Sleep deprivation makes me feel better

[UmbraDweller]

It's an instant relief from my anxiety when I don't sleep for long periods of time. I guess maybe my body is trying to preserve energy by not overthinking every bullshit for once? I'm so tired and zombiefied, but like, in a good way.
Sometimes I purposefully pull out allnighters for this, it's like free antidepressants lol. The only downside is that my sleep gets fucked and it's probably not very healthy either.
I thought Im weird so I looked this up and I found that it's an actual therapy treatment for depression. Anyone else noticed this?

 

[Dead Horse]

I don't know if it's the same thing, but when I'm awake much longer than usual, I get into a state of carelessness about everything. Zombified is a good way to describe it. I still see everything the same way, I'm pessimistic, I don't see anything ever getting better, etc, etc, but it doesn't affect me emotionally the way it normally does. I just don't care.

I enjoy that state but it happens only when I'm really tired and sleepy so I can't really do anything while in it.

 

[Saturn_]

Never heard anyone say this before. I'm sorry that you have to resort to depriving your body of its needs in order not to be in distress. That's pretty fucked when you think about it. It's so unfair that our world can't just be a little kinder to all of us.

 

[xinino]

It is opposite for me, when I don't have enough sleep my brain hurt "to the point where I need to take paracetamol to function" and I become depressed, ngl I often enjoy overthinking.

 

[3/4Dead]

This is something I've been experiencing for a long time and couldn't describe, jfc. I feel like I have better control over my actions, and choices (as I am conserving energy) and I think clearer, my anxiety will ebb and flow much less predictabely but the spikes come short and brief so they're managable, I just generally feel so much better.

Granted, I must add I have insomnia (not because of this, I'm literally just also an insomniac) and am medicated for that (don't take it very often though because I'm only supposed to use it "as needed" which means I always think I can brute force going to sleep and thats no how it works so by the time I give up its 4am and that pill is gonna knock me on my ass for 12 hours)

 

[Unicr0n]

Adenosine-related depression is common in up to 50% of individuals with depression. Study found that ~50% of people with depression who experience sleep deprivation experience an alleviation of depressive symptoms [because adenosine builds up over the day causing you to feel tired]. Talk to your doctor about adenosine treatments.

 

[BojackHorseman]

Reading these comments, I didnt know this was a thing. Sorry that you have to sleep deprive yourself to feel better. Does it make you too sleepy to find joy in activities? I cant play the video game or watch anime if I am too tired. Im the complete opposite, sleep deprivation will cause me to have a full blown meltdown over the tiniest thing, or just the thought of a thing. It makes my hallucinations worse, it just makes me all around miserable and triggers my depression and suicidal thoughts.

 

[UmbraDweller]

Reading these comments, I didnt know this was a thing. Sorry that you have to sleep deprive yourself to feel better. Does it make you too sleepy to find joy in activities? I cant play the video game or watch anime if I am too tired. Im the complete opposite, sleep deprivation will cause me to have a full blown meltdown over the tiniest thing, or just the thought of a thing. It makes my hallucinations worse, it just makes me all around miserable and triggers my depression and suicidal thoughts.

I'm capable of doing most of those things while still enjoying them. The sleepiness sure can be annoying, but I don't think of it much when I'm playing for instance, I usually forget about it because I focus on the game. I am overall more relaxed, my tension gets eased and the good elevating feel of that just outweighs the tiredness. It numbs me down and it's almost as if I'm not thinking much of anything. Even when I don't sleep entire night before having to go to some stressful place, it can be hard to get going due to the tiredness at first but eventually it gets off of my mind.

 

[3/4Dead]

Reading these comments, I didnt know this was a thing. Sorry that you have to sleep deprive yourself to feel better. Does it make you too sleepy to find joy in activities? I cant play the video game or watch anime if I am too tired. Im the complete opposite, sleep deprivation will cause me to have a full blown meltdown over the tiniest thing, or just the thought of a thing. It makes my hallucinations worse, it just makes me all around miserable and triggers my depression and suicidal thoughts.

Similar to what OP said, Its more annoying than it is anything else, but I still experience all of the symptoms of sleep deprevation obviously, the pros just tend to outweigh the cons for me.

I dont usually have hallucinations (in day to day life) but I think I've had some minor ones while sleep deprived before, but those were more visual optical bending kind of stuff, "I swear you were ten feet tall before I turned my head to fully look at you" had one time when sleep deprived and on benadryl (trying to beat the insomnia, intending to sleep) and you know that scene in donnie darko where he hallucinaties the streams off bubbles coming off of stuff? yeah i literally had that

Anyway. Sometimes things are harder to enjoy, definetly anything that requires serious focus since ill just start knocking out, but things like engaging video games or music are plenty more enjoyable; it really does help sometimes.

 

[Placo]

I too have noticed a decrease in depression by sleeping less, I don't know about anxiety.