Exhaustion: A Side Effect of Insomnia and Depression

I am tired. Scratch that. I am exhausted. It does not matter how many hours I lie in bed; I feel the same. No matter how much time I sleep or spend trying to sleep, I am still exhausted.

Insomnia and depression are not a nice combo. During depressive episodes, I often find myself lying in bed for an extra hour or more each day. I find it hard to drag myself out of bed at times, but it seems no amount of sleep feels like enough. I am still tired.

Exhaustion worsens depression and depression worsens exhaustion

Exhaustion certainly does not improve depression. Feeling tired all the time makes me less productive, and feeling unproductive causes more anxiety. When I feel like I am falling behind on tackling my to-do list, I become more and more stressed. This keeps me awake at night.

When I am dealing with a depressive episode, I often feel tired. I feel physically ill at times. Perhaps you have experienced this firsthand. For those who have not, sometimes depression can make you feel like you have the flu. The physical effects of depression and a lack of sleep from insomnia can leave me feeling absolutely exhausted.

Dragging myself out of bed during depressive episodes

As hard as it is to force myself out of bed every day, I must do it. Not only do I have things to do, but spending more time in bed worsens my depression. I already spend a lot of time in bed trying to get enough sleep to function. Adding to that means I am spending pretty much the entire day and night in bed. It also means I would have to cram far more into the hours I am actually out of bed.

Still, I must force myself out of bed each day. I spend time convincing myself that I must get up and get things done. In order to do that, I think of all the things I need to do. This gets me out of bed, but it reminds me of how much I need to do. It triggers my anxiety. Unfortunately, this is what I must do to get out of bed and it starts the day off on a bad note.

Depression and insomnia: cause or effect?

Does depression cause insomnia, or does insomnia cause depression? Yes. For me, at least, one can indeed cause the other.

My insomnia causes me anxiety and can lead to a depressive episode. I sometimes find that my insomnia is worse during a depressive episode. For me, insomnia can contribute to depression or can be the effect of depression.

Is medication the solution?

So, if insomnia can cause depression, does that mean that treating insomnia could prevent some of my depressive episodes? No. I have tried treating my insomnia without success. Some medications stopped working after a very short time. Some helped me fall asleep but not stay asleep. Others knocked me out for a long time and left me groggy for the rest of the day.

None of this helped. If anything, it made me feel worse and that also contributed to depression. The answer is there is no answer for me at this moment. I have not given up on finding a solution, but I have not yet found a solution. Until then, I will be exhausted and dealing with recurring depressive episodes related to my insomnia.