It’s 6:07 a.m. at the train station. The train pulls in, and I watch a car full of people who are running on fumes, scrolling through email with the specific gray exhaustion of someone who hasn’t felt genuinely rested.
The reflex is to say, “You’re just tired. It’s probably stress.” We say it constantly, because it’s usually true, but is not often the whole picture. And here in Fairfield county — an area that treats burnout like a status symbol —it’s a way of life.
Stop wearing your fatigue like a varsity jacket
A commute into the most demanding city on earth followed by a second shift of travel teams, AP courses, and keeping up in a place where saying “I’m busy” isn’t a complaint — it’s a humblebrag.
I want to be the person who ruins that for you.
Fatigue is not a personality trait, a parenting stage, or evidence of a life well-lived. In neurology, fatigue is a symptom.
What is it?
- Your iron studies. Low iron can cause brain fog and exhaustion long before they cause anemia — and in a town full of menstruating women and vegetarians, this is missed constantly.
- Vitamin B12. Easy to check, easy to fix, serious if ignored.
- Your thyroid — the whole panel, not one number. A TSH at the high end of “the range” with symptoms is not automatically “fine”. It’s a conversation, not a verdict.
- Sleep apnea — in people who don’t look the part. Thin, fit, “healthy” adults have obstructive sleep apnea more often than anyone admits. If you wake up tired, no matter what, your sleep architecture deserves a real study.
- Blood sugar and insulin – Metabolic dysfunction announces itself as the 3 p.m. crash long before it shows up on bloodwork.
- Inflammation – The reasons why a body stops generating energy are physiology, not wellness-influencer poetry — even if the influencers have made them sound that way.
What to do
1. Name it as a symptom. Don’t say “I’m so busy and tired.” Say: “I have persistent fatigue that is affecting my function. I’d like to investigate.”
2. Ask for specific labs. Ferritin, iron studies, B12, a full thyroid panel, a metabolic and inflammatory check, vitamin D.
3. Take sleep seriously. If you’re tired despite time in bed, push for a sleep evaluation.
4. Track the pattern. Document sleep, diet, mood and exercise.
5. Get a second opinion. “Normal labs must be stress” is a hypothesis, not a diagnosis.
Why is this a Fairfield county problem?
We can spend a year choosing the right contractor and not one afternoon finding out why we’re exhausted by lunch. The next time someone at the farmers market or the school pickup line says “I’m just so tired,” try not answering with the reflexive badge of honor — “same, totally slammed.” Try: “Have you actually had it looked into?”
Imagine if “I’m exhausted” got the same curiosity that a leaky roof or a college essay does.
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