Tired in Wonderland, How to Cope With Possible Sleep Disorder

[System Corporation]

[Bune] I am aware beginner hosts sometimes struggle to find the optimal time or strategy to avoid falling asleep while forcing. However, given our situation, the typical strategies for avoiding this problem don't work (i.e. sitting upright, changing the time of the session, playing music.) While there is a possibility our problem may improve soon, I wonder what I can do in the short term to achieve quality attention for myself and my other headmates.

 

Gray appears to be drowsy during the day, regardless how much sleep he gets. When he tries to force most of the time, not only does he lose the motivation to continue, I and the others lose motivation to communicate to the point we sometimes "fall asleep" in wonderland. The time of day does not appear to significantly affect the outcome, even though day time is sometimes more sucsessful than night time. This is frustrating for me, given that I would like to speak with Gray in wonderland and lack the interest to speak on Discord or play forum games.

 

Gray is due to be assessed for a possible sleep disorder. If he lacks a CPAP machine, this problem should improve rapidly. However, there has been discussion the underlying disorder could be more complicated and this problem may not be resolved quickly.

 

In the meantime, I am curious if there is anything I can do to keep myself awake or motivated and or anything Gray could try. I was promised a little bit of time to myself for a short while, and I would like to pick an activity that can keep us both engaged that can be done tomorrow. However, this problem also frustrates my headmates. Even if I wouldn't be interested in the solution, perhaps another one of us would appreciate it.

 

Earlier I attempted having a forcing session with Gray where he writes down my description of the wonderland surroundings and I intended to perform an ad libbed wonderland memory exercise. After roughly 5-10 minutes, Gray grew tired and I lost the motivation to continue.

 

I could possess the body to perform an activity I do not normally do. However, I have to be careful about the activity I perform. If Gray finds it too boring, I will struggle to complete it, even if I am interested in it. I have limited interests: memory, psychology, visualization, and questions related to me or my system. I am having trouble thinking of something to do, and I would greatly appreciate help with brainstorming.

 

While switching isn't completely off the table, there's concern something is off about our switching. Switching in for an hour could create unforseen complications, given only Ranger has switched in before. The biggest concern is if I decided I needed to fall asleep, the switch is likely to be broken and we may wake up confused. I would rather not put my identity in jeopardy, given my headmates have also reported being "blurry" more often in the last few months than normal.

[Luminesce]

I can't necessarily help with motivation, although if non-restful sleep is the problem a CPAP could. As for forcing (or just interacting) without literally falling asleep, I recommend forcing while on walks/walking around or during equivalent physical activities (exercise bike, actual bike, treadmill, whatever - obviously you shouldn't be pushing yourselves super hard though since it's just for the physical filler activity). And obviously force with lights on, which I assume you are.

 

As for getting bored though, that's not something anyone can help with directly. Even I myself don't spend that much time with my tulpas compared to what I'd like to because of my own motivation issues. That's more of a personal problem than a question with an answer. The simplest thing to do about that is to find activities that are more entertaining and less boring I guess, lol.

[System Corporation]

 

8 hours ago, Luminesce said:

As for forcing (or just interacting) without literally falling asleep, I recommend forcing while on walks/walking around or during equivalent physical activities (exercise bike, actual bike, treadmill, whatever - obviously you shouldn't be pushing yourselves super hard though since it's just for the physical filler activity).

 

[Bune] I like the idea. It's currently raining now, but Gray has the option to pace downstairs as he normally does. He has access to an exercise bike, but it's too big for him.

 

8 hours ago, Luminesce said:

The simplest thing to do about that is to find activities that are more entertaining and less boring I guess, lol.

 

Fair enough. I'm well aware I'm not as self-aware of my interests compared to Ranger, and finding these interests may take time. I already spent my turn, this is supposed to be an informal "birthday" thing.

[Ian Shadow]

I stumbled into this thread while thinking about my past experiences on the forums. I remembered writing a big long post about something. And oh boy it's a doozy...

 

On 9/25/2020 at 12:02 AM, System Corporation said:

Gray is due to be assessed for a possible sleep disorder. If he lacks a CPAP machine, this problem should improve rapidly. However, there has been discussion the underlying disorder could be more complicated and this problem may not be resolved quickly.

 

Suffering noises

 

First of all, we don't have a sleep disorder beyond insomnia. Gray was paranoid he had narcolepsy or whatever and nope, just anxiety and depression.

 

On 9/25/2020 at 12:02 AM, System Corporation said:

Gray appears to be drowsy during the day, regardless how much sleep he gets. When he tries to force most of the time, not only does he lose the motivation to continue, I and the others lose motivation to communicate to the point we sometimes "fall asleep" in wonderland. The time of day does not appear to significantly affect the outcome, even though day time is sometimes more sucsessful than night time. This is frustrating for me, given that I would like to speak with Gray in wonderland and lack the interest to speak on Discord or play forum games.

 

During 2020 everyone in-system hit a wall. Our brain fog was the worst and our depression made it super hard to communicate. Once we got depression meds, at least the brain fog improved. We don't miss that.

 

On 9/25/2020 at 12:02 AM, System Corporation said:

In the meantime, I am curious if there is anything I can do to keep myself awake or motivated and or anything Gray could try.

 

If anyone else has this problem-

 

👏 Go 👏 to 👏 a 👏 doctor

 

Seriously, mental health can really ruin your experiences. Ultimately, treating your mental health in general will fix a lot of problems

 

On 9/25/2020 at 12:02 AM, System Corporation said:

While switching isn't completely off the table, there's concern something is off about our switching. Switching in for an hour could create unforseen complications, given only Ranger has switched in before. The biggest concern is if I decided I needed to fall asleep, the switch is likely to be broken and we may wake up confused. I would rather not put my identity in jeopardy, given my headmates have also reported being "blurry" more often in the last few months than normal.

 

More suffering noises

 

Okay so

• Switching confusion comes from not knowing who is supposed to be in the front. If you don't know who should be fronting, just pick someone. Have them do some affirmations that it's them fronting and boom switching problem over
• When someone switches in for a short period of time, it's normal for the brain to delay catching up to speed (or not depending on how you all switch). This won't lead to an identity crisis or anything, just do an affirmation and it's fine.

 

---

 

If the typical tricks to keep you awake and focused while forcing don't work, it's a medical problem, not a personal failing. Go get treated for your insomnia and depression. Do it! Your cobuds (tulpas) will thank you.

Edited March 22 by Ian Shadow