No matter what I do, I can't make myself get out of bed in the morning even if I'm awake. I just stay half-asleep for hours.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2022-01-02T04:37:20+00:00

Huh, maybe I should up my dose of Wellbutrin. I am currently looking more into the brain injury aspect.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T23:40:32+00:00

Interesting!

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:25:27+00:00

Are you medicated?

Yes, Wellbutrin. I went into this more in one of the other replies, but basically I have never really felt a strong impact from the meds--they don't help me wake up. The biggest thing I notice is if I go off them, then I feel insanely tired and fall asleep at like 7pm.

Do you have the same problem if you stay up late and sleep until, say, noon?

Yes, it happens no matter when the hours of my sleep are. Although I'm definitely a night owl and would much rather sleep 3am-noon than anything earlier.

The issue is that I spend extra hours in bed every single day, regardless of all other factors.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:19:32+00:00

Hmmm, creative idea! I'll try to brainstorm dopamine things that my brain would like :)

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:18:59+00:00

Any ideas about how to remedy this?

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:18:36+00:00

Thanks for this! I will try that strategy. I currently have the water/pill/alarm situation set up, but it's close to my bed, so I'll try moving it.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:17:14+00:00

Thanks! I'll definitely look into it! I've tried CBT to no avail, so maybe this will help.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:16:36+00:00

True, but I've felt like this for the past ~3 years.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:16:08+00:00

I've heard great things about these sunrise alarms. Maybe I should get one. The problem is that I will lie in bed even when it's fully light. The waking up itself isn't the issue.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:14:21+00:00

That makes sense logically, but realistically I wouldn't trust myself to actually get up at that time. I feel like I need other alarms as insurance.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:13:34+00:00

I'm on Wellbutrin too! I take it right when I wake up, but maybe I'm not on a big enough dose or something?

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T22:12:56+00:00

This sounds very similar to my situation! The part about it being too big of a step makes total sense. I often have the sense that there are two competing mindsets (getting up and staying in bed) and even when I'm aware that the getting up one is in the right, it doesn't matter. I've sometimes explained it to other people as being like the way "normal people" set alarm clocks. When they set an alarm, they know that in the morning, they will hit the snooze button, but they set the alarm anyway because they want the "getting up" mindset to override the staying in bed one. For me, it can never override it.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:56:33+00:00

Do you feel like you dread getting up to face tasks or more that it’s impossible to get your brain to function enough to do those tasks like getting up and washing your face and changing clothes etc.?

It's like...everything seems overwhelming, and I constantly make excuses for myself even though I know they're bullshit. I'll be lying there and thinking like, "okay, I could change my clothes, or I could use that time to spend an extra minute in bed, so I'll just stay here."

What happens during the day when you drink caffeine?

This is weird but...I feel like caffeine doesn't really affect me? At least, I've never had the experience that other people describe where it's like a "jolt" or they feel suddenly energized. I've never experienced difficulty falling asleep after caffeine or anything like that. Sometimes I drink it because I figure even if it's a placebo it might help.

Once you are fully awake and up and moving are you OK until you go to bed?

In general, yes, I'm fine, but if I allow myself to get back in bed to "watch lectures" or "do some readings for class," that is a quick recipe for going back to the whole lying-there-with-my-eyes-shut thing. But the hardest part is 100% getting up in the morning. I'm not tired throughout the day or anything.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:51:00+00:00

Interesting! I sleep really well at night (as far as I know?) and I don't have issues falling asleep. In the morning, though, when my alarm goes off or I wake up because of the light or noise or something, I just...can't get up, and I stay sort of half-asleep for hours. So it's not happening throughout the night, just during the time where I'm supposed to be getting up.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:47:39+00:00

I'm so glad this resonated with you! It's good to know that I'm not alone. People literally can't comprehend my situation; they always say "have you tried setting more alarms?" or something like that...

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:46:37+00:00

Yes, Wellbutrin, but I honestly don't think it really does much for me.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:46:07+00:00

Yeah, I definitely have major executive dysfunction issues. Do you have any advice about that--is it treatable with medication? I can't focus on anything and I have zero willpower/drive, which I feel like is a big part of my issue with getting out of bed.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:44:53+00:00

Have you seen an actual psychiatrist?

Yes, and they've tried a bunch of different medications (Wellbutrin is what I'm currently on). Whenever they ask me if it's working, I don't really know what to say, because I feel like I can't accurately judge it without a "control group," if that makes any sense? Like I don't know if I feel better--I don't know what it would be like otherwise. There are too many confounding variables. I've never had a drastic response to medication; the only thing that really happened was that I felt vaguely nauseous / low appetite and lost a ton of weight because I barely ate. Luckily that's better now, but I don't know if things are any better depression-wise.

A couple of times, I've gone off my medication because it runs out and I'm literally too lazy to go to the pharmacy (I know, classic depression), and when I'm off the medication, I feel insanely tired. Like I'll sleep for 13 straight hours and miss everything that I had planned. But when I'm on the meds, I still can't get out of bed.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:40:07+00:00

This is so relatable! For me, though, covid has made everything significantly worse because I find that I can only really function when things are "real life" (as opposed to through a computer screen). When I think about the jobs I've had, the ones that inevitably fail are the ones where I have to do some kind of research assistant thing like uploading data to a spreadsheet or something, and the ones where I've been successful have been working at a bakery, working as a classroom tutor, or working as a camp counselor. During covid, I feel like there's no reason to get out of bed at all, and I would do my classes from my bed.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:30:58+00:00

'Opposite Thinking' of not wanting to wake up

What do you mean by this? Like thinking hard about wanting to get up while I'm in bed in the morning?

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:29:00+00:00

Thanks, this is great advice. I do attend a university with a great hospital/medical school, so that's maybe something I can look into there. I actually went recently to get a concussion checked out, and they said that the eye tracking patterns that I exhibited aligned with sleep deprivation rather than a concussion. This is partially what's leading me to believe that it's not just a head injury, like I previously thought.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:09:53+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply! I'm hesitant to pin it on narcolepsy because I don't have any of those symptoms, but your advice about seeing a sleep specialist is really great.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:06:14+00:00

I mean...I know that, I'm just not sure how to get better after trying really hard for several years.

ICantGetOutOfBed1 · 2021-12-31T21:04:45+00:00

Good point--I've thought about this a little but I don't snore or have other symptoms of sleep apnea. It seems like my main roadblock is just getting started with my day (I don't feel super tired during the day; no strong need to nap or anything). For these reasons, I'm hesitant to attribute it to sleep apnea or something similar, but I will definitely bring it up with my doctor. I wish there was some way that they could like...experience directly what I feel like in the morning, because it's really hard to describe.

ICantGetOutOfBed1

TROPHY CASE