Hi all,

Wondering if you all also feel an injured feeling in your head a lot of the time? I am in a bad wave again the last 2 weeks and my brain genuinely feels so injured and painful. Past few days it felt completely pressured again and like my entire brain was made of stone… The inside feels hollow, like there are no neural connections.

When I don’t have those symptoms my brain feels weightless… either way.. it never feels normal for a single second of the day.

It’s also impossible for me to feel tired / drowsy / or sleepy in my head. It keeps feeling too clear in my head (very unnatural). Like my frontal lobe is under way too much tension while the inside (deeper layers) feel hollow, like there are no neural connections from there.

Anyone who recognizes this and has recovered from this? It feels like a brain injury honestly.. can’t understand how a human brain can even feel like this 😔… out of this world.

Hi @Sophia

I think this is a good topic. Thanks for starting.

I think you know I suffer really terribly with burning brain. It’s awful now as I type this.

Chippy

Oh shit that sounds awful… how does that feel for you? Is it in you entire brain or certain area? Do you see a pattern in what flares the symptom? 😔

@Chippy

Edited April 18Apr 18 by Sophia

35 minutes ago, Sophia said:

Oh shit that sounds awful… how does that feel for you? Is it in you entire brain or certain area? Do you see a pattern in what flares the symptom? 😔

@Chippy

It’s across my forehead or perhaps a bit higher. It’s a kind of stinging/burning, slightly pulsing sensation. It’s sort of related to a dry mouth/tongue somehow. Maybe my eyes too. Can make being in the cold wind not nice.

Not really a pattern. Other than it can be every other day I find. It can also vary in intensity.

I also find if I’m sleep deprived, it’s not there. That is the main pattern. It only happens if my sleep was enough. 🤷‍♂️

That’s so weird… for you to feel better with less sleep… 🥹 I hope this symptoms resolves for you soon!

I feel like my head pressure / symptoms also relate to my emotional blunting and dry eyes. It’s like it locks everything that normally flows..

Dear @Sophia , I feel you very well. The hellish anhedonia kills me, I cannot take it anymore, I have endured it since February 2024 when the antidepressant put me in this nightmare. Now I am AD free (stopped my last drug March 20), but my CNS is so profoundly injured. Do you have things you do with pleasure? I am like a robot and scotched to the sofa. Living Hell

20 hours ago, Chippy said:

I also find if I’m sleep deprived, it’s not there. That is the main pattern. It only happens if my sleep was enough. 🤷‍♂️

Hi @Chippy - Being sleep deprived can alter dopamin levels, found this online.

"Less sleep, specifically through a technique called wake therapy, can temporarily act as a fast-acting antidepressant for some individuals with depressive disorders. This treatment works by triggering a dopamine release that temporarily boosts mood and alleviates depressive symptoms for a few days"

That could maybe be an explanation for why you feel better when you are tired.

7 minutes ago, Cloudy4ever said:

Hi @Chippy - Being sleep deprived can alter dopamin levels, found this online.

"Less sleep, specifically through a technique called wake therapy, can temporarily act as a fast-acting antidepressant for some individuals with depressive disorders. This treatment works by triggering a dopamine release that temporarily boosts mood and alleviates depressive symptoms for a few days"

That could maybe be an explanation for why you feel better when you are tired.

Could be!🤷‍♂️

13 hours ago, skamen said:

Now I am AD free (stopped my last drug March 20), but my CNS is so profoundly injured. Do you have things you do with pleasure? I am like a robot and scotched to the sofa. Living Hell

Dear @skamen,

I am so sorry to hear you are still suffering so badly after such a long time already. Unfortunately, I still find it hard to fully enjoy things. Some days it’s a bit better, but for me it seems that as long as I have the severe head pressure, I am very numb.

My numbness is even numbing my adrenaline and anxiety, so I don’t really feel any urges or motivation as well..

I am keeping you in my prayers ❤️‍🩹🙏

Hi, yes I do feel an injured, strange feeling in my head. It's difficult to describe. Sometimes it feels like the centre of my brain is aching. A lot of the time it's in the back of my skull, I've never had a concussion, but it does feel like it. Lots of strange sensations, the left side seems to have them more. My skin also feels weird on my head.

As for drowsiness, I guess I always feel dull or a little drowsy. 'Out-of-it' you could say. My ears also hurt, and the tinnitus is loud when I go to sleep.

Hi sorry I’m very late to reply to recent posts.

Not sure why I’m doing it today as I’m in a wave so more easily triggered! But hey, I’ve started so I’ll keep going before coming off for a while.

My brain used to feel very weird. Like heavy, like it was blocked. It’s impossible to describe but I’d want to blink to get rid of the feeling or shake my head, it felt like something wasn’t connecting that should have been connecting. Also like someone had just put a small brick between my connections and they felt dull and heavy.

I don’t get this feeling much anymore, once every few weeks for a few seconds and it’s gone.

I continue to have awful intrusive thoughts in a windows and waves pattern but they feel different.

Brain stuff eased off around month 10.

Rosie x

2 minutes ago, Its-me-Rosie said:

My brain used to feel very weird. Like heavy, like it was blocked. It’s impossible to describe but I’d want to blink to get rid of the feeling or shake my head, it felt like something wasn’t connecting that should have been connecting. Also like someone had just put a small brick between my connections and they felt dull and heavy.

Omg this is exactly what I have. I often blink and raise my eyebrows in hope for relief. Its like there is a brick in my frontal lobe.. scary stuff!

I see we withdrawal from the same drug.. hope you are doing well 😔❤️‍🩹

Awww @Sophia im so sorry

So many stupid weird Symtoms.

I’d actually forgotten about that one until I saw that post!

It went away, it was manageable and I could try to sort of ignore it and used to try and go ‘ahh there go my neurons connecting’ and that kinda helped a bit!

I’m doing ok average better than I was Thankyou, I have had some very lovely and decent windows but I am now sadly in a wave which I attribute to stress. My stress tolerance is very poor.

I also was injured by an anti nausea med initially so my WD is more complex as my NS was damaged twice, so don’t compare to my timeline.

I have had windows though. Plenty of them. And my last few have been 100%.

and I now sleep very well.

We’ve got this. Anxiety and inner terror are my main issues but when they go, the world is a wonderful place!! Hope to be back in a window soon 💖 all the best 🕊️ xxx

On 4/18/2026 at 7:03 AM, Chippy said:

It’s across my forehead or perhaps a bit higher. It’s a kind of stinging/burning, slightly pulsing sensation. It’s sort of related to a dry mouth/tongue somehow. Maybe my eyes too. Can make being in the cold wind not nice.

Not really a pattern. Other than it can be every other day I find. It can also vary in intensity.

I also find if I’m sleep deprived, it’s not there. That is the main pattern. It only happens if my sleep was enough. 🤷‍♂️

I feel the “only happens if i’ve gotten enough sleep” thing. Such a strange thing…

Headaches/migraines/etc have always been interesting to me as the brain itself doesnt have any pain sensing nerves. Only blood vessels, meninges and scalp. So the whole “brain feeling” thing is really one of the above actually feeling it. But its crazy how our brain can make you feel like it’s a part (frontal lobe, etc) thats falling apart.

Really usually its a blood flow issue. Serotonin strongly controls our vascular response and helps to tighten or loosen blood vessels in response to external factors. So dis regulated blood flow everywhere in the brain can cause a host of feelings, symptoms, etc

1 hour ago, Talltreescoldseas said:

I feel the “only happens if i’ve gotten enough sleep” thing. Such a strange thing…

You and me both.

On some days it’s like everything feels so chemically clear in my head and I see the world in 4k. I feel too sharp, like I am on drugs. Along with some toxic head feeling.

Anyone who can relate?

Ughh I want a foggy, tired, relaxed, drowsey head for once so badly.

On 5/3/2026 at 4:42 PM, Its-me-Rosie said:

Hi sorry I’m very late to reply to recent posts.

Not sure why I’m doing it today as I’m in a wave so more easily triggered! But hey, I’ve started so I’ll keep going before coming off for a while.

My brain used to feel very weird. Like heavy, like it was blocked. It’s impossible to describe but I’d want to blink to get rid of the feeling or shake my head, it felt like something wasn’t connecting that should have been connecting. Also like someone had just put a small brick between my connections and they felt dull and heavy.

I don’t get this feeling much anymore, once every few weeks for a few seconds and it’s gone.

I continue to have awful intrusive thoughts in a windows and waves pattern but they feel different.

Brain stuff eased off around month 10.

Rosie x

So much this. Ever since I entered month 4, that I started feeling these weird head things. It began a bit mild, disappeared, and in month 7-8 it returned very strong, so I sometimes have moments where I get shot an intrusive thought and feel like I have to shake my head, move my eyebrows... It's crazy 😅

Why do we have this ?

Edited May 6May 6 by poulette38

Hi, I’d like to join this discussion as well. I am tapering off mirtazapine and I have a strange sensation in my head, as if sometimes it were detached from my neck and there were emptiness between my brain and my skull. I don’t know how to explain it. When it happens, it is frightening. It feels as if my neurons are not functioning properly.

Unfortunately, I also have horrible sounds 24/7. They are tinnitus. In addition to the usual tinnitus, I also have a terrible sound in my head, as if there were a hamster running on a wheel. It is a rotating noise.

Today I have head pain similar to when you have a fever. I often have headaches, and they start from pain in my neck, right below the base of the skull, and in the back of my head.

2 hours ago, Gilda said:

emptiness between my brain and my skull.

I have this CONSTANTLY. Even now typing… outside is rock hard and injured, inside just air…..

I also have emotional anesthesia and it feels like my neurons to my emotional part are not connected. Reallly scary indeed 🥹❤️‍🩹

Anyone else struggle with your basic horrible migraines through all this? I’ve had migraines occasionally all my life but right now I’m getting them almost daily (often they’re not too severe and are kind of just background noise, but days like today they’re overwhelming).

Symptoms are head pain, usually at my temples or behind my eyes, and when it get bad enough it’ll be accompanied by feeling like I have to puke, chills, and severe brain fog.

Hi @SarahMc,

Ugh I am sorry, it’s truly awful :(

For me the head pains and headaches don’t feel like normal migraines or headaches to me. My head feels really bruised and injured in a unnatural way.

Also parts of my brain feel missing… like there is just air. Can’t fathom what happens 😔❤️

20 hours ago, Sophia said:

My head feels really bruised and injured in a unnatural way.

I’m so sorry Sophia, that sounds scary. Crazy how many different kinds of strange sensations these meds can cause. I hope the head pain lets up soon for you 💜

Anyone here who also feels like their brain is unable to produce a natural tried / drowsy feeling? Its hard to explain but I can’t feel mentally tired anymore since I touched the med. Sometimes I do a little but then it’s just brainfog.

My brain feels sort of fake clear. In a chemical way. That prevents it from feeling sleepy or soft?

This is al so hard to explain but I hope this makes sense haha..

Luckily my sleep is quite okay but my head feels very chemically clear. Also hollow / like air a lot of the time.