Derealization- feelings of unreality _{Page 17 of 19}

thanks! so its okay to go to al-anon and stuff even if you dont know an alcoholic? i wonder if there's a group for people with social anxiety... or anxiety in general.

i feel like i've developed social anxiety (or something similar) since being affected by dp/dr. i've always been a more reserved person, but i usually opened up. after getting dp/dr, i would just freak out (mentally of course) when i was placed in even the simplest social situations. at first, even talking to old friends made me slightly nervous. however, i feel that the more i push myself, the better my anxiety becomes. i recently accepted a job that will force me to interact with customers....and even though its only been one day on the job, i feel like im getting a lot better!! i also saw a therapist a few months back who gave me helpful advice. so my recommendation is to see a therapist (they're really helpful with anxiety issues, not so much the dp) and try to push yourself slightly outside of your comfort zone. although its hard to do at first, the gradual steps you take (even the smallest things) will make a huge difference!!

also, thanks dikkid!! i tried that e-book. wow. it was so helpful!! although i dont feel completely cured, i feel that im on the quick path to COMPLETE recovery. i feel so much better about myself and life (and i've had this feeling for the past couple days). =]

tuffy45- thats exactly how i felt!
well ive been trying to help anxiety get better... going to school really helps. i find that when i dont go to school, i get depressed. ive been having 'spells' of reality and on a scale of 1-10, 10 being 'completely real' im at like a 4 most of the time and sometimes get up to 8... but never 10. oh well, i'm going to see a therapist this summer. im also going to get that e-book :D!

just a question...when do you feel these spells of reality? i noticed that i felt (still feel) the dp/dr when i was placed in awkward social situations or when i was really anxious/nervous about something. i found that the most helpful advice in the e-book was to try to keep your mind always busy and preoccupied (to keep your thoughts off dp) & try to be positive. its incredibly difficult at first, but i noticed that the feelings were just fading away. granted, i dont feel completely fine yet, but its better than how i was a couple months ago! i wish you luck and i hope i helped you. =D

Hi Patrickeatspants

About Al-Anon: At the meetings I have attended, and I have attended quite a few, no one asks why you are there, no one questions who the alcoholic in your life is. This is because Al-Anon is not about alcoholics; it is about the difficulties of living with alcoholics (highly unpredictable people)and of trying to control the uncontrollable. Even though the group is specifically there to help familes and friends of alcoholics, I have found that anyone who wants support in figuring out the difference between things they can control and things they cannot control will do fine in Al-Anon.

I don't know about a group for social anxiety. Are you making a joke? I'm not sure, but it's kind of funny to think about a group (social setting) for folks with social anxiety. Actually it sounds like a fine idea. There might be such a thing. Around here, Kaiser-Permanente sponsors many self-help groups. You might be able to check that in your neighborhood.

Check it out!

Best wishes...

squirrelia: no, i wasn't making a joke about a social anxiety group. i actually meant that a group for people who've struggled with depression or anxiety in general might be around... i just word things weird, sorry. lol.

tuffy45: my spells of reality are hard to describe and dont last that long. last time i really knew i was having one, i was at church, and had just done a mile run thing with friends. i was outside and it was a beautiful day. i think it was the setting and the friends.

today i went to the doctor because i haven't been able to go to school because of stress and depression. he gave me prozac and i took it a bit before noon today. i don't think its supposed to work right away, but i do feel a bit different. i'll have to let everyone know how i feel about taking it before school... even tho there are only 2 days left. i also finally told my mom that i have DR, but i didnt name it. i just told her how i feel. i refused to go to school today and told my mom to instead take me to the doctor. he told me to stop taking concerta... which i've been basically on & off of for a couple of months... in other words, i don't take it consistently.
in any case, i hope the prozac helps! ill let everyone know if it does... cause if it does i'd highly recommend it, i have more self esteem already =]

oh and i didnt go to school today or yesterday which means ive missed 2 exams, but i don't care. does anyone else get feelings of not caring from their dr/dp?

hi all i posted comments a few weeks back telling everyone of my condition. I have been to the docs and they thought meditation coupled with electric shock theropy would be the go. Its been ok ive cut back to taking meth twice a week and weed every now and then. My new concern is my strong addictive nature. I get zapped with 500v but low current by the therapist. At first I didnt see the point but it does wonders for my feelings. Now the problem im faced with is at home i just wanna zapp myself all the time. Ive been putting metal knives in socket outlet just to get a bigger zapp. 2 days ago i got hit with such force there was a black ring around the socket and my fingers became black and since then ive lost feeling in my fingers. I even took a fluro light down just to feel what that shock would feel like. I dont know why i do this its so bad and i feel so weird but my doctor encourages me and says it will help my condition. I dont know what to do im starting to have suicidal thoughts. HELP ME PLEASE. is this a normal prescription for a docter? I am having my doubts!

umm so im definitely not a medical expert, but your doctor's method of treatment seems odd. i guess i can understand being zapped with electricity in a doctor's office under supervision, but you shouldnt do it on your own. its dangerous! maybe you should look into other treatment options?

Any 12 step group will do. I went to AA and Alanon meetings some years ago even though I did not have a problem with alcohol. 12 steps is about getting off the 'junk' whatever that junk is: bad relationships, obsession, controlling behavior.

Saved me spiritually. And I am forever grateful to the AA and Alanon members who graciously allowed me to attend their meetings.

Hi everyone, i'm knew to this forum and really happy to have found it. I'm not 100% sure if what I have is derealization or if it is cannabis psychosis. well basically my story is that four months ago i had a panick attack for the first time in my life soon after i'd moved to a knew university to study for my post-graguate degree. I stupidly tried smoking pot to relax myself but instead became completely manic, something in my head felt like it snapped and all of a sudden the world seemed so far away like i wasnt in it. things have gotten slightly better, like i can follow conversations now, but i still battle to read and feel like i am walking around in a bubble of confusion. i have this dull achy feeling and strange sensations in my head and it feels like there are no thoughts going through it. time feels all fragmented and i cant remember what i'm supposed to be doing, or have done, from one moment to the next. it seems like my brain is completely gone. from the posts it sounds like other people here have experienced similar things. does it go away? will my sense of time, intelligence, emotions, and memory come back? will i ever be able to function normally again? I'm thinking of trying dexedrine and/or klonopin. is this a good idea? some advice or recovery stories would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

Actually, speaking of recovery stories, it turns out that my derealization is caused by untreated Lyme disease. Supposedly this is a very common symptom of the disease! Who knew.

I had a bad reaction to marijuana in my teens, which triggered a major anxiety attack. I originally believed this to be the cause of my derealization, but it was not.

So, I am not cured yet, but I am on the road. I am taking antibiotics, and plan to pursue further use of homeopathic remedies in the future.

smithy-i definitely had a similar experience as you. it was my first year away from home at college. when i came home, my friends and i threw a blowout new years party and i smoked weed ( not a lot, but enough). since i was on winter vacation, i didnt really have anxiety. but the weed triggered something because the next day, that feeling of being high did not go away. i felt kind of crazy. like i was in a bubble and couldn't really experience anything. as you can see from these posts, everyone seems to experience something a little different. some say they have had derealization for years. i dont know what gets rid of it, but mine slowly has gone away a few months after the incident. i followed this one guy's advice and it seems to have worked (although it does take time). his e-book gives really great advice. he explains the possible causes of the mental state and how to gradually recover. ( the site wont let me post the link, but its listed in a post by dikkid on 5-23-08)

i've heard how derealization is a symptom of Lyme disease, but at least for me, the weed is what caused it.

but im happy to say i am sooo much better today!! =]

Tuffy45- thanks for the reply. i think mine was definately caused by a combination of stress and and weed. good to hear you've gotten better though. would you say you function at the same level as you did before it happened? have you tried any meds? i'm pretty desperate, so considering benzo';s, but worrbied about becoming addicted. apparently your body becomes accustomed to them so you need to increase the dosage, then when you try come off things get a whole lot worse...will definately check out the ebook though. thanks!

does anyone know if in the case of cannabis induced dp/dr the problem is physiological ie. the cannabis causes some sort damage or chemical imbalance in the brain. or if the symptoms are purely psychological, brought on by thoughts and anxiety which the cannabis induced?

so I've had this condition since the night of May 17th when I suffered a big anxiety attack, the first one I've ever had...I thought I was going to slip into my subconcious, I thought I was going to die, and I thought I wasn't going to wake up. I realized that I had a similar feeling when I smoked salvia the November before, and I remember being terrified. Now I can't even tell if I'm still suffering from the physical aspects of it (blurry vision and all that) and now all I can think about is the mental part. I think I'm starting to believe that I'm the only one alive, that I created all of this, that there are no people out there that have their own minds and souls. In the beginning of all this I told myself that I knew this wasn't true, but after being stuck in this state for long enough I think I'm losing the battle. My sense of self is too strong, and my lack of feeling and empathy towards others doesn't help convince me otherwise. There's no real arguing it either, since you're only ever going to have your point of view...

I'm going to therapy, and I was thinking about believing in God because I want to feel connected to other living beings and protected and loved by something great. Has anyone felt this way before? What should I do to 'wake up'?

I would like to know who has tried a homeopathic approach and who has not. That's what this forum is helpful with. These issues are not psychological in nature-these are chemical imbalances in the brain that will probably not resolve themselves easily. I am not an expert, but the shifts in my mind that occurred when i was seeking to alleviate physical issues was profound with homeopathy. This is not the thinking pattern of a healthy system. Please start a new thread to get some indicidual attn. from a doc, or go to a professional. Take vitamins, get enough protein to stay 'grounded', (I was a vegetarioan for 15 years and it wasn't good for me in the end), stay off sugar,drink water, sleep., get help with addictions..therapy and spiritual work is good, but for myself it became a 10 year delay to getting help with the physical. Part of depression is withdrawing from the world, that makes the nightmare worse. Reading a Course in Miracles helped with my feelings of disconnection in humanity, although i never committed to the practice as i still hope to one day. But, that did not heal me, i had to deal with my body, that is where our brain lives.

Any advice regarding homeopathic remedies appreciated.

May I first say, I have never used or experimented with any recreational drug whatsoever, no marijuana, ecstasy or methamphetamine use. I do not suffer from anxiety, depression, bi polar or another mental illness and never have in the past. I had an unremarkable childhood and upbringing, no so called 'traumatic moments or events'.

It happened suddenly, I was jogging in P.E class and out of nowhere there was an immediate sensation of 'strange'. In a split second my world changed. Everything felt surreal, the world lacking in its 'aliveness' or you could say 'crispness'. Just felt like things weren't real. everything is so spacey its scary. This has been 24/7 for now more than ten years, no break whatsoever.

Initially you do okay, after a while it drives you mad. Now I'm mad. I haven't 'habituated' to it and just don't see how I could. I don't want to go through the remainder of life like this.

Help on suitable remedies please. Is Cannibis indica one?

That is so crazy! It must be very frustrating when u hear of a lot of people that really partied and they are fine. I cannot give you advice except to see a real homeopath in person. I can not imagine what you are going through. PE class makes it almost sound like some sort of burst blood vessel in the right half of your brain or something that altered your brain structure. Wow,my health problems are so overwhelming to deal with i just can't even imagine what you are going thru...please try to see a homeopath, maybe one will even donate soem time. Or, at the least start a new thread here for some personalized attn. from an expert. Best of luck jono.

This may be somewhat of an old thread, but wow! It seems like everyone is imprisoned by their DR initially.

my story: I woke up one morning in 2004 and felt a little odd...i suspected that maybe i was tired or that i just wanted to hang out in bed like the loaf of a college kid i had always been. Later that evening, I was hit with a nagging headache, a numb bottom lip, dizziness, fatigue, extreme anxiety and tinnitus.

I researched all of the medications that I had taken and the only culprit was an eyedrop called Tobradex, which contains dexamethasone...a really strong steroid. I visited a few docs who told me to wait it out. if this was truly a side effect of tobradex, it would go away. it didnt. after a few months of the insanity of trying to get better, fighting against it, and hoping that I'll wake up one day and it will all be gone. It felt like it controlled me. I felt robotic.

One day i got so frustrated and decided to try something. I raised my hand. I touched my nose. I said 'I am touching my nose. I raised my own arm, and i touched my own nose. I am in control. I am not lost.' sounds pretty ridiculous, but i was in a defeated state. its been slowly improving ever since. ive learned to ignore my symptoms.

Fast forward to today and I still struggle with it. Its nowhere as bad as it was initially. I still tire really easily, but i have always been a really sleepy person before the Great Mind Shift of 2004. I have rediculous anxiety sometimes, but its nowhere as debilitating as I initially allowed it to be. I've quit asking doctors for tests and opinions. I've stopped scouring the 'net for answers. I've decided to live. and in living, day by day it gets better. I consider this to be one of life's great tests. A great, seemingly eternal test. Try not to let it win. And Redefine yourself.

Good luck on your journey.

I know this tread is old but OMG I cant beleive you guys havent got help from a therapist I get all these symptoms and I have realised that they are all caused from anxiety the is no know case in the history of the world that a person with out drugs can just all of a sudden go crazy it is unheard of please beleive me!!!! a man is only vonurable to crazyness symptoms around the age of 18-22 and it is 28-32 for a woman thesestats are true and if you eliminate the anxiety the derealization will go to it's the truth if you are shaking your head right now then you are allowing the anxiety to rule your life!!!! It thrives on fear the more scared you are the stronger it gets the more you dont beleive in a cure the more stronger it gets its sole purpose is to make you scared!!!! It is the biggestbluff in history but you can fool it...... write down the things that you have experienced the symptoms you have had then write down worst things that can happen when these things get strong.....eg: I feel dizzy....then write have I ever fallen down???....then you will write NO and then you may see that its all a bluff anxiety,derealization,deppression,panic attacks,dizzyness without reason?????? do you beleive in bigfoot or fairy's?????? No so why do you belaive in these things. the human mind is stronger than you think there is a cure but it lies within you I havent beaten my symptoms yet but i am getting stronger everyday I always manage to go to sleep and wake up and go to work I have had this for 9months and since the day it started the symptoms have been constant everyday......but I am alive today???????? I am always able to recover??????? and it never beats me If I was diying it would have happend by now 9 onths is a long time to be dying for isnt it???????? if I was having a stroke I would have been rushed to hospital by now????? but I havent it has been bluffing you guys like it has me but i will get over it........will you I read all these threads and they all say the same things 'im scared' 'fear' and whats happening to me well i can tell you whats happening to you you are 'scared' you have 'fear' and that is anxiety yeas all of it the feeling in your neck the derealization the foggyness the little speckles in your sight and the death feelings and the colours you can see in your sight and the sleeplessness and the anger you feel and the detachment you feel from your family and the headaches and the pain behind your eyes and the lot it is all caused by a underlying anxiety problem you may have forgotten what it is or not even think thet you are stressed but it can be something in your subconsience that you have suppressed but your deep inner feeling have bought it to the surface, you have to dig deep into your past and find it beleive me its there I have been able to dig deep and it causes me to cry for no reason I sat down started to write my life story today and when i got half way through it I got so anxious for no reason it caused me to go and find myself so i could continue to work, I now its hidden somewhere there and i will find it I hope that you guys will listen to me and see some one if you have and it hasnt worked maybe they were no good at there job and you should see some one else keep fighting it sounds to me like you all have given up ask yourself why??????? and maybe you will find the answer is you and your determination to succeed!!!!! cheers hope i reached at least one person.

Yo, hey, I haven't written here for awhile. But I thought I would post a comment one last time. First off let me say congratulations to Panman... for posting the longest sentence ever written in a forum. I'm kidding, man, it's good to see you are being proactive about it. But this is what I have to say for the last time about chronic dr/dp:

forget about it.

No easy task I know. Dp/dr is a reaction to stress and anxiety--I've come to think of it as a flu of the brain--that can cause some unsual symptoms. Now I could have said dp/dr causes
some 'scary' or 'disturbing' symptoms but it doesn't. To be scared or disturbed is a reaction to a situation that simply is. When we have the flu and can't get even get out of bed for days is that scary or disturbing. If we didn't know what was happening it could be, but we know what is happening and we say to ourselves 'okay, this won't be fun for awhile but it will pass eventually' and then for the next few days, as unpleasant as it is, we kick back and let it do it's thing because we know soon enough we'll be on our feet again. Of course the flu is caused and fed by a virus, and once those microscopic intruders are dead and gone we get better. In the case of dp/dr, the virus that feeds this 'brain flu' is our thoughts and reactions. It's the viscious circle of anxiety. And the secret to breaking the circle of dp/dr is to not react. Let it flow through you, just go with it. Inevitably you'll think about it here and there for a period of time, but the less you think about it and IGNORE symptoms you'll find you feel a little better everyday. SOme days you may get a frustrated for whatever and think you haven't progressed but you can't let those thoughts in you must be diligent and think back to how it was days, weeks, months before and you will see that you FEEL better. That's important: measure your progress by how you feel, not on the outside world such as 'do thinks look less fake', don't even think about that, just how feel. When ever you get the anxious feeling just shrug it off and proceed with what you are doing. And if you feel anxious all the time (or feel nothing at all) shrug it off, just let it be, it may be unpleasant but so is the flu. Don't feed your 'brain flu' with your virus like thoughts.

Believe me people, I have had it BAD, but I've slowly gotten better by doing this.
J. Krishnamurti, a philosopher/enlightened person, was asked what his secret to happiness/peace was. He answered, 'I don't mind what happens.' The more you don't mind that the dr/dp is happening the more it will go away.
Incidently, we also may find we don't mind other things that once seemed so upsetting.

Anyway, this was my last post. I hope you all get something from this. But now I have to go--I have a life to live.

wow, i havent been here basically all summer.
i don't have time to read everyones' posts, but i can say that i feel much better. my doctor put me on prozac and it has helped a lot. i know this forum is supposed to be for homeopathic remedies, but i would actually recommend seeing some sort of doctor. also i would recommend hanging out with friends as much as possible. even if you dont have many. do ANYTHING you can to help your social life out. if youre having trouble with conversations, tell a very close friend or family member and practice with them. another thing i'd recommend is exercising.. its like a natural antidepressant! but avoid taking anything if you can. i notice that when i dont take my prozac i feel psychotic.

Hi all,

I've not been on this site all summer -- been having a great time, DR and all! I've been finding it coming and going, but mostly feeling pretty good.

to vanliantvc: come on now, just becuse your doc is putting you on EST in a highly controlled setting doesn't mean you should go about electrocuting yourself at home. I would definitely tell your doctor about this compulsion and ask him/her for more help with it. Also: you're still doing meth??!! And still smoking weed??!! This you must stop immediately, no matter if it means residential treatment or whatever. I don't think your brain can really do any of its necessary healing while still being bombarded with the very things that are harming it in the first place.

A few posts back, someone asked whether anyone had tried homeopathy for this problem. I wanted to respond to that to say I have, I was working on post-partum depression with a highly trained and experienced 'classical' homeopath prior to my big onset of full-time DR/disequilibrium and inability to drive at feeway speeds a few years ago. Wow, was that ever slow going! I did make it through, though, after about 18 months of care. She was not able to help me really at all with the DR/disequilibrium stuff. Maybe eventually she would have come up with the perfect remedy, but at the time I was desperate for something that would give me back my old sense of myself right away. So after a few tries and a few months I let the homeopathy go.

At this time, my thinking is that my big problems are coming from Lymes, which I probably picked up 18 or more years ago. At that time, I had a tick bite that was treated with antibiotics, but the amount that was thought to be enough at that time is not now thought to be enough. But I've struggled with shorter bouts of DR longer than that, so nothing is clear.

Here's my latest observations: sleep is key. My symptoms are **SO** much worse when I haven't slept well/enough. In fact simply by staying up too late a couple of nights in a row I can trigger a state that is almost as bad as my very worst, which makes me wonder to what extent the whole thing is basically an expression of some sort of deep fatigue. Also, I'be been being helped -- slowly-- by Standard Proccess stuff -- glandulars and DNA concoctions. I believe it is definitely a brain issue for me, although the anxiety (i.e. psychological) that the perceptual difficulties stir up can run away with itself, bringing on a whole new layer of difficulty.

Gotta go out and enjoy my day!

Best wishes to all,
Squirrelia

Just a quick post for those experiencing depersonalization due to social anxiety.

Anxiety levels typically go up in social situations, it is normal. They go up even more for people with DP because DP sufferers often (mistakingly) believe that something is wrong with them, that they have a mental disorder. They also believe it is something which they can't control, so they're afraid that others will notice a problem, afraid of reacting inappropriately, etc.

When this anxiety is created, the easiest thing to do is to retreat from it, and this is what DP is. Instead of facing and working out the problem, people distance themselves from the outside world and try to close it off as much as possible. This occurs as long as the person does not believe through experience that in such situations it is easier to work through problems than to hide from them. Once it has been established that the situation is harmless and manageable, there should be no need for DP in such situations.


Thank You!

Fair enough, you get told to try a bit of counselling/therapy, to try a bit of medication, to try avoiding thinking about it.

I'd like to share a little bit more. Basically, I never gave DR a thought in my life ever since the split second it took hold of me. Ask any of my friends and they will describe me as someone who is care free, never worries and lives life. I enjoy life. However, after 10 or more years of DR, it starts to bite.

I don't care who you are, it becomes distressing, even After 10 years of not thinking about it. Yes that's right, ignoring it, seems to work for some but not for all.

The literature clearly suggests some are prone to becoming stuck in the state. Others return to normal. If it occurs exculsively in the course of an anxious situation, a panic attack, depression, bi polar etc, then its not primary DR/DP, and it will likely disappear when the underlying cause is treated. Yes I acknowledge that many of you most likely have a primary cause and DR is secondary. In my case it seems to be primary, that is, it has established itself independent of any trigger.

In these cases, you try therapy, you try medication, but sometimes it doesn't work. In fact, who do you know who is better from therapy? Yes they might have come to terms with the DR/DP, but they're not truly better. There is a neurological basis to DR/DP which the evidence is clearly mounting in favour in. Whatever the physical underlying change may be, chemical imbalance etc we are still waiting for something truly effective.

So my final point is, does anyone know of any homeopathic treatments that are effective for DR/DP?

Or has anyone had any positive success with homeopathy?

Sorry dude but you have it all wrong there no none case of D/R being a primary problem you have had it for 10 years and never gave it a thought well i think u have!!! If you went for 10years without a worry of it then it wont hurt another 10 years surely??? And yes I do know people that have been helped and even cured by therapy please dont get on here with this nonsense and tell these people that are looking for hope there isnt any!!! there is hope alot of it D/R CAN NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT ANXIETY this is a fact!!! therapy doesnt help you come to terms with D/R it helps you find the very thing that is causing your anxiety you have to remember that anxiety is normal we deal with it all our lives i mean when you go through this and start to understand the things that make you anxeious then you start to realise that you have had this many times in your life but it went away, and it will again!! Please dont come to terms with he D/R come to terms that there is nothing wrong with you only ANXIETY remember it usually lives in your sub concience and you dont even realise your thinking about it your mind may have forgotten it!! the people around you dont see whats in your head they see your exterior and no one that has these disorders shows any signs of maddness its all in there heads people will think your happy and go lucky its you that feels out of place and thats what you have to work on. So there is some thing truly effective it called self discovery and it works every time with out fail by the simple fact that you have said the things you have tells me that you havent come to terms with this disorder, so you will never rid yourself of it until you do. if you disagree you are givin in to it and if you wrie back and put another disagreeing spin on it then you have shown that your losing your battle whether you can live with it or not your still letting it affect you!! IT IS JUST A BLUFF IT WILL GO AWAY WHEN YOU FIND OUT WHAT BOUGHT IT ON!!!! I actually think you should look into the fact that you might have somatoform disorder its highly likely that you do by what you have said. Hang in there it curible with out any drugs or anything but good strong thoughts!
Thanks