Is something actually wrong, or am I just tired?

EXPLORING SYMPTOMS

“Marcus” is a pseudonym. His story is real and shared with his permission.

For a long time, I didn’t really think of myself as someone with symptoms.

I’d have days when I felt tired or foggy, or I’d have some abdominal discomfort. But it was never constant.

I’d think I’d been working too hard. Maybe I hadn’t eaten properly. Maybe I hadn’t rested enough.

Then I’d feel better and forget about it.

It’s easy to dismiss something when you don’t know whether there’s actually anything wrong.

I kept finding explanations for how I felt

My symptoms have been sporadic.

That’s part of what makes them difficult to understand.

When I’m not feeling 100%, I start wondering what might be happening. But once it passes, that urgency disappears.

I don’t necessarily stop and think about what happened beforehand or whether I’ve felt the same way before.

I’ve tended to put it down to being busy, working too much, stress, not getting enough rest or not eating as well as I should.

Once I feel better, I move on. Then the next time it happens, I’m almost starting again.

I’m probably too good at waiting things out

I’m not someone who rushes to the doctor.

My instinct is usually to monitor something and see whether it gets better.

Part of that is because I think I can get through it. Part of it is practical. I know how stretched healthcare can be and I don’t necessarily want to spend hours waiting when I think some rest might be enough.

So I’ll Google what I’m experiencing instead.

The problem is that you quickly end up with lots of possible explanations and very little clarity.

Maybe I need more vitamin D. Maybe it’s zinc. Maybe it’s stress. Maybe it’s something else.

There’s plenty of information. What’s difficult is knowing which of it actually applies to me.

Sometimes I don’t know where normal tiredness ends and a symptom begins

Fatigue is a good example.

There have been times when I’ve chosen not to socialise because I’d rather stay home and rest.

But was I tired because I’d been working hard? Did I simply not feel like going out? Or was I actually feeling unwell?

I genuinely don’t always know.

The line between everyday life and a health problem can be surprisingly blurry.

And when you’re still able to work, exercise and get on with your life, it’s very easy to tell yourself that whatever you’re experiencing can’t be that important.

The strange thing is that I actually think of myself as health-conscious

Since the pandemic, I’ve become much more conscious of my health.

I go to the gym regularly. I think about what I eat. Exercise has become an important part of my routine and I notice a real difference in how I feel on the days when I exercise.

I track things like activity and calories.

So I’m already collecting information about one part of my health.

What I’m not doing is connecting any of that to the moments when I don’t feel quite right.

I don’t necessarily want a diagnosis. I want to know what to do next.

What would help me is something that makes the next step clearer.

If I’m experiencing fatigue, brain fog or abdominal discomfort, I’d like to be able to capture that and start seeing whether there’s a pattern.

Is it happening after particularly busy weeks? Does exercise make a difference? Is there something else I should be paying attention to?

And if what I’m experiencing is something I should speak to someone about, I’d like help understanding that too.

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t getting an answer. It’s knowing whether you should be asking the question in the first place.

I want to understand my health without making it my whole life

Ultimately, my goal is pretty simple.

I want to be as healthy as I can be so I can work, enjoy the things I do and feel good physically and mentally.

I don’t want to spend every day worrying about symptoms.

But I also don’t want to keep dismissing things that might be worth paying attention to.

For me, the ideal would be something that helps me become more aware of what’s happening without making health feel like another job.

I want enough information to know when something matters, and enough confidence to know what to do next.

A note from mOI
If Marcus’s story feels familiar
Marcus shared his story with us before mOI was available. His experience helped reinforce why we built tools for people who know something doesn’t feel quite right but aren’t sure what it means. mOI helps you track symptoms and health information over time, look for patterns and build a clearer picture to support conversations about your health.
Start making sense of your symptoms  →

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Name changed to protect the participant’s privacy. This story is based on a real interview and is shared with permission. Some details have been omitted to preserve anonymity. Interviewed by Carol Sun-Schuster and Raquel de Aymerich for mOI.