About a year and a half ago, I moved into a college apartment that was contaminated with toxic black mold. Before that, I was high-functioning, driven, and always on top of everything. But within a few months, everything changed. I dropped out of college. I stopped working out. I was sleeping 10+ hours a night and still waking up exhausted. I started developing acne, rashes, depression, anxiety, and a level of fatigue that made even the smallest tasks feel impossible. I didn’t feel like myself—and I had no idea why. Eventually, I had my apartment tested and found dangerously high levels of mold spores—including black mold. That was the turning point. I started researching and discovered the reality of mold illness, something that is wildly underdiagnosed and often ignored by Western medicine. I also found out I carry a gene (present in 1 in 4 people) that makes it extremely difficult to detox mold toxins (mycotoxins) naturally. For people like me, those toxins don’t leave the body easily—they recirculate in the bloodstream and cause widespread issues. Mold is a neurotoxin. It damages whatever it touches—your immune system, your hormones, your brain, your skin, your gut. And because it’s so overlooked, most doctors don’t know how to treat it. I was told “everything looks normal” for months. I’m still healing, but I’m incredibly grateful to be working with a holistic doctor who understands mold illness and is guiding me through detox. This experience has been the hardest of my life—but also the most eye-opening. It’s made me aware of how toxic our environment, food, and healthcare systems really are. And how expensive it is to simply live clean. If you think mold might be affecting you, please look into it. I have a full playlist on TikTok that breaks down the symptoms and my journey. Detoxing takes time—sometimes a year or more—but the first step is knowing what you’re up against. You’re not crazy. Your body is just reacting to something very real.