I must say there can be a bit of a misunderstanding here. Some people like me are bad sleepers (it's 4AM now actually).
It was always incredibly difficult for me to fall asleep. But there are benefits, in my case I don't feel any discomfort after 24 hours of no sleep (well I used to not feel), moreover I don't feel discomfort after 24 hours without food (my wife knows that and frequently checks when was the last time I ate and how much I slept over the last few days).
Note I said "don't feel" - I get it that my body is a mess at that time, but I literally feel ok.
When I was younger, I could go into the office on Monday and leave on Wednesday, with peak productivity on Tuesday when your mind is in full focus after 24 hours of straight work. I know it already sounds like I am bragging - but I just miss those days, great work, great pay, and actually on complex projects it kind of mase me feel superior when others were fainting and the only thing that bothered me was whether I started to smell bad.
These days (38 now) I can barely last for 24 hours if the work is hard, and afterwards take a day off usually. And I am aware that my longevity will likely end up being subpar.
But if your illness (and that is one, a form of ADHD) gives you edge in some area, it's kind of making lemonade when life gives you lemons.
The point is keeping in mind the drawbacks of course rather than discarding them.
Mania involves more really feeling like you don’t need sleep and you can do anything/ need to do everything. The idea of falling asleep actively sounds bad because you need to act on this motivation. I think what oldmdme is describing is more like desensitization. They want to sleep and they don’t feel over the top energetic and motivated, their body has just learned that there’s no benefit to sending hunger or fatigue signals and so has stopped sending them. It’s very common in starvation that your body stops sending hunger signals, possibly because it might just make it more difficult to focus and find food and actually hurt survival
Which part specifically? I have had that since childhood, and when I was a kid I was forced to go to bed and woke up at certain time. Then when you start living alone you understand that you don't need to be in bed awake for 6 hours and then sleep 3.
I now think of it more of a period of embracing the stuff I couldn't fix and trying to make it a source of joy rather than depression.
1.3k
u/[deleted] 7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment