The feeling of being disconnected from the world
There are times when it feels like you’re just reacting to the things happening in life.
Physically, you’re here. But mentally, you’re living a thousand miles away. You know that you have things that need to be done, but instead, you find yourself laying in bed throughout the day, only getting up for loo breaks. The bottle of water you filled in the morning is still sitting on your bedside table as it is. Even the creaking ceiling fan starts talking to you, “We’re exactly the same. We just keep doing the same thing over and again like a hamster in a wheel”. And the longer you lay there, the more it feels like you’re drowning—that horrible, sinking feeling.
Sometimes, you have those moments where you think you can do something big and worthwhile, and then suddenly, you falter really quickly. This devastates you. You see the days and nights passing by like a clock moving in fast forward. You begin to tire yourself out by picturing things that could make you happy. The constant brain fog of escaping into screens silently leaves you feeling numb and purposeless.
How do you even break this cycle? What do you do when you feel so disconnected?
Every time life gets overwhelming, we retreat from our problems pretending that they aren’t happening. We distract ourselves so much that it turns into detachment. Nothing feels real or familiar. Even when you look at yourself in the mirror, you’re unable to recognize the person who’s looking back at you. It’s terrifying. All day and night, we’re in our heads. Even when we’re almost done with the shower, we question ourselves if we have actually washed our hair or not. Sometimes, we spend the day so wrapped up with work that we forget to eat. You have to force yourself to be normal. But you don’t even know what normal is any more.
Feeling disconnected can mean different things to different people. You can feel like you’ve lost your passion for things you’ve once enjoyed. You can feel stuck and searching for a purpose. You can feel like you’re just going through the motions of the day. Or you can feel lonely even though you’re not alone.
While it may be daunting, to feel better, we often need to be vulnerable and discuss our disconnection. We run away and hide face when it comes to talking about what makes us feel like we’re floating inside a void. But if you have someone who will be supportive of you and that you trust, interact with them. (or a therapist, if needed)
I know that when you’re disconnected, your attention span is reduced. Even though you are on your phone the complete day, you can’t focus on talking to people. Somedays, you even manage to get a good interesting conversation going, but then a few hours later, you’re back in your room feeling like a loose string.
It is not going to be easy to connect back into the world. There is no button. You’ll have to throw yourself into an ocean full of sharks. You‘ll have to live real experiences and fulfill your urge to feel grounded. Stop assessing yourself.
Sometimes, you’re not disconnected. You’re just not in the moment.
Either the past is distracting you, or the future is luring you. Your reality will keep disappointing you. But there is something you can do about it.
You can connect. ❤ You need to experience the feeling of connecting to the physical realm first. It could be by raising your first pet plant or starting to learn the skill of fishing. Show yourself that your life isn’t just 4 walls in a room. It is beyond that. There are things waiting for you in the outside world that could potentially excite you. You don’t have to excel at it. You don’t even have to be good at it. You just need to want to experience it. Starting to live a different activity will rejuvenate your mind to think that you’ve broken the loop, and eventually, your body will follow the mind. Some days, you’ll start to feel better, and other days, you’ll start to worry about why you’re not getting good at that skill.
You won’t realize when you’ve connected back into the world. Because there is a very thin difference between connection and disconnection. You’ll still have problems in your life. In fact, you might have newer ones. But now, you have things to do. You’re worrying about why your plant has started wilting or why your gains are slowing down in the gym. You’ve somehow given yourself the gift to worry about things that deserve your attention. And that is the beauty of throwing yourself into a new activity.
As and when you feel better, take out time in your day, to orient yourself and connect your mind in line with your dreams, your behavior, and your resolve. Don’t try to change everything to feel connected. It’s not really a bad thing to be disconnected. Sometimes, it’s a sign of hope and optimism. You’re not settling. You’re starting to learn that you are the driver of your life and you can steer the wheel in any direction.
When you willingly disconnect yourself from the rest of the world, you can come back from the isolation knowing who you are, what your next step is, what is right for you and what is worth it. You’ll understand that you felt disconnected for a valid reason and that’s going to be how you will save yourself from drowning. You will then be able to sail away to find the adventure that is waiting for you.
If you really feel like you’re unable to cope with isolation and disconnection, I hope you have the resources to reach out to a therapist. If not, you can always rely on yourself to be your own therapist by reading and educating yourself. Self-help is the best form of help!
More power to you all!
If you’re interested in Self-Help and Personal Development content, you can follow my Podcast, Within 5 Minutes, with 5 mins episodes of every little thing in life. Maybe you’ll find something you’ve always wanted to tell yourself, but never got to say it — https://linktr.ee/hacchuu
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