Physical pain after socializing/doing normal life stuff

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Hi everyone --

Generally I feel inclined to have some friends. I have a girlfriend (long distance) and I feel pretty happy with the progress I have made in how I function in normal everyday socializing.

The problem is that my body has lagged far behind my coping skills.

My normal day at college consists of: academic music classes, conducting rehearsal, choir, practicing piano, private lessons, random socializing in the hallways, and talking on the phone to my girlfriend (I try to limit it to 1 hour much to her disapproval).

By the end of a normal day of this, I often have a migraine headache, I feel like the life is literally drained from me (this is almost frightening to me; I feel deathly), I can barely think, and all sounds and lights are extra strong and hard to manage. On Saturdays I can get a lot accomplished in the quiet by myself without this feeling. So I know it has more to do with stimuli and socializing than mental exhaustion.

The worst part is that as much as I try to explain this to people who want to insist on being in my life regularly, that I simply don't have energy to hang out, they don't believe me.

They think that the fact that I want to spend most of my time alone is problematic or weird. They become disappointed.

I want to maintain friendships, but on my own terms. I am tired of explaining over and over that I don't FEEL good and having nobody believe me. I suspect my girlfriend will tire of my low energy and leave me, which I have already started to accept. I simply cannot give more than I have. Additionally, why is it that I feel just so rotten at the end of a normal day? There is something about talking that is so so powerfully bad for my body. On high talking days, the next day I feel literally hungover and sometimes I even become sick with a cold or something. My immune system must be effected by talking?

Any ideas on how to dampen these physical effects? And how to talk to people about it without them ignoring me?

Drink a lot of water.
It might be simply a symptom of dehydration that you don't realize. I am the same and dehydration is the cause in my case - I simply forget to drink as much as I need when I socialize and by the end of day I find my body dizzy and I have a terrifying headache. It doesn't happen if I remember to drink often enough - no matter if I feel thirsty or not.

I've always had lots of psychosomatic problems and at times they've been every bit as debilitating as a "real" physical problem. Wish I had some advice, because I know how much of an impact it can have.

Perhaps a Beta Blocker would help. They are sometimes used to prevent migraines & to help manage stress & anxiety. My mom had the problems I mentioned & they got alittle better after she started one.