Derealization- feelings of unreality _{Page 2 of 19}

Has anyone tried the Linden Method?

The whole story seems so similar. When it all started, each of us for sure thought that we had a brain tumor or sth like that, visited all the doctors but couldn´t come up with a satisfying answer. Well, this whole panic attack/anxiety disorder stuff seems to be really common but unfortunately treatments are not always that efective. I had the same problem due to many similar reasons at the age of 17, now I´m 24 and totally got rid of the worst experiences i was having in those times, like each of you has described. For me, Prozac worked quite well, but its effects might also differ from 1 individual to another. NOwadays, if I use mj, there are times i experience this derealization feeling but i think knowing what it is really helps to get rid of it. Unfortunately, effective treatments within this area are just difficult to achieve. I wouldn´t be able to explain it clearly why an SSRI was so effective in my condition (though I´m a neuroscientist) but I would say it would be helpful to try medication in parallel with psychotherapy. On the other hand, we´re lucky that we don´t have a more serious condition like schizophrenia or any other disorder accompanied by gross changes in our brain morphology and you should believe that no matter how bad the whole feeling is when you experience it, there is always a way to get rid of it totally. You should begin with believing that you don´t have a serious physical problem, which really helps to cope with the situation more easily.

I have had derealization for 14 years now....I was 12 when I first did drugs(crank)I also smoked alot of pot. At the age of 16 I freaked out and felt like I was going to die and like I wasn't here. I went to the emergency room they said I had panic disorders and put me on Xanax. I quit doing drugs for 4 years and then when I was 20 I thought I felt well enough I could use again, so I did. I used meth and marijuana again until I was 26 at 26 I freaked out again thinking I was going to die and that I was going crazy I wouldn't live my house I was scared of everything I wouldn't leave my drink alone in a room with people thinking they were going to out something in it to kill me. Four years has now passed and I'm 30 years old I've been to Neurologists, psychiatrists and General Physicians. I have had MRI's, CAT scans, EEG's and they find nothing wrong. I still won't take any kind of drug prescribed to me out of fear I will feel even more detached of that I am going to die, even when prescribed by a doctor. I thought that I was the only one in this world that felt this way until I read this. Ever doctor I see thinks its panic attacks but its not it's derealization followed by states of panic for feeling the way I do. I will never feel normal again and I know this after 14 years I don't think it will ever change so I thought I would give someone else my story since I now see how many people out there really feel as I feel. It's horrible when everyday of your life all you worry about is death because of how you feel. Sometimes I ask God to just take me because I can't handle feeling like I not alive mentally anymore

Why not try Rescue Remedy?

Whats Rescue Remedy? I was hoping that eventually it would just go away since I haven't used drugs in over 5 years. I thought the drugs made me feel like this but now five years later after being off them it has still never has went away. I have gained enough stength though to go back to school although sometimes I wonder how, I just recently graduated with my Associates Degree and I'm now enrolled working on my Bachelors in Nursing. Sometimes I feel like I'm just going through life not really knowing what I'm doing. Very depressing feeling. I'm calling my doctor tomorrow to make an appointment so I can talk to him about derealization and see what he thinks about it, since this has never been brought up with my condition.

Rescue is a combination of 5 Bach flower remedies which covers a lot of acute mind symptoms, especially fear/ anxiety / panic. No potency - just get drops or globules and take as often as needed.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet guys but basically i suffered with derealisation for 2 years .the cause was mj,cocaine and ecstacy abuse as a teenager .I am 24 years old now and do not not suffer with those horrible feelings anymore.What worked for me was a combination of counselling,course of ssri's and most importantly for me was to get involved in sports,hobbies,friends etc.Anything to take your mind of it.This is what worked for me.

hi erin, this happened to me also after smoking a small amount of weed once. it happened 20 years ago, lasted 6 months, i totaly coulndt function and didnt know what was going on with me. i was 16. then it went away i forgot about it then i tried it again same thing happened and lasted 12 years. i did finally get releif with prozac and ativan. there is a very good book out its called the anxiety disease by david sheehan it explains alot of these feelings. if you have any other questions let me know.

Can anyone tell me if these remedies work? I have been experiencing dr for quite some time and don't know if it's something I will ever be able to cope with. I hardly sleep, I am always behind a plate of fog it seems, and I don't know exactly what induced it all. Please help.

I am 19 years old and attending a major university....I have good grades...but I don't know how that's even possible..I hardly feel I exist..I can't focus on things (perception is distorted) and I feel like I'm a walking zombie no matter how much I sleep. No one, even doctors, seem to understand how I feel or have any advice as to how to remedy the problem. I don't abuse recreational drugs although I have eaten a pot laced brownie once without knowing what it was (it wasn't laced with cocaine or rat poisin because the other parties were fine). Is it possible that the THC is still in my blood after almost a year or two? If so, can I rid myself of it?

There's a lot of info on the web about DP and DR. Do a search and you will come across two depersonalization communities online.


My current psychiatrist thinks I am suffering from a mild/rare psychosis (marijuana-induced). Had it ten years. I have DP and DR.

There's a lot of info on the web about DP and DR. Do a search and you will come across two depersonalization communities online.


My current psychiatrist thinks I am suffering from a mild/rare psychosis (marijuana-induced). Had it ten years. I have DP and DR.

There's a lot of info on the web about DP and DR. Do a search and you will come across two depersonalization communities online.


My current psychiatrist thinks I am suffering from a mild/rare psychosis (marijuana-induced). Had it ten years. I have DP and DR.

Sorry for the multiple postings... Here's most of my symptoms. I am on paxil which helped significantly though not enough. I am also now trying the antipsychotic route as lots of DP/DR symptoms overlap with psychosis symptoms.

Visual derealization: Two-dimensional, flat like a picture, and as though I am seeing the world through a fish bowl.

Feelings of unreality/Derealization: Like I'm living in a dream... everything is fake. The distinct 'crispness' and emotional feeling associated with being in the present or in reality is gone. Everything is a blur.

Depersonalization: Feels like I'm 'going through the motions', like I don't have control of my body or like I'm in someone else's body. I often feel like a zombie, walking around half asleep, like half of my brain has been removed or like I am dead. This is generally present in the absence of anxiety. At this time speaking is often physically draining.

Visual and Auditory Over-stimulation: Extremely disoriented and confused in busy places-- leads to feelings of alcoholic intoxication. It's like during my thought process, my thoughts bump into each other and get all tangled up. I often describe this as being unable to filter out unnecessary stimuli (feels like I am being bombarded with visual and auditory stimuli). Results in having a difficult time both speaking and hearing. Difficulty hearing voices when background noise is present (while others have no problem). Often cannot determine from what direction a noise is coming from.

Anxiety: High base level of anxiety. Without anxiety the depersonalization is strongest.

Muscle tension and twitches: Neck tension especially at the base of my skull and dural tension. Occasional mouth/jaw stiffness with feelings of my mouth being frozen and therefore difficultly controlling mouth and speech. This leads to feelings of exhaustion when trying to speak. Muscle twitches at base of skull that turn my head slightly from side to side. Sounds of bones shifting accompany the spasms. Postural fatigue in neck area. Frequently need to lie down which helps reduce pressure feelings.

Subconscience stronger than conscience: My subconscious ‘blabber’ is noisier than before/the thoughts I do not consciously control are louder.

Time distortion: Perceived time lapses which feel as though a few minutes have passed without me knowing what I was doing during that time (better after starting Paxil).

Crackly/full ears: Inner ears can make sounds of velcro ripping upon voluntary muscle movement. It is now impossible to clear my ears.

Fading voice: Often when I speak, it's like each word I say quickly disappears from my conscience, as though I never said. This leads to having a hard time speaking. Sometimes I question whether or not I have said something or just thought it. This led to wondering (but knowing it wasn't possible) if people could hear my thoughts.

Social Anxiety: Feel uncomfortable around people. For example, in a line-up, I feel like I am being watched and judged leaving me feeling physically paralyzed. I often feel like people are watching me, talking/laughing about me and sometimes while walking alone with someone on the same road, I feel as though they are following me. I do know the possibilities of these occurring are unlikely though.

Control of movements: Often feel it is difficult to control my movements, especially when I am socially anxious.

Insomnia: Mind won't stop thinking although the thoughts have no direction.

I think I would be able to cope wtih the dp/dr if the depersonalization and visual derealization aspects weren't so strong. I don't consciously experience any anxiety or muscle tension or even the time distortion. With that said, my other symptoms are so intense that I can hardly handle it much longer. Would antidepressants help? Derealization, according to things I've read, seems to be closely related to anxiety even if the root causes for the anxiety are unknown by the victim.

Thanks to all who've replied.
BL, what are you studying at universtiy? You describe the symptoms so well- I identified with all of them at some degree. The hearing symptoms are interesting... I have the same. I wonder if the nerves around the ears are involved. I know in autism, perception of sound is aggravated. All of these symptoms are associated with perception- visual and aural- and the processing of our perceptions. Something's haywire!! We just don't know "what". ALl I know is that the more I think about DP, the more I focus on it, and it gets worse. Wellbutrin has worked for me. It kind of makes me only interested in what I'm going to be doing next. I focus on action, rather than dwell on reflections. I wanted to try Paxil- I did try it for about a week, and it made me feel warm & fuzzy which was pretty nice, but it gave me terrible motion sickness, and as they say, "sexual side effects" which is an inability to orgasm which wasn't a trade-off I was willing to accept. So now I take Wellbutrin, and the only side effects are sometimes impatience, loss of appetite. A positive side effect is that it actually enhances sex (it's ok I'm happily married 18 years) and it gives you energy as well as helping DP.

Wow....I never knew that there were so many people out there that had a similar experience. I was a moderate pot user at the age of 16 when derealization set in. To varying degrees, I have dealt with it for 20 years but I now am beginning to come out of it. This is what I can say about it, and I hope this proves helpful to someone. I've now come to see that the whole thing stems around some serious existential angst about living and dying. I read on some other chat site about these "derealized" people who were talking about death. They kept saying that there were acutely scared of dying, and yet, they also had no interest in "living forever". At that point, the only way out is to pretend that your existence is nothing but a dream. Then you are not living or dying. There has been a lot said about the effects of the pot and chemical imbalances, but the reality is, you "want" to be in this state right now even though it is hellish. You are choosing it. The pot may have been the vehicle to bring you to this point, but I'm guessing you all grew up armed with great imaginations and rich pretend worlds. When you dealt with a severe crisis over these life and death issues, you opted for the escape. I know it doesn't feel like you have chosen this problem, but deep down, you feel that it is preferable to living in the real world. I'm here to tell you that it is not, and there are three good ways to work toward recovery. First, you need to force yourself to deal with life and death angst. This involves considerable pain and anxiety to yourself. Progress may be slow but pain avoidance is a big part of the problem. Secondly, you need to work hard to realize that you are not the center of things. One of the "luxuries" of a derealized state is that you become the center of the universe(which is all a dream of course). You are not the center of the universe. None of this is a dream, and the pain of thinking that you are "controlling things" is ultimately far worse than coming to grips with your own relative insignificance. Paradoxically, once you realize that you WILL die, and that you are very small in the universe; then you become "larger" in yourself again! Lastly, seek God's help with this. Work with God. Talk to him. Get to know him. Your recovery will be more of a gift from God than anything that YOU can achieve. These things (and not medication) have brought me out of this terrible experience and I hope they can be helpful tools for anyone out there. You will know it when you are recovering but here are some questions you can ask yourself that are good indicators. When you envision your death, does it seem like you are just waking up from the dream, or do you realize that you will really be dead? If you see the latter, you are on the right track. Also, when you think of your death, do you see the universe as ending or do you truly realize that it will go on merrily without you? These were helpful yardsticks for my recovery!

Good luck and God bless!

That is really helpful tchill, and actually, today was a great day for me to hear it. Thanks for it, really. And any more you can expound would be appreciated.
I know I've been reaching at straws to come to an understanding of this problem, but yours rings truest yet. Wow.

Hi Tangy,

I'd like to help in any way I can with this and I have quite a bit more to share if you're interested. You can find me at the hot site as "hi5301". Take care...

Hello, My name is Tiago, and id like to share some information that i might have found through thinking about the problem of Dp/derealization, instead of running away from it as most people seem to, as it is a very frightning feeling understandably.
I am now 21 years old, and these symptoms hapenned since i was a little kid as far as a in can remember after sitting down for hours trying to remember if there was a previous time, because i could NOT believe that it was possible to just change and be someone else in a week... just didndt seem to click in my mind.
Anyway, i tend to ramble on so coope with me, this way you will understand my point better.
I remember being a kid and running to my parents and telling them that my hands were REALLY heavy and i was feeling as if i was going to pass out, they asked what was wrong but words just didnt seem to be real, they seemed so far away, so vague, not real. As a kid i think i grew out of it thinkin i was just having some bad dreams or what not. Never really thought much about it untill recently, about aproxemetly a year now, i was smoking pot like crazy, every day, it was like routine, me and my buddy would just wake n bake as we called it, think about crazy things and theories sometimes, laugh about thing cause they looked so strange, the bad thing here is that hes not that kind of guy that thinks a whole lot, he just lives his life, not rerall;y questioning much of it because to him God is everything and will give him all answers. i always believed in God, but just didnt know iff it was the way that everyone else did, so i always had my questions to determine what and how this world was real, how it was made.. i know some of you will think that is nuts, but its just smart and curious, maybe too curious. So one time i relived the feeling of Dp... i didnt know it was it then, but came to realize so more recently. it was prertty scarry and i thought i was going to die. i also had experienced those "crawling" feelings in my smtomach at first and then just went all over the place.. i thought i was dying and somehtin in my had burst so i was bleeding internally... thinkin that this was for sure what was hapenning i rushed of ( this was just after smoking a joint) to get home and in the way i started to feel really dizzy, of course i thought it was because i was probably dying from the internal bleedinf which by the way was not hapenning at all.
I finally just saw a car and i waved at the lady and she gave me a ride home... i was in panic and thought it was my time for sure.
I finally got to the hospital and everything just sounded weird as heck, the doors opening... the people talking, i thought i had gone mad too.. i was thinkin to myself, omg im dying i can hear all these voices so distant im l;eaving everyone and gettin sucked into the other world. well folksi wasnt, they thought i was overdosing on some drug, clearly i wasnt, they thought i was high on coke, and i was not, it ofended me a bit. i didnt have strenght to battle though so they brought me into this room and connected me to a ekg machine. It was even scrarrier now because i thought that if they were connecting me to a machine then my heart must have been failing and i was for sure dying now... finally my mom came and she told me i was fine... slowly i became aware of what really was going on. i was just in a panic state and i couldnt get out of it because things just seemed to constantly be trigeering it... first the concern in the nurses face, then the ekg, then my mom coming to the hospital and holding my hand... all and all i was fine and was even able to walk out of there and felt pretty embaraced but fine.

After that i just kept thinking i was just having a flashback or something of that sourt. but as i looked into it and all the other physical symtpoms that were so present like the muscle pain and the headaches. i trully thought i was just gonna die one day or another... as i lost weight as well because i just couldnt seem to eat.most of the time.. i felt bloaded when i did.. still do not as much but that scared me at the time so i didnt eat much.
Lately i finally found out that there is a link between smoking pot and lack of nutrients... specially for two reasons, 1- when u smoke up, usually u have the "munchies" and dont eat proper food which enables u to sustain the proper nutrition that your body needs. 2- recreational drugs and toxi subtances such as tabaco etc, many other things too like eating refined sugar and many more as u can probably research yourselves, drains the vitamin B out of your system and repels it for the most part.
Now, vitamin b12 and b6 are very necessary to function properly, in a normal kind of state, because it controls ur neurological system which is linked again with ur neerves, whicgh is what also causes the tinnitus in your ears ( the clicking and stress feeling inside your ears/head) it also makes people forgetfull because it plays a major role in making your body less stresssed and lowers anxiety levels. so this makes u be able to think throughly and normally as opposed to disfuncional which a lot of the time can bring youj to think odd thought and ve very unstable and making your body feel uneasy all the time like its jumpin as i like to describe it ( ants in your pants). There are other reasons as well though, ans these are nutrition and sleep. If you are going to bed really late and waking up early or even later, than that is going to trigger the Dp levels even more as i noticed, seems like you will wake up in a dream state already, what happens most of the time with Dp as i noticed and aanlyzed as well is that you become very focused on things thatg you normally wouldnt focus on, when u stare into space and just think and just feel like your wathing a movie and things dont look real at all. If you think about it for a second,when u go to the movies thats what you tend to do is it not? try and find all the messages and details that might keep you aware of whats going to happen next, etc. But this as led me to one of the most important answers in Dp and why it doesnt fully seem to want to go away, even though i AM feeling MUCH MUCH better since eating better, sleeping better and taking vitamin B complex ( natural sources no synthetic crap). The reason why it doesnt want to go away is simple really, when you are wathing life as it were a movie, like i said u pay moe atention to detail, so u start noticing things that may be scarry since you never noticed them before, i can tell u that i noticed that we just look like animals really and that we move like them as well... although, we are so egocentred nowadays that we just think of ourselves as superiors to everyone else or everything else. we are so beautiful and want to always look better and better and the rest doesnt really matter, appart from money, looks and everything else. when ur Dp'd u notice that people move like in a movie and such because most of them are a product of media, they are so deeply affected that they have become one with, and you look at them and that really helps to make them seem unreal. even though they are very much so real. it is trully confiusing but i think you will be able to understand, also there is another point, i have come to notice, we look like humans and were used to look like humans, but when we really observe eachother we startg to think. "wow, we really do look weird if u think about it, i mean if there were to be aliens , we think that we look so beautiful and all, but they would prolly think we look pretty... weird haha" its just as if u lose urself so deeply intgo unreality that u start to notice the reality of things.
dont be afraid of it, you just have to live with it, and accept the fact that we are a product of nature, and perhaps God, and that there is a reason for us to be here no matter how weird we seem or look, or even act. i Believe many artists have noticed these things as well... and its common thought that people share so it cant just be a coincidence, it is what i call an enlighment in a strange way. listen to "tool" or read theyre lyrics and you will see that they as well have deeper thoughts. comunication for example is one of the things that seems to trigger my dp/derealization, whenever i look at someone and they are talking to me, i am a very good coverser, and this just seems to trap me at times, when i startg to stare deeply and listen deeply, i understand that comunication is amazing and deeper than i thought, and only us can understand it, but it is trully complicated to the point that it makes me "trip out" and i start to dp because its strange that we sound how we do, and its not a crazy thing , its just looking too deep into things. and that i havent been able to control and is probably the remaining part of my dp,
It is trully interesting though and very scarry in one.

Ciao my friends

Tiago

Hey everyone. I'm 16 years old and I've been having feelings of un-reality for about 2 weeks now. It happens off and on throughtout the day and just comes about randomly and I have to snap myself out of it as if Im not in my life or in a movie. It's very weird and scary sometimes. About 8-9 months ago I smoked marijuana maybe 5 times and I got the normal high. But a few weeks ago I had only 2-3 hits and I had an anxiety attack. And then 2 weeks ago I had 1 hit and I had another one. And then the next day I had one but I hadn't smoked. Every sense then Ive been having feelings of depersonalization. I thought at first they were just anxiety attacks and they would blow over but now this is happening. WHATS GOING ON?? I dont plan on smoking again but how can I stop that feeling and be normal again? Im constantly thinking about feeling "normal again" and having my old life back. Its effecting me and I dont know what to do!! PLEASE HELP!!!

Is it depersonaliztion or anxiety/stress?? If its anxiety and stress I dont know why Id be having that, Im not stressed or worried about anything. Along with the feeling of un-reality throughtout the day, I get bad headaches and the backs of my eyes start to hurt and I think about sleeping to get my mind off of everything. This is my 2nd entry, someone please reply!!!!

I also get feelings that Im not reall myself and this isnt really my life...it's really weird --- REPLY PLEASE!

Hi krys8444. This site actually isn't that active. Try going to dpselfhelp . com - a depersonalization self-help website that is much more active. You will find loads of advice and support there. I have heard your story all too many times now. Mine is similar. The best thing you can do is not get anxious about how you are feeling - I know it is difficult. The depersonalization symptoms may go away on their own or you may need medication and therapy. You have to be patient now to see if they go away. Promise me you will never smoke pot again. I have touched it since I got sick with DP/DR ten years ago.

Hi krys8444. This site actually isn't that active. Try going to dpselfhelp . com - a depersonalization self-help website that is much more active. You will find loads of advice and support there. I have heard your story all too many times now. Mine is similar. The best thing you can do is not get anxious about how you are feeling - I know it is difficult. The depersonalization symptoms may go away on their own or you may need medication and therapy. You have to be patient now to see if they go away. Promise me you will never smoke pot again. I have touched it since I got sick with DP/DR ten years ago.

Sorry, that was supposed to say I have NOT touched pot since I got sick. Promise me you will come to that site I mentioned. You will find many with drug-induced DP and you will be able to have all of your questions answered. My name there is university girl. Feel free to send me a private message (PM) once you register there.