Thyroid Patients Explain the Struggle of Social Situations

Many people around the world with thyroid conditions such as hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s find that their social lives are affected. 

Personally, I have experienced both mental and physical effects of thyroid disease getting in the way of my social life and these can range from fatigue to brain fog, thyroid flare ups to four day long hangovers (thanks to now being extra sensitive to the effects of alcohol), anxiety about dietary requirements being met when eating out, and more. Even hosting people around my house is extra draining.

So, I asked my followers how thyroid disease may have affected their social life. Below are the responses.

Related articles:
What Hypothyroid Patients Dread About Social Events
How To Survive Social Events With Thyroid Disease
Thyroid Patients Describe How Thyroid Brain Fog Feels To Them

“I feel it’s a complete over stimulation of the senses. Too much noise, too much light, too many people. It’s all too much of everything.” – Beverley

“I struggle to keep up with conversation thanks to thyroid brain fog. So I often seem bored or disinterested which isn’t the case at all. I’m trying to focus on what people are saying extra hard.” – Susan

“Thyroid fatigue means that I can’t enjoy dancing the night away like I used to!” – Rebecca

“Evening events are definitely the most difficult. I would class myself as being optimally medicated, as I can get through an average day with no problems but going out in the evening is a different ball game! I definitely can’t manage a night out if there’s nowhere to sit, and I can’t drink a lot of alcohol either. It’s very frustrating as I love going out in theory and miss socialising but when it comes to the actual day, I often dread it. Most days I’m in my PJ’s by 8pm.” – Natalie

“Anxiety overload! This is how my mind works… “OMG I don’t fit in”… “I’m not pretty enough or skinny enough” “They think I’m dull” “I’m not funny enough”… “I’m not worthy or good enough”…. Then my depression kicks in…. Because I’ve got curves. Awful skin, brain fog, achy body so dancing isn’t a thing I do. I’m only 36, but my body is tired, I feel like I’m 86. I feel embarrassing to my children. So I’d rather not do social events.” – Lydia

“Apart from sometimes not having the energy to go out or have friends over, I dread feeling too hot and sweating. It’s embarrassing and if someone asks if I’m alright it’s even more embarrassing. I feel like they are thinking “if she would lose weight she wouldn’t sweat so much!”” – Sharon

“Trying to have a conversation and either forgetting your words, getting sentences muddled up or losing flow of the conversation, sometimes just for a laugh it’s all three at the same time. Most of the time it’s easier to not talk at all!” – Liz

“Because of brain fog, retrieving words is very difficult for me when socialising. I end up sounding like a bumbling idiot! It’s especially frustrating when speaking about subjects I know very well! I end up sounding like I’m clueless, so I just don’t say much. My thoughts are in my brain, but I have a very hard time expressing them.” – Debby

“Social conversations tend to range all over they place and at a very fast pace. By the time I’ve taken in the topic and come up with a relative comment, the conversation has moved on. And if the circle is more intimate, say 2-3 people, it’s almost a 100% possibility that anything I’m saying is coming across in disjointed fashion.” – Archie

“I dread social events – they can be exhausting and then I feel fatigued for days afterwards. It is hard work to keep energy up and follow multiple conversations. If it’s in the evening then it’s even harder.” – Jamie

“When I have to go to an event, say for instance Saturday night I was catering for an event at my work and then was obliged to stay for the entire evening, as soon as it was finished I was first out of there and people more than double my age where still chatting away and drinking wine.” – Heather

“The exhaustion and the fear or losing conversations or forgetting something important due to the fog.” – Veronica

“The worst part for me is the brain fog. I can’t keep up with the pace of conversations sometimes, so my anxiety convinces me that people assume I’m too unintelligent to contribute.” – Ashley

“I go to things I really want to but I’m always second to leave if I can manage it. I do plan for a quiet day the next day though, which means only accepting Friday or Saturday nights out. Never on a school night! If I’m not that fussed I’ll say “No” these days without guilt.” – Michelle 

“It’s just draining.” – Jane

” I struggle with events, even if I have arranged to go for a couple of drinks with a friend. If I make it to the social event, I do enjoy it but I pay for it the next day. I feel completely drained of energy and can barely get out of bed, regardless of whether I drink or not. I never used to be like this and I do wish I could go back to being more carefree.” – Sophie 

“I have gradually become more introverted and avoid social occasions. A major part of this is my ballooning weight, which has left me with severe self-esteem issues, caused by Hashimoto’s and PCOS. I’d rather just stay home. Since going gluten-free at the start of the year, I am feeling a major positive difference and hope to eventually find the old me again.” – Tamara 

“If I know ahead of time I have an event later on the day or early evening, I try to get in a nap to at least recharge my energy a bit so I’m not dragging.” – Reegheena

“Usually I am the first to start falling asleep. If it’s way past bedtime, I get cold at some point and I need a blanket.” – Anon

“I avoid social occasions when possible because they’re so exhausting. Also I always focus on the other person in conversation so I don’t offend by allowing my mind to wander. If I haven’t been sleeping well I occasionally stumble all over my words. It’s hard for my husband and I because he’s very sociable.” – Zana

“I don’t go out or get invited out anymore because my thyroid fatigue and brain fog made me ‘unreliable’ when really I’m just exhausted. I’ve lost a lot of friends sadly. Even friends I’ve known my whole life.”  – Kit

You may add your own in the comments section below. 

Read other posts in the ‘Thyroid Patients Explain’ format here. 

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If you are on thyroid medication and still having issues with fatigue, brain fog and other hypothyroidism symptoms, you may not be optimally treated, or have other problems that require your attention. A properly treated thyroid condition should have no or very few symptoms. Of course, other illness, conditions and deficiencies can cause problems too, so explore them all if possible.

Of course, getting ourselves optimally treated and finding doctors who will listen to us, is a whole other topic, though!

You can click on the hyperlinks in the above post to learn more and see references to information given.