okay so alchemy in Morrowind is genuinely different from Skyrim - it's way less forgiving early on but yeah, it does become absurd if you stick with it.
the thing is, you're not grinding for healing potions. that's the trap. what you actually want to do is figure out which ingredient combinations give you the biggest stat boosts or the most useful effects, then sell those. a single potion of Intelligence or Endurance can sell for way more than you'd spend on ingredients if you pick the right stuff. by mid-game you're basically printing money if you know what you're doing.
early on though, cash is tight, so I'd say don't force it. pick up ingredients when you see them (plants, mushrooms, whatever), experiment a bit when you have downtime, but don't stress about leveling alchemy as a primary income source until you've got more breathing room. once you hit maybe level 15-20 and have some gold saved up, then you can start buying bulk ingredients and actually farming potions.
the annoying part is you need to figure out ingredient effects yourself (or look them up, no shame), and Morrowind doesn't hold your hand. but once you know that, say, Imp Gall + something else makes a potion worth 300 gold and costs 20 to make, you're golden. it's slow at first but it pays off way more than Skyrim alchemy ever does.
