Anyone else tired, lethargic and unmotivated?
 

Why do I always feel like I don't have enough sleep? It's like it takes herculean effort to do the tiniest of things. I mean I'm able to go to work and perform..but in my leisure hours...

I'm just T-I-R-E-D. Is this common to early sobriety? I am sleeping fine...but I am lazy, lazy, lazy. Having a shower, doing my hair and putting on makeup feel like giant tasks. I just wanna live in yoga pants and where my hair in a ponytail...but then I go out in the world and feel like crap about it.

I think I felt this way last year...I think. I would just like to know if anyone else feels this way?

in early sobriety I wanted to do next to nothing actually did not even want to walk to the mailbox just out front on the old country dirt road but things will get better in short time if we just don't drink

(((thank you Bob))). Reading that makes me feel oh so much better.

That about sums it up for me too.
at six months I still have days like this. There are other things involved, but still, motivation is lacking at times.

Yep, I felt lethargic for days in a row. Didn't want to crawl out of bed. But then I'd get some energy, get out of bed, shower... and feel much better. It was worse earlier on for sure. I have more energy now. Hang in, it really does get better.

Hi Nuudawn, I'm the same way. Sleep has became my BFF and shorts with no make up is now my favorite outfit. If I remember right, you've been sober longer then me but I do think it's common. Maybe in reality we're just addicted to SR at the moment and find it hard to get away :)

I get like that sometimes still..it stops me in my tracks..It is depression in my case....it can get pretty ugly..but i'm used to it now and I've learned to wait it out

True that...so maybe the computer screen is sucking out my life force. But seriously a couple of days ago I spent the day with a gal pal in the city. By 8 p.m. I was freaking EXHAUSTED.

I'm wondering if actually making conversation and conscious thinking is like....hard work when not used to it?

Sounds like me Nuudawn!

Yes! Haha :) For me, it surely is. I've avoided most socializing this entire year because of it. But I'm able to handle it way better now when I do go out. It's actually amazing. I've been able to get through a few stressful situations unscathed, actually quite successfully... and I seriously have doubts that I've ever handled things so well in all my adult life. It seems the longer I am sober, the more stress I seem to be able to handle without having meltdowns or exhausting my entire energy reserve.

But socializing, conversations... for me, sooooo draining, Nuu. I can definitely relate to this.

It certainly can be ND...How are you eating? junk food?...or good food. Makes a BIG difference. Eat well, get some sun and some exercise It will help. and...its not a bad idea to see the doc about some anti depression meds. Cant hurt.

Rootin for ya Girl !!!

It could be. Maybe there is something to that. When I was active in my addiction I would avoid conversations at all costs if it was with someone outside my circle. Now, with a clearer mind, I think before I talk. It's probably like a brain in overdrive effect. Huh, who knew.

I second what Dave said... about nutritious food, moderate exercise, and sun! So underrated, but they work.

Yep, even after four weeks sober I'm not especially physical and there were a couple mornings this past week when I could have used a few more hours of sleep but had to get up anyway for work.

Kind of sleepwalking and feeling weak at times, no motivation to exercise, but on the other hand I have had some peppy moments with bursts of energy and was riding my bike around for errands today. This evening I walked a block or two to get out from under the trees so I could see some fireworks.

P.S. -- a lot of talking often wears me out, too, whether it's me talking or (usually) someone else going on and on.

This actually made me realize how much non-leisure time I spend unshowered and in sweatpants when I'm drinking...

But yes, I have experienced a similar lethargy.

In early sobriety I was dead tired. Exhausted. As I later learned, I was holding on emotionally too much. Holding much in letting little out. This took up a lot of mental energies, as well as my musculature always being tense and uptight. It all came down to trust issues with myself as I struggled to overcome my addiction ambivalence and being unsure of my outcome. Sure, I wanted to open up, but the more I tried to loosen up, the more I realized just how far I had gone down the road to oblivion. It was a frightful journey back to the land of the living. I often felt like I was living the nightmare like in Don Henly's "Dirty Laundry" (1982). I really didn't want to know all my lies.

Finally giving in bit by bit was a huge weight of my back, and as I tossed off the baggage, I also gained momentum and renewed energies.

That was my thought as well, Nuu. . . . . I'm not a nutritionist, but I can't imagine after what we put our bodies through with daily massive intake of simple sugars over the course of years or decades, that we don't all have the residue of hypoglycemic effects.

For me, a piece of pizza for lunch and I want to take a two hour nap. A frosted Danish mid-morning and I can't keep my eyes open til 3pm.

Try getting rid of processed carbs and see what happens! I went Paleo and feel like I'm riding a rocket.

Of course, hard to know whether the alcohol was the cart or the horse; it may be that people like me are drawn to drink by hypoglycemia, or the alcohol causes the hypoglycemia. Just try a few days with minimum carbs and NO processed foods and see how you feel. Much cheaper and safer than pharma anti-depressants.

This is really resonating with me. Thank you Robby. Always been a fan of your thoughts and insights.

Lol..I actually am somewhat of a nutritionist...well, I have a certificate. But no...I'm not eating as well as I know how to.

I feel like I'm about 6 really...emotionally that is. And for whatever reason, because I am not drinking, I am petulantly eating crap I KNOW I shouldn't.

Thank you all who commented on diet. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

Yes when I'm at home, absolutely lazy. Everything I do feels like a gigantic effort. I have to force myself up on the elyptical. Then I force myself to paint, once I start, I love it, but I have to get there first. Shorts and a tank top is the outfit of choice. That is also what I sleep in soooooo am I walking around in my PJs, or do I sleep in my street clothes, I don't know. My volunteering with the seniors is no longer scheduled because I'm not around enough. At least that got me in some different clothes. We eat take out at least three times a week. Which is insane since I am retired and certainly have the time to cook. Unmotivated, that's me.