Isolation and Loneliness: The Struggle of an Extrovert

This isn’t just me????? I thought this was just my ptsd anxiety and I’m sure that contributes but really? I didn’t realize other extroverts with tbi need serious recovery time.

I feel that. I wish I had something useful to tell you. But for me it's been very much the same. Lonely and isolated. Just enough here to seem OK, just far enough gone to lose myself. And now I can't even just go out in nature anymore. The tbi caused my autonomic nervous system function to be haywire and its particularly affected how my heart functions. Among other things, but that really took away my outlet. I used to walk/jog miles with my dog everyday. Now, just Last week, I stood up normally and ended up admitted to the hospital because i had a bad Orthostatic episode induce a run of 200+bpm tachycardia and my heart decided 'who needs a rythm!' and i required emergency intervention x hospital stay so i didnt freaking die. Yeah. From standing up. It's so lonely here. No one wants to stay around the awkward slow girl with heart problems. People walk on eggshells when i tell them the truth. It doesn't help that I have few teeth left and a scar on my face from my accident. I can only use one eye at a time so sometimes one wanders. That is why I've got my snakes. They don't judge anybody and don't care if I say something wrong or look a little rough or have to sit down. Heck even if I'm in the hospital for a couple days i know they are ok. They just look right through you in an almost a comfortable way to me now. I think it's because that's the only way I know how to look at myself anymore. When i can find her. Its easy to get lost spending endless hours alone in a dim quiet room full of snakes. Told ya I'm weird. Sorry in advance.

Hey there... Sorry you're going through this. Trying not to give medical advice, so I can only speak for myself.... Im not an extrovert, as I recharge alone, but I need people & flourish with connections... Also finding it hard to find people, and esp ones who accept me, and I would have to say, the first year was the roughest... but it's been 3 years now... And when I was going through a sense of lack of purpose, which I think in general can apply to the whole human species, I learned to love myself. And then fell in love. And reconnected w my extended family over social media. But in the beginning I had to write everything down, and remember to read it... was having migraines for days, mood swings, confusion, outbursts... It took a lot of work, and those things are of the past.... But to this day have to talk myself through loud noises and developing healthy daily functions. Or, what seems loud to me, I should say... As going to the movie theater requires ear plugs now, you know? If I go I usually don't make it through the whole thing without leaving for a sanity break. 😂 Anyhow... I had to accept my oddities, learn to use an array of coping skills, express myself creatively, create a place where I feel safe, and re-learn social skills along w self regulation... W the help of adaptive devices like earplugs. It's a journey and it's not fair. I do think the more we buck against it the harder we make it for ourselves though, it's the difference between suffering and pain. Hope that made sense. Best wishes along your journey & hope this helps.