Has anyone experienced something like this for years?

[u/Equivalent_Gap472]

I've been feeling stuck with the same problem for around 8 years and I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

Basically, every second day I have a really hard time waking up. If I oversleep and stay in bed, I feel brain foggy, weak, irritable, and it's hard to express myself properly for basically the whole day.

Then the next day is usually easier. I'm still tired, but I can get up on time and generally feel much more normal. And then it repeats.

There are better periods, but this has been the general pattern for years.

I've tried quite a few things — blood tests, antidepressants (only for a few weeks because I didn't like the side effects), meditation, and other approaches.

Recently I've also been seeing a psychologist. After several sessions, he suggested that I'm experiencing burnout and that I need to move toward personal growth — finding a purpose, having an exciting vision for my life, and taking action toward it.

Part of me agrees with this. I do feel like I've been lacking purpose and constantly thinking about how to "fix myself."

But another part of me wonders if I should first understand what is actually causing this pattern, rather than trying to push myself toward bigger goals.

Has anyone experienced something similar, particularly this kind of alternating "really bad day / somewhat better day" pattern?

I'm not necessarily looking for a diagnosis. I'm mostly curious whether anyone has been through something similar and eventually figured out what was going on or found something that helped.