@Metalhead, I've sort have went through this process already. You appear to be on the right track in your thinking, but perhaps your interpretation of others may be off a bit.
Similar to you, I have this value system that (1) I need to be needed and respected. So for me, I have put in the work to be a resource, mentor, an educator. I am the guy people call up when they have questions and problems. It works the same way with my family. (2) I have found that I cannot depend upon others, so I will often just do things myself. (3) Friendship is a two-way street and although I can sit here and explain how to be a friend, putting those words into action is nearly impossible for me. Call it an "autism thing" or my nature, but have never been able to reciprocate to the extent needed to create or maintain a friendship. The only exception is my wife. It's all the mental energy I have, for one person only. (4) When you don't have friends, then people become acquaintances, which is fine, because you can still exchange friendly thoughts and have friendly interactions, but you don't have to put in the mental energy, thoughtfulness, time, and emotional energy of an actual friendship. I tend to not get close to people, in part, because I hate the thought and pain of loosing someone eventually. In part, because, I honestly think I have the autism-related, low oxytocin and vasopressin, the "love hormones" that make me want to seek out others. In part, I am very low in reciprocating behaviors, part of that "autism thing". So, this has become part of my "anti-social" behavior. I don't want to become "bonded" to anyone. Again, the wife being the exception.
So, you may be correct that your boss wants to get as much work out of you as possible. That's literally why she hired you. I know my boss looks forward to and encourages me to work as many hours as possible, as well. It makes perfect business sense. Introducing our "mental health issues" is often not dealt with in an appropriate way from a human perspective, as what they may see is someone who needs time away from work, which, in turn, slows down business. Slowing down business, making the others pick up the load, impacting customer satisfaction, etc. is not what a boss, nor your co-workers want to deal with. If someone calls in "sick" and doesn't show up, it impacts everyone on the team negatively. So do understand that perspective.
You may also be correct that others around you "don't care" about your issues. If they are co-workers, acquaintances, they probably don't. It's all about them and how your performance, or lack of it, affects their lives, not yours.
Just because, if you died, they wouldn't care, does not mean that it's OK to just commit suicide. Why would you give others that sort of power over you? Flipped another way, why are they that important to you that this would even enter your thoughts? You already know they don't care, so why should you? Even if you had a "close call" with an attempted suicide, this always backfires because all you get is a trip to the mental hospital, you get fired, and your co-workers just gossip. You don't receive attention and sympathy, you get people wanting to avoid you.
So, I tend to go back to the aptly named term for "autism", Greek for "auto" or "self". I don't get concerned about people. I don't let them hold me back. If I get told "no", I just find ways to circumvent them and move forward, anyways. For the most part, don't care what they think of me personally, as long as I am respected. I think, this is more the heart of the issue. Respect. The most important part of that is respecting yourself. Having others respect you, you sort of have to tap into other's needs and expectations of you, and that requires a bit of work on your end.
