I have no memory of ever having a sensation that might be sadness, might be sleepiness, but cannot be identified as either one, Doug. One of the most salient differences between the two states for me is that (unless circumstances demand I stay awake) I enjoy being sleepy: for me to say to myself, “Oh, goodie, time for some sleep,” would be an entirely typical response to my discovering I am sleepy. In contrast, when I am sad, I am almost certainly unable to think of anything to look forward to in the immediate future (not anything as nice as some sleep when I am sleepy at least), and if I were to discover something as nice as sleep to look forward to in the immediate future, then more likely than not my sadness would immediately lift.
Do you find it hard to get enough sleep to optimize your mental state?
Do you find it hard to get to sleep even when you know sleep will help?
Perhaps more precisely, I seem to have three distinct but somewhat related mental states: normal sadness, normal my-brain-needs-sleep sleepiness, and this strange hybrid between the two that doesn’t seem to have any specific cause and I can’t get rid of by either trying to sleep or trying to cheer myself up.
And I almost never actually look forward to sleep—the only time I actually want to be asleep is when I’ve just woken up and am feeling this strange “fake sleepiness” in which I’m just lying in bed with my head in a fog, having no particular reason to get up but not actually sleeping either, conscious but not actually thinking about anything much. (It’s kind of hard to describe these things.)
I’m also taking a medication (Effexor) that seems to have some effect on my sleep; if I miss a pill, I have withdrawal symptoms related to sleepiness and sadness.
I have no memory of ever having a sensation that might be sadness, might be sleepiness, but cannot be identified as either one, Doug. One of the most salient differences between the two states for me is that (unless circumstances demand I stay awake) I enjoy being sleepy: for me to say to myself, “Oh, goodie, time for some sleep,” would be an entirely typical response to my discovering I am sleepy. In contrast, when I am sad, I am almost certainly unable to think of anything to look forward to in the immediate future (not anything as nice as some sleep when I am sleepy at least), and if I were to discover something as nice as sleep to look forward to in the immediate future, then more likely than not my sadness would immediately lift.
Do you find it hard to get enough sleep to optimize your mental state?
Do you find it hard to get to sleep even when you know sleep will help?
Perhaps more precisely, I seem to have three distinct but somewhat related mental states: normal sadness, normal my-brain-needs-sleep sleepiness, and this strange hybrid between the two that doesn’t seem to have any specific cause and I can’t get rid of by either trying to sleep or trying to cheer myself up.
And I almost never actually look forward to sleep—the only time I actually want to be asleep is when I’ve just woken up and am feeling this strange “fake sleepiness” in which I’m just lying in bed with my head in a fog, having no particular reason to get up but not actually sleeping either, conscious but not actually thinking about anything much. (It’s kind of hard to describe these things.)
Is there any chance that sometimes you make yourself feel sleepy in order not to feel sadness?
I don’t know.
I’m also taking a medication (Effexor) that seems to have some effect on my sleep; if I miss a pill, I have withdrawal symptoms related to sleepiness and sadness.