Does Lack Of Sleep Make Anyone Else Feel Isolated?

[lil_fighter]

The trauma I experienced was six years ago now and over the years I have had on and off problems with sleep. I find that at times when I have trouble sleeping and stay awake all night, feelings of loneliness are stronger. The sleep problems always come back after a setback or change in routine (usually when I have no routine). At the moment I am not working, left my job a month and a half ago but I study part time.

Has anyone else felt lonely especially when they are awake all night and when their lack of sleep messes up their body clock, do you feel loneliness in the daytime? Especially when everyone else seems to be living in a different time zone to you. It's a cycle of anxiety around bedtime of not being able to sleep. Being awake all night and then maybe sleeping in the day and waking up when it's already getting dark again or forcing myself to stay awake in the day and feeling really fuzzy headed and not wanting to socialise due to feeling awful, so in turn feeling isolated. I feel stuck in a loop and although there are opportunities to socialise and I have a close friend who checks in everyday on the phone, I feel like I can't get out of this cycle and for some reason it feels very lonely. At the same time it feels safe shutting the world out but uncomfortable too.

Does anyone else feel lack of sleep has this impact?

 

[Fadeaway]

It severely impacts my social life. My schedule is bed around 3-5 in the morning, and if am lucky I wake up around noon. More often than not though it might be 7, 8 or 9 in the morning before I fall asleep. Today it was noon before I got to sleep and only because I took slight more medication than I was supposed to.

 

[Friday]

Actually I had a lot harder time socializing when I was on a more common schedule, because -just like most everyone else with kids in school- my only free hours to socialize were either ones I wanted to spend with my family, or rushing about getting kids to places. Being on an alternate schedule means everyone else is still all crushed for time, but I've got a wide open schedule that I can fill with ease... When I want to. Because we're not trying to juggle the gaps in my schedule with the gaps in their schedule, we can just look for their gaps. Voila. My being able to be flexible around everyone else's schedules? Meant I got to see everyone else! Could see someone every day of the week if I wanted to, while they've only got time to meet up with people once a week, or once every few weeks.

What's hugely isolating, though is when I'm not working with people, not taking classes. When the only social interaction I may have is going to the shops once every few weeks. Doesn't matter when I'm sleeping, if there aren't actually people I'm spending time around. Friends or colleagues.

 

[pixel]

Does anyone else feel lack of sleep has this impact?

For isolating? Definitely.
Does that make me lonely? No way :smug:

Isolating and loneliness are not synonymous.

Isolating doesn't make me lonely, en contraire, it refreshes me.

When insomnia is reigning, it usually means I have so many life hassles, that I actually ache to be alone and sort myself out internally. It's a busy time

 

[Sophie's Daddy]

Yep, big time. I live full time in my RV down south during the winter and other folks - my neighbors - have impromptu gatherings most every day/evening.

If/when I see some of them early in the day and they ask if I'll be there I almost always say "yes" because I don't want to be left out.

But sometimes I fall asleep before the party and don't go. Meds side effects, my chronic pain levels and just overall fatigue are why.

It's an ongoing problem I still don't know how to solve, so I can totally relate.

Planning anything is tough to do, and it's not about laziness or ambivalence toward others. Sometimes you just can't, and that's okay.

Do what you gotta do and give it your best when you can; good luck to you!

 

[Lyndsay]

The trauma I experienced was six years ago now and over the years I have had on and off problems wi...

Yes I have feelings of loneliness much of the time. Last night I was awake from 2 am on. Of course it's hard to feel good, or social, with just a couple of hours of sleep. All that time alone, whether lying awake or muddling through your day can be very discouraging

 

[EmmaOwl]

The trauma I experienced was six years ago now and over the years I have had on and off problems wi...

It is definitely lonely to be up all night. But daytime sleep, I find it more inconvenient than isolating. I have a lot of doctor appointments, other health care, and it can be difficult if not impossible to schedule everything in the afternoon - and it can be difficult and embarrassing for me to explain why I don't "do" mornings. Almost all of my good sleep happens sometime between the hours of 7am to noon or 1pm. (I believe that was one factor in the approval of my disability case - sleep deprivation is not exactly conducive to productivity at work or school.)

I usually rely on someone to help me break up the transition from sleep to waking - no matter what time it is, I wake up with a feeling of terror. I would feel much more isolated if I lived alone.

Is there any way you could you do an in-person check-in, either in addition to, or to replace, your friend who phones to check in with you? Stop in to see someone at school or work? It's your "morning" but maybe someone can take a 10 minute afternoon coffee break? You've probably thought of this before, but I'm coming up blank; I'm so sorry.

 

[OverLoaded]

The trauma I experienced was six years ago now and over the years I have had on and off problems wi...

Yes I do feel like this too. I miss how bed used to feel. Most ppl don't want to be around a person who won't sleep and have a good day. For some like me it's impossible to live with no sleep over a year. With my eyes popping out of my head. I have no energy personality interests feelings at all other than frustrated beyond words. I feel like I'm in hell doomed to live with a body that don't feel and a brain that feels pushed to hard. Feeling in danger and helpless.

 

[Friday]

It's a cycle of Anxiety around bedtime of not being able to sleep.

I really glad this came up, again, because there's a quote I meant to share the first time around, & clearly forgot to!

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. -Max Erhman, Desiderata

 

[Deleted member 40995]

That's almost exactly how it is for me, I get super anxious at night and sometimes anxious just thinking about night and I avoid sleeping because I'm afraid of nightmares or just can't sleep, and then I feel so isolated during the day, tired, half-asleep feeling and very separate from others.

 

[Draiocht]

100%. I had this before I moved into supported living; dropped out of my A levels and had a minimal part time job (which I then also dropped out of). I was awake for 30+ hour stints and crashing for 8-10 hours inbetween. I could sometimes see friends in the pub if I woke up late/early enough, but after everyone else went to sleep, those were some of the loneliest times in my life. Just thinking about it gives me the chills.

 

[Elisa]

100%. I had this before I moved into supported living; dropped out of my A levels and had a minimal pa...

I was the exact same way before I moved in with roomates. I couldn't work or have a life. I'm now getting back to a better sleep pattern and am catching up when I can on missed sleep. I'm also discussing and thinking of a new career so at some point I can go back to work but baby steps. I'm not there yet. I also totally get the feelings of isolation and loneliness and not being to sleep proper makes everything worse.