Nobody to talk to at night

Hi there,
I'm new to the forum, but I don't know any other insomniacs and I was wondering whether anyone else was feeling the burden of being so alone during the hours of darkness? I seem so often to be the only person awake and it's extremely isolating, truth be told. So what am I supposed to do when there's nobody to alleviate the loneliness? I really wish there were more insomniacs living near me to accompany me on late night trips to the supermarket, or to the park (I have a thing for swings). Unfortunately I'm completely alone here. Ergo I joined this forum. Any advice on making and keeping friends when you keep such odd hours? Don't get me wrong, I have friends but when you call somebody up at 3am they don't seem particularly inclined to chat.

Rainbow_Pens wrote:Hi there,
I'm new to the forum, but I don't know any other insomniacs and I was wondering whether anyone else was feeling the burden of being so alone during the hours of darkness? I seem so often to be the only person awake and it's extremely isolating, truth be told. So what am I supposed to do when there's nobody to alleviate the loneliness? I really wish there were more insomniacs living near me to accompany me on late night trips to the supermarket, or to the park (I have a thing for swings). Unfortunately I'm completely alone here. Ergo I joined this forum. Any advice on making and keeping friends when you keep such odd hours? Don't get me wrong, I have friends but when you call somebody up at 3am they don't seem particularly inclined to chat.

Hi,

I don't think you should be accepting things for the way they are here. Instead, you should be trying to shift your hours gradually so that you can get more into the habit of being awake during the day and asleep at night. Being awake at night isn't healthy, and you really cannot go on like this forever. If there are other insomniacs out there, then I don't think they'd be as accepting of it as you seem to be. Certainly, I've never met one here or in real life yet.

TAke care,
Kevin

Well, you say I shouldn't accept my inability to sleep but I just can't seem to fix it. I've seen psychiatrists and counsellors but, quite frankly, none of them gave a damn. They either referred me on to somebody else, told me that I was perfectly normal, or just told me to go away. Not very professional I don't think, but there you go. So I've just come to accept that I keep odd hours and that's that. No problemo. I've got YouTube, Zone Horror and endless cups of tea to keep me amused. My only problem is that I feel sort of abandoned by the nine to five world. And also I'm not allowed to wake up anybody else in the house by using the kettle at the crack of dawn.

Did they really not try to help you?; or was it that you were'nt prepared to change and do what they sad? I don't man to sound critical here - if that's how I'm sounding - but I'm interested to hear your answer. Also, I'm wondering how this affects your work life.

No, people just seem totally unwilling to help me. Often I get the impression that they either don't give a damn or they just don't like me as a person. I'm not paranoid though. It's this free healthcare business. It's free but the service you get is definitely below par. One counsellor asked me if I was depressed and I said "sometimes I am but it doesn't last more than a week, and other times I can hardly sit still!" He just looked at me like I was scum and then said "oh, just like everybody else then?" Then he told me my inability to sleep was normal and said I couldn't have any drugs to help me drift off. Another one gave me a leaflet about insomnia which was less than helpful and essentially told me to try and get some sleep (not realizing that was the problem). These people... argh! And as for it affecting my work life... I review bands for a music magazine sometimes. I can do that at 2am just fine. I don't have a working life really because I'm a student. Waiting to hear back about whether I've got into my first choice university. So I have no commitments and no appointments to keep.

Ignore them... they'll do you more harm than good. I just noticed that you're in the UK. I live in Ireland at the moment, but will be moving to York soon to start a PhD at the university there. Are you just finished school?; what are your interests?

Well I'll be going to university in Norwich at UEA. Is that anywhere near York? My geography is abysmal. I finished school in May, by the way, and will be going to university in September. Interests... now lets see... music! Music is everything to me. I like lots of kinds and I'm very open minded where music is concerned. I like 50s rock n roll, 70s and 80s glam rock, goth (both trad and contemporary), indie, a little metal (though not that loud Scandinavian kind where you can't tell what language it's in)... anything really. I like anime too. I'm watching Death Note right now actually, which also trying to straighten the unruly ends of my hair and eat a cinnamon sweet. Yes, I like sweets too. Jellybeans are a fantastic invention. I don't watch a lot of TV but I do watch those fantasy/horror series like True Blood, Supernatural (which I found dull) etc. I like Quentin Tarantino movies and those cheap B movies with Vincent Price. I also like history. Specifically I like famous rogues in history like Byron and Rochester. I'm studying English Lit so that works out well. Classics is fantastic. I've always like Egyptian, Norse, Greek and Roman mythology. I read, I write, as you'd expect. I like theme parks and the only things I can cook are cakes. That's all I can think of just now as I'm trying to get dressed while writing this. I've got one hand typing and one pulling on a sock. You live in Ireland? I went there once because my Dad wanted to buy a pub (wacky business venture). My grandfather is Irish. He's belligerent and tries to force mint humbugs on people. But I get my red hair from him so that's something to be grateful for. Most people don't like red hair but there you go.
Ooops, looking back, I wrote a lot there. Oh well.

Hmm, did you watch Quentin Tarantino on Jonathan Ross' show last night? The part at the end was pretty cool where he came on to shoot the band (but Ross escaped). That was the last episode in that series. Look, anyway, you've a lt of things that you love in life - clearly - and this is great. People who are VERY depressed usually struggle to remember what they like, but you still seem to know. I think that you'll become happier once you get to university. Oddly enough, before I had my interview at the uni of York, I had an interview at UEA (but I didn't get it). Norwich is - I reckon - 3 hours on the train from York, but only because you'd have to change in Peterborough or something. My English geography isn't up to scratch yet!

Kevin

Ah darn, I didn't see it. I'll look for it on YouTube or wait for a re-run. I know I can come off a little over enthusiastic at times. It's the sleep deprivation talking. What are you doing your PhD on by the way? I'm curious.

It always repeats on Saturdays (tonight). It'l be on at ten past midnight on BBC1 - Go check it out. Im haf-watching BBC2 now.