Derealization- feelings of unreality _{Page 12 of 19}

i honestly believe that smoking pot is what triggered this feeling.

try not to think about it, i was always one to worry, so i think i brought it upon myself. its all in our heads and we need to keep our minds occupied and it will go away. get into sports and hobbies. ive gotten full blood work and im healthy.


ive only smoked like 5 times and the last time i had a panic attack and i quite smoking forever. and i thought it wouldnt happen again if i didnt smoke and two days later it did, and i went threw depression and derealization feeling. i still go in and out of it through the day but i am beginning to realize, i have control over how i think, and its not going to ruin my life.


i see all of these people that are like 30-40 and have had it since they were younger, well they need to realize that they are just feeding off of the fear from it, and if you tell yourself that its not going to take over your life and go on wit your everyday life, then it will eventually go away! my friend wwent through the same thing and she is better, and doesnt feel this feeling at all anymore.


she is helping me through this and i regret smoking.

just by reading all of these and seeing the difference i feel so much better, and havent had the derealization feeling all day, i realize that its all in your heads and we bring it upon ourselves. and we are stronger than that, so keep your head up and remember that its mind over matter. some people are makin theirselves like that by thinking about it so much, stop thinking about it and it will go away. and remember.. prayer will always help.



god bless

God its so good to know that there are ppl out there that have gotten thru this. I'm 15, i had a severe panic attack a few months ago and since then ive been going thru this derealization crap. my biggest fear was that this would never go away. I looked it up online,a nd i found all these things about ppl who have it, but never anything about people who overcome it, which is EXTREMELY depressing and everything. But because of this stuff, I've been thinking about death a lot, and dying, and im terrified of dying now. Which is stupid, theres no reason i would die, im not sick and theres nothing wrong with me. But i dont know... the biggest thing is my best friend and my boyfriend. He's the only person who has been able to make me feel better. With him, I've been able to get out and do stuff, and this stuff pretty much went away. But he lives 500 miles away. He's moving in with me in feb, and Im going to see him in october. but its really hard. i feel like im going into a depression bc im too terrified to go to school, but i WANT so bad to go to school so i can make new friends (i just moved to a new state). I'm on homebound bc of this stuff, and i really want to get a job, but I cant bc im on homebound. i have nothing to do all day long, im going crazy with boredom. all i have to do is think about everything which of course makes it worse. im in a rut...and i dont know how to get out of it. I've tried taking something fors it, like lexapro, and it works for a few days but then makes it worse. im starting to feel despair, i know that once my bf moves in itll be so much easier to get over this but im not sure if i can get thru until then without going crazy...

face your fears and fight as hard as you can to get your life back...that's what i did,

ummm where do i start .. yea this waz my 1st time to this page ... i had Derealization for 6 yrs now but just fond out what it waz called .like 3 months ago. but any wayz ..i dont think its all in your head. if it waz it would be .e.z to get it out. there are ppl that had it 4 20yrs.. s0o ppl stop sayin it all in your head. nd yea to all that have it nd just got it .. if its from durgs or whatever.. its goin to take time ... jsut live wit it .. nd try to live wit it . nd pary one day it will go away

hey everyone
imm very new to this site,just want to let you know that dp and dr are symptons of anxiety,and no matter how severe the symptons are u shudnt be afrid of them,learn to accept the strange feelings,i suffer from both dp and dr, and the way im coping is by nopt paying any attention to the symptons,i know how terrifying it seems, but the only true way to overcome the symptons is to let your body heal itself,anxiety is caused by the build up of stress,stress that has been has maybe been building up for years let along months or weeks.the only way out of it are to ignore the horrid symtons or dr and dp an accept them because these symptons cant harm u in any way.they only exist because we are letting them exsist!so no longer fear them and just accept them they will eventually not bother you at all

hi everyone...it all starterd with a panic attack after smoking a joint.typical huh... I thought I could sleep it off and come back to my normal self but i was wrong...i woke up and that was the transition in my life...from comfortable feelings and happy thoughts to uncomfortable feelings and terrifying, unreality, weird thoughts.. 5 years later i can say much hasnt changed..along with smoking of the pot prior to these feelings..my parents got divorced and my girlfriend at the time was a horrible inconsiderate person which i really wanted to break up with at the time but im the kind of person which is almost impossible for me to deattach myself from someone i love..anywayz...never touched pot from that day on...absolutely terrified from it...as i began my journey as a different person, i ended up in the hospital numerous times...panic attacks were the reason...i was uncomfortable 24/7..people did not understand me, that was the worst part....i tried everything...from antidepressants to kaballa and trying to be more spiritual...they helped a little...wat tiggers it the most for me is when im hungover...thats when i get the unreality feelings...i had such a bad unreality feeling last week that i had to rush home from work and hop into bed...then i usually calm down..i guess i can say im more stable with my life if i dont drink and smoke cigarretes..but what gets me the most is why cant i drink at a party and have a normal hangover day but without the unreality feelings...i've been seeing a psychotherapist for almost 3years now and he hasnt helped me one bit..just takes lots of money from me...i have to stop going...i dont think no shrink is qualified to cure you from unreality feelings..feelings are to strong and terrifying..i think about my brain alot and how the hell does it work..it scares me..i use to think i had a brain tumor...dwelling on thoughts bout death are there as well...i guess i can say all the symptoms which goes with this illness i have them.....the way i always look at it is..theirs a positive out of a negative..so maybe i'll get better...my new thing right now is quitting smoking cigarettes and drink least amount of alcohol..its helping a liitle so far....MAn i remember those days when i was 19 and smoking a joint and feeling absolotely great..lol..i wish those days could back...but i guess this whole illness fom me was a reality check from God...love to hear what u guys have to say bout my story...till then take care and wish u the best of luck!!

ive only recently been getting high but its been like every other day for a month now .. id either go at school with a friend and bun a zoot or on the weekend .. but one day on saturday i went to my friends house and he warned me it would be storng stuff.. and we were driving around for a bit (felt like floating btw) .. and when i got back to his i just sat on the sofa, passed out for god knows how long .. woke up and srated feeling really breathless and forgetting where i was and panicking... i was just scared if i would sta that way like forever .. anyway its tuesday now and i thought the feeling would wear off an d the anxiety but now i just feel like im in a bubble and that im living a dream ... everything i see i have to blink twice or more to actually think im still living .. will it ever goaway and will i ever think like how i used to be ?? :( im really depressing and its ruining my life.. would really appreciate it if anyone replied and gave me some advice xxx

Im 14 and have had this for about a month. It feels like everything is fake but i know it is real but my mind wont stay off of it. At first I had severe anxiety and shortness of breath and hyperventilation that led me to fear I was dying and now i just have rare, feelings like I dont exist. before this I smoked about twice a day for a couple of weeks and tried mushrooms and after I took them I was in fear they were poison and it happened after that my anxiety has went away but the DR has not I wish i could help you but I know nothing to do either. I hope all of you get better, just ignore the urge to do drugs when it passes.

It went away yesterday for a couple of hours after talking to myself and praying but now it is very bad please help me

i have not been on here for about 2 years im glad this site is still here and still glad to know im not alone ...

Hey everyone, my name is Chris and ive been dealing with DR/DP for about two years. Ive never run into anyone else who has this problem, and ive spent my entire morning reading post after post. Everything you have described is exactly what im feeling. Its good to know im not alone, because at 16 its hard to find support from friends without being judged. It looks like no-ones posted here for a while and its getting too hard to deal with this alone. I have a severe ammount of depression/anxiety and im really looking for someone to talk to. Please help me!!

Hey Chris,

Sorry to hear you are feeling bad today.

I myself am feeling reasonably well today, alhtough I missed quite a bit of sleep last night due to anxiety.

I haven't read posts here for the past few months. I notice that some recent posts include that people are still using pot and alcohol. You didn't mention whether you still are, but ... it makes me think about 12-step programs, like Alcoholics Anonymous, or probably Narcotics Anonymous. I have quite a bit of experience with several different 12-step groups, and feel extremely favorably about them. One of the most certain benefits from 12-step groups is that they really take away the feeling of being alone with problems that feel too heavy to bear. They can also really help foster a spiritual outlook on life, which takes the edge off lots of problems that seem intolerable. Since I am a middle-aged lady, I don't attend Ala-Teen, but I would suggest it to you as a teenager.

My current understanding about the DR problem is that it is based on brain chemistry or pathways. Brain chemistry can be adjusted in various ways, one of which is by the content of thoughts and/or attitudes. As I see it, that may be what is working for those who say they have helped themselves by not believing in the strength of the problem. However, many other people do not find themselves significantly helped by trying to adjust their thoughts or attitudes. As I see it, this may show that the degree of imbalance in their chemistry or pathways is greater than can be affected solely through thought.

Of course as everyone knows, brain chemistry and pathways can also be affected directly by additional chemical intervention, meaning either medicines or nutrition, or 'nutriceuticals.' Or homeopathy ;-). But for those of us who are in this camp, i.e. not helped by thought power alone, I think it is critically important to find a good practitioner. I think it is way risky to be self-administering powerful supplements, because I have seen it happen that people wind up with a whole new raft of problems from getting themselves further out of whack. I have been most helped by practitioners with the credential 'chiropractic neorologist,' who are qualified to work with nutrition, and 'nutriceuticals,' as well as directly on the brain pathways. I have also been greatly helped by body work, specifically Jin Shin Jyutsu, but probably acupressure would be about as good.

Another suggestion is get yourself some sunshine, to boost your Vit. D level, which is supposed to help seratonin levels = feel better. If you are worried about skin cancer, get your sunshine not at mid-day, but try to let the sun shine right on your skin, even just your face and forearms (without sunscreen!). It might help, and probably couldn't hurt. Most people find sunshine cheering anyhow.

Final suggestion, and this draws on the first notion I wrote about, that thought content affects brain function: try to find and do anything that makes you feel even a tiny teensy smidgeon better. Maybe several things. I mean little things, if you don't have a huge one handy, even if they seem dumb, like walking on the side of the street you like better. Or a self-grooming project, like brushing your teeth or trimming your nails. I find that simple acts of caring for myself add up to feeling a bit better. And then the bits add up. And I let myself believe that a little better is better than a little worse.... I did not find this approach to be an instant miracle cure, but I did find that it definitely helped over time.

Best wishes to you,
Squirrelia

Beautiful post, Squirrelia, I will try the things you have suggested.

mazou

Thanks Mazou. Let us know what helps you.

BTW, I would recommend 12-step stuff to people whether or not they are sober, although I also do recommend sobriety: it helps me to know what is what, in terms of my baseline function or a 'normal hangover.'

Best,
Squirrelia

its been some time since i been on ... i came out of this like 3 times. in the last 5 months i would say .. one time i came out for about 30sec.. and omg it was such a g0od felin ... everything was s0o bright everyone voices where s0o clear ... how can i get out of this again . i try s0o hard nothing works .. im still on meds .. but everytime i read these post i feel more like sh** ... ?? anyone eslce ? but im s0o happy there are ppl out there like me i would love to talk to someone .. like be friends or meet someone that has this ... if any wants to talk on the fone or on aim . pleaz let me know ..... my s.n . is freestylecrazzy.. my email is freestylecrazzy at aim dot com just say you got my off this web site ... i live in ny .. nd it would be kool if any one lived here to ... you know what im sayin .. i just need some friends or a friend. that know how it is to not live but live at the same time

Squirrelia, thank you.

I really wasn't expecting any sort of reply that quick! Truth be told, ive never been a fan of following certain programs or help groups, but I will definately take into account what you mentioned about the little things that help. Im the type of person who can be affected greatly by little interactions/activities.
Im glad I found this site because over the past couple months it almost feels like I forget how un-real things are.

After the first day it hit me, it was so clear that things were unclear, and now I have to work back into really seeing the difference.

People have said that actions speak louder than words, but when my or others actions dont seem real, words are all I have sometimes, and I really, really do appreciate the words you have written.

(About the drug use, im a daily pot smoker but after posting what I did, yesterday was the first time in 2 years that I havent smoked at least once in a day)

Once again, thank you.
Chris

Congratulations on your day of sobriety!

I admire your eloquence.

Sometimes when I look back at myself as a young person, it just makes me cry, all the ways I harmed myself, and the terrible risks I took with my own and others' safety. At the time, I was in a hurry to gain insight into the nature of cosmic reality, and desperate to get away from the everyday reality that was 'my life.'

Now that I'm middle aged -- I'll be 48 years old on Sunday! -- the sheer youth of young people seems so precious, something to protect. I don't regret the insights I've gained, but I wish I had realized I could have probably achieved them by learning to meditate, or through prayer. Or at least I wish that I had quit actively destroying my brain after the first few insights, instead of carrying on until I had to really worry about my grasp on regular reality.

Don't get me wrong, I have a great life, full of love and meaningful activity, and it's hilarious how 'normal' almost everyone thinks I am! And how I strive to achieve normalcy! I'm going to be the freakin' president of the PTA, that's how 'normal'! 25 years clean and 12 years sober.

But it does both sadden and alarm me to think of my pre-teen daughter harming herself with substances or other risky behavior, as I did.

You know how they say 'one day at a time'? Sometimes a day is too much; sometimes it's 5 minutes at a time. Or one.

And again, I find it so useful to take the time to 'stop and smell the roses,' so that every day has something of merit.

I hope you have a good day today.

Best wishes,
Squirrelia

Yesterday I took up my whole situation with drug/addictions worker who's posted at my school. It was the first time that ive ever explained the whole situation to someone.

Also, its day 2 of my sobriety. Things feel a little off and I can tell that ill be missing something ;)

But things are already becoming at least slightly clearer. Work was alot easier and smoother, and I could even say I enjoyed the 8 hours I worked.

I dont want to jump ahead too early and say things are on their way, but I can feel a change, and that's all that matters. I know this might not mean much to others, but id rather leave some of these thoughts where they wont clog my mind.

'Believe that a little better is better than a little worse'

Ill take that one with me though. :)

Chris

Congratulations on day 2! And thanks for the update on your progress.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I realize that I left out another main place I now look for insight: honest sharing of experience with other people.

I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow, for a week, then I'll be back. I don't know whether I'll have an e-mail connection while I'm away. But I'll be interested to hear how things are going when I get back.

I truly wish you the best of luck, and truly thank you for your posts here.

Looking forward,
Squirrelia

i found this forum in a search to find the causes of my derealization, and i think its obvious that most cases are sparked from smoking weed. i was a heavy pot smoker for most of my highschool years, tried chemicals for a period, and then one day it just started to feel weirder, weed wasn't a good thing to me anymore.. i started to worry about everything from the afterlife to what people thought of me, but to crazy extremes. i stopped for a bit but when i started again it made me really scared, and now ever since i quit ive had scary periods of derealization and paranoia.. like 'Truman Show' style + a dream state.
i do have some repressed feelings of grief for my father who died 10 years ago when i was 9, and so far i think the withdrawl from my teen drug haze brought up some feelings and i may be trying to push them down, which may be why im going through these periods of derealization..??
i dont have any real answers but thats why im here, id like to know more about what everyone thinks about dopamines impact on derealization and paranoia/anxiety.
thanks

Does anybody have symptoms of Derealization paired with depression, cramps, indigestion, dhiarrea... this was me until I found out I have celiac disease, caused by gluten in wheat, rye, barley and some other grains. If this sounds familiar, try checking with your doctor about the tests. foggy brain is classic celiac. Im feeling so much better now, been off gluten for 2.5 months.

L-theanine is great to help relax. It is an amino acid made from green tea. Not homepathic but it may help.

I CAME OUT OF IT .. the other night i waz in the bathroom . and i was looking at my self . i started feeling something i havent felt in a long time .. and that was reall life.. it sayed like that for about 2hr to i went to bed .. i was walking around turnin off lights thats are alll wayz been on at night, everything waz s0o bright. i felt tall nd big . i waz gettin really bad panic attacks . but i tryed to fight it and not take anything it worked really g0od .. but the next moring i woke up . i was still in reall life .. but it went away .. i loveed it . but i dont know anymore . im sick of this sh** i just want to live agin .. why do i have to deal wit this im such a g0od person ... i ask god everyday . to make me live agian . i dont want to be in this fog .. anyone .. there has to be a way . that we can all talk about this s0o we can fine something out



WE JUST WANT TO LIVE GOD. HELP HELP

Hi freestylecrazzy,

From reading your past posts, it sounds like you have been struggling with DR for 6 years, and just in the past few months have started having some breakthroughs of clarity. It also sounds like the most recent period of clarity lasted a longer time than past periods. So, it seems that your body/brain are healing a bit. Maybe take a look at any new things you are doing, they may be helping. If so, keep on doing them.

If you don't see anything different that you are doing, then here's an idea: if haven't tried adjusting your diet, that might be a good and low-risk thing to try. Maybe try cutting out all simple carbs for a few weeks -- meaning cutting out sugars, grains, and potatoes. See how you do. I know I'm not the only one who has gotten a **lot** of benefit from this approach. Also try cutting fermented foods like cheese.

When these dietary changes were first proposed to me, I objected vehemently, because those were my comfort foods that I insisted on having every day. It took years of repeated recommendations for me to be willing to try. What made the difference was a friend who healed from extreme gut illness saying: 'that is the addiction talking,' meaning my addiction to yeast (which thrives on the carbs) and its byproduct (which, it turns out, makes me feel something like drunk). That struck home with me, and helped me to see that something was amiss with my thinking if I was unwilling to let go of carbs even for one day. It still took weeks before I was ready, but once I changed my diet, I felt **VERY** much improved after about a week.

I still have plenty of problems, but at least I can usually think about what I'm thinking about, instead of feeling like in a thick fog all the time, where my thoughts would roll through like unbroken ocean waves.

Hang in there! And try to find somehting to enjoy every day, so you don't feel that life is altogether passing you by.

Best wishes,
Squirrelia

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