regularly gets overwhelmed and goes to me to talk about it and I end up doing whatever it was that he was trying to do because I feel guilty for being able to move I guess. The room is constantly a wreck because he has to pretty much live on the floor due to severe joint pain so I constantly feel I have to clean (especially with being a microbiology major, I know how a dirty environment could make his condition worse). I feel terrible because he's unmedicated for all his health problems and he is trying to get help but all the pain specialists keep delaying his appointments. He also isn't receiving medicine for his OCD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, or bipolar disorders for a similar reason. He's in incredibly intensive therapy but his mental health is still really shit because some conditions can't be talked away. He also recently got diagnosed with FND with one of the symptoms being seizures. After seizures he can't walk at all and he can hardly talk or think.

I know why he needs support, I'm not upset about that, but I just feel so irritable recently and I think it's compassion fatigue. I know he can't help his conditions but I just feel ticked off when he needs my help sometimes. I'm so exhausted and I'm ignoring my own disabilities in order to help him survive. I have ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, depression, FND (also with seizures, when I have a seizure he calls another friend to help me), anemia, and POTS. My disabilities keep telling me to stop because I'm going to pass out or lose my mind but I just. have to keep going. I feel so exhausted, I also have to keep my grades up too and it's just so so hard. I have nothing to fall back on. My friends can only help a little bit, and I just feel like no matter how bad my conditions get, his are always going to be worse and I should be caring for him.

Sorry about the word vomit

TLDR: my boyfriend is more disabled than I am so I do all of the shared responsibilities and also some of his daily living stuff, he tries to do things alone but every single time he does he gets hospitalized. I feel so tired because I could barely take care of my own disabilities before but now I'm in college and also taking care of his and it feels like way too much, I don't know how to live like this when I'm living for him too.

Posted Apr 10, 2026, 12:44 AM UTC

11
Loading comments…