Derealization- feelings of unreality _{Page 9 of 19}

lol a t.v. set an watching static ? lol ive neaver heard of somthing like that although i do watch alot of t.v. so i might give it a try what can it hurt ...

I am to the point I don’t know what to do anymore I’m scared of everything I’m scared to sneeze cause I cant breath I’m scared to cough cause I cant breath and I always have snot stuck in my throat and that scares the crap out of me cause I feel as though my throat is stopped up I woke up today and I had snot in my throat and felt I couldn’t breath so I had a severe panic attack cause of it and that made my breathing 1000 times worse plus I was scared out of my mind with overwhelming fear for my life cause I could not breath it was the most terrifying ever iv been suffering from panic attacks and anxiety and agoraphobia and derealization for about 5 years now and it has taken my life away I am 22 years old now and it seems that it has gotten worse and I just don’t know what to do I’m scared of almost everything now just little stupid things that I was never scared of and it eats and eats me away all day with constant fear and severe panic attacks and anxiety somebody just tell me if you you feel the same way? I mean I’m not talking about just somebody that has a little panic attack im talking about people that have been suffering for a long time to the point they have agoraphobia,derealization and severe panic attacks so if you think you can top that bring it on cause it sure would make me feel better if there where others like me …. thanks

hey weird ..what triggered this back 3-5 years ago?what do you attribute to change?whatwas going on back then-priorto onset?

For Erin and others:

Your blood-tinged sputum is a sign of lung cancer, and other things. Did your doctor do a chest CT scan (not an x-ray) with you? Also, the symptom your describing as "crawling out of your skin" may be what's called akathisia and is often a side-effect of medication. This can easily be alleviated with medication. Did you tell your doctor about this symptom?

Somebody please help me!!!!!!! I have been stuck inside my house for years cause I have agoraphobia and I have extreme!!! anxiety and panic attacks iv been like this for 5 years 4 years really bad and its to the point im scared of everything im scared to sneeze im scared to cough im scared of heartburn im scared of hiccups im just about scared of everything now and it eats me up inside all day I cant eat hardly cause iv got anxiety stuck in my stomic I am skin and bones I only weigh like 125 pounds it takes me forever to get down a sandwich I have soo much anxiety that it makes me gag all the time I just don’t know what to do anymore ive been stuck in this house for so long that I have derealization and its like nothings real anymore I lay and shake like crazy coming down from a panic attack and I have bad allergies now and its hard to sleep and wake up with post nasal drip and having to sneeze and having anxiety and panic attacks cause I sneezing its like as soon as I wake up it’s a whole day of torture and suffering and I get scared cause im all alone in the day and I cant take care of myself when this happens I cant eat or fix myself something to eat it is soooooooo hard for me im sooo messed up I just don’t know what to do over the years ive tried all the meds and seen all the docs and had all the tests and nothing Im just soooo sick and out of it I can barely type this but if anybody feels the same as me tell me cause I would like to talk to them thanx…….

hey everyone
Im 21 years old and I went through what you all describe thanks to that evil drug marijuana. If you are still doing it STOP please and warn others to stay away from it!!!

As far as the derealization, I experienced it for about a week after my bad panic reaction. Then all of a sudden it went away to be replaced by auditory disturbance that BL described, with the full ears and the inability to filter out unneccesary auditory stimuli/background noises. The doctor perscribed an antipsychotic which im going to try, but personally I believe this is all related to the high anxiety in my brain as a result of the SUPER traumatic experience.

The depersonalization, I strongly believe, is just a defense reaction of your brains. Don't be so scared of it! Its natural. Think about it, what you all went through is extremely traumatic. The subconsious freaked out so much that it decided: 'I think its better for me to separate my identity from my body, so that I can get through this terror. The world is too terrible to keep my identity and stay sane.'

Once you realize this, you can calm down. You did not 'permanently damage your brain'. What you are experience is a self-defense reaction.

How to cure it? Well I think the problem is, we can't really control our subconsious mind as much as we would like. Otherwise I'd stop paying attention to these stupid background noises. But as far as the Depersonalization, what worked for me is bieng around people I loved and cared about, realizing why it was happening (self-defense of the brain!), doing things to relax and feel strong and safe: running, yoga, playing guitar, reading the bible, prayer, listening to positive music, bieng around those I love, meditation.
The subconsious is a tricky thing...but I think that once we realize in our subconsious that were SAFE, the experience is OVER, there is NO need to overprotect anymore...we will be ok.
God bless you all, stay strong, and remember, medicine is moving forward very quickly...if the drugs of today dont help, they will find something to help us eventually...

Hi everyone,

I was following this post about 6 months ago when I was suffering from severe derealisation. I too smoked marijuana once and that appeared to be when it began full time (although I remember experiencing it from time to time before I smoked it, but not all the time). I've now managed to cure it to the point where it no longer bothers me so I thought I should come back and offer a suggestion. For me, it was obviously a psychosomatic response to the marijuana, but the underlying cause was eating huge amounts of refined foods - refined sugar, white bread, fruit juice etc. I recommend eliminating all refined foods as well as potato, pumpkin and milk from the diet for a month and see if you notice any difference. Also try to eat only low GI foods that don't cause blood sugar levels to spike. I didn't feel noticably better until (after eating sensibly for several weeks) I ate something that was high in sugar one day - then all the derealisation came back and I really appreciated just how much better I was feeling after removing the crap from my diet!

It may or may not work for you but it's worth a shot, and even if it doesn't work, keep searching for the cause and keep hope always - 6 months ago I felt so hopeless about it that I cried when reading this thread; so there is hope for all of you!

Hello everyone. I'm so pleased to finally find a site that deals with a condition that I've been living with for several years; a condition that, in my opinion, never seemed to get the same attention as the more commom mental illnesses (i.e. depression, anxiety). I'm a 37-year old single mom and I've been experiencing the feeling of derealization (or unreality), in addition to anxiety and depression, for most of my adult life (actually as far back as my teen years). I don't even know how or why it came about or how I've been able to deal with it for so long. The difference between me and most of the other members on this site is that I 'never' took any drugs (except for occasional drinking, which, I rarely do at all these days) so, my illness cannot be attributed to that. I actually go through most of my daily activities with this feeling that I'm not myself; like I'm just a robot 'going through the motions' of life; almost in a mindless state. As a child, I was painfully shy and didn't socialize much with my peers and it seemed that, somehow, that shyness just manifested itself into a feeling of unreality (if that makes any sense). I can recall many times that I've been walking somewhere or doing something and, all of a sudden, I start feeling spacy; like I've stepped outside of my body and I'm just a 'zombie'. It's really scary, or should I say, terrifying. I feel like I'm losing a grip on reality because I sometimes become incoherent to the people and activities around me. I feel that, most of the time, I don't know who I am. I become afraid that, in the middle of a conversation with someone, I'll say something stupid or just scream. I sometimes get so scared that I think that I may pass out, or sometimes wish that I 'would' pass out just so not as to deal with the whole experience. I get scared that I might do something crazy or have an accident because it's like my mind 'escapes' or shuts down temporarily. And the fact that I'm raising a child makes it even more challenging. For several years now, I've been seeing both a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist. I've taken many different prescription medications, including paxil, ativan, and zanax. To this date, no medication seems to work. I'm feeling very hopeless right now because of this and it's only by the grace of God that I've been able to cope thus far. If anyone else can relate to this or has some advice or words of comfort, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

***IMPORTANT***

A mental health group out of Parksville, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada NEEDS YOU!

Would you like to help educate doctors and the public about DP/DR???

Are you able to travel to the island before the end of July?

If so, you can participate in a film about mental health issues. You are able to speak directly about DP and DR and how it affects you. This is done in an interview style. The film will later be sold and distributed all over the world to various organizations. As well, the film will likely be entered into the Toronto and Vancouver film festivals. I know this is short notice but if you are available please let me know by replying to this post ASAP. I am notified of replies via email so I will be checking back each time someone replies. Unfortunately I can't list my email here.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!

Here's some additional info:

The mental health group is called Forward House. You can google this organization and you will find their website (not allowed to list it here).

Also, I am a director of dissociative studies with the National Organization For Drug-Induced Disorders who also suffers from chronic DP/DR. I am not some random person.

Wow, I am so amazed to have stumbled onto this website that describes so closely what I've been living with off and on for 25 years, but much more intensely for the past year and a half. Now I can't drive on the freeway anymore.

To describe all of my history and syptoms would take all night. But here are some things that have really helped me: rescue remedy (4 drops to a water bottle, sip all day); Alanon (helps to appreciate what is working, rather than worrying about what isn't); very basic physical reality checking (I feel the floor under my feet, the chair under my bottom, my hands on the table, etc.); existential growth (yes, I am in fact dying, and have been on that road ever since birth; no worries, then I'll be closer to God); acceptance (well, so what if I can't stop perceiving people's faces in cubist vision. I know it isn't true that their noses are misplaced, so just keep trying to relate as best as I can); and now that I'm worse still, I look back wistfully to when I was less ill and wish for *that* level of health back, even though I wasn't satisfied with it at the time; and I try to keep in mind that the health I'm having now is probably better than what lies down the road, so try to re-frame it as 'fine for now' and get as much of the important stuff (like enjoying my kids) done now, while I still can. And more.

Oddly, even though it may have been 'recreational drugs' that got me here, I am grateful to have had so much experience using them, because that is how I cope often now: just like when I was loaded back then, I learned to trust my feet to keep going, my bladder sphincters to keep holding, etc., and doing the same now pretty well works.

For what it's worth, I've been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, and am hoping that clearing that up will clear up my unreality.

Before that I found I had an intestinal parasite, huge yeast overgrowth in the gut, and bad flora. That got me on a very low carb, lowish protein, high 'good' fat eating program which has helped *A LOT*.

I'm working against the Lyme with PCA-rx sublingual spray, and some of its shelf-mates. I think that it is helping, but it might mostly be the diet. Or the Chinese medicine. Or the probiotics. Or the chiropractic neurology. :-)

Peace to all who are suffering intensely just now.

Hello!

I am very saddened to see people suffering from this. You are all good and kind people, and are not mentally ill. It's a bad emotion, it just doesn't go away as quickly as it comes.

I've always been a strong person mentally, and wasn't born that way! Just like physical strength, it can be increased and it should be used. This is an occassion when it should be used. I am fully convinced that derealization can be fought, because I did. Don't shove it deep inside, but talk about it, build your strength, and take out factors which cause your subconscious to create it (such as fear or stress).

I heard this somewhere: it is the mind itself that leads the mind astray -- of the mind do not be mindless. This is worth considering for some time. DR in itself isn't a good experience, but it can be a catalyst for one. It can be a sign to change your life, to build your inner strength, or to love the world around you.

It took me months to heal myself, so I wouldn't expect it to happen in a day. But I learned not to expect help from anyone (no drugs or doctors) before I give it a try, because it's my mind and I have the most control of its health.

Have a wonderful day,
Sam

hi everyone..
I have been suffering from derealization for about a year now. I have it all day, everyday, and sometimes i think that it will never go away. It first started a couple of days after my husband, who is in the navy, left for greece. I was at the airport on my way home to hawaii from new jersey. When i heard that my flight has been delayed and that i might have to spend the night at the airport hotel in honolulu, i got nervous.Infact, I was feeling anxious the whole duration of the 11 hour flight because i have a fear of flying. When i finally got to honolulu, I lost my cellphone at the the airport, which caused me to panic because now I really felt alone and lost. I was in a panic that Ive never been before and i wonder if it was this experience that triggered my derealization. I barely got any sleep that night. But I only started to notice the feeling after drinking a mocha freeze from starbucks that morning while i was waiting for my next flight home. It just hit me from out of nowhere, and I started feeling as if everything around me was'nt real. I felt like i was in one of my dreams only I was wide awake. I've seen a whole bunch of different doctors and done all kinds of tests but everything always comes out normal.So every diagnosis always comes down to the fact that i may have anxiety disorder. For a year I've described my derealization as dizziness because i have never even heard of the condition untill afew days ago when i accidentally stumbled into a website about while i was researching about panic disorders. And I honestly thought I was the only one who suffered from it and that no one would ever understand how I was feeling.It is really a horrible and debilitating condition and I feel for you all who are going through the same thing... If there's any of you who has had this condition and succesfully recovered from it, I would like to know how..So please reply to this post or e mail me..I am open to any suggestions, I would just really like to get my life back so please if it's not too much to ask..Help me.

Thanx guys..

I have read through every page of this forum and I can tell you that I experienced just about ALL of these symptoms. YOU CAN GET BACK TO NORMAL; NO PROGRAMS, NO DRUGS!

Once, while smoking a joint (something I'd done about once a month for a few years), I had a terrifying panic attack. I thought I was dying (heart racing, sweating, blurred vision, feeling terror.) I was fine the next day but avoided weed for a while. After about 6 months, I started smoking again, about once a month.

At the beginning of this year, I began taking a friend's Adderall to help me study and write music. One night, I took some and had another panic attack. This attack had symptoms similar to those I'd had before (add shortness of breath, numbness, nausea and confusion to the list.)

The next day, I woke up experiencing DR. It went away the next day. 3 weeks later, I had a massive panic attack that lasted 3 days, off and on. After that, I had DR constantly.

I would think I was going to have a heart attack, that I had cancer, that I had every health problem under the sun. I felt that extreme disconnection and haze that others have described. I lost all motivation and creativity. I felt a constant impending doom. I felt like things would trigger episodes such as coffee or food. I felt like I was going CRAZY and that I might as well accept the fact that I was going to be an insane streetwalker for the rest of my life.

I constantly blamed the Adderall use for my mental state. I figured I'd tripped something in my head that made me eternally different.

One day, I was sitting in my dorm room at school, feeling a little less DR than I usually felt, when suddenly, I had a panic attack. I began the normal thought processes of 'I'm having this attack because I ate some sugary candy. Why did I do that!? I just wish I was normal again!'

Then I miraculously pulled myself out of the attack. I realized that all of the panic and anxiety and DR that was so real, so terrifying, was all in my head. Nothing is making you panic except YOURSELF! I thought deeply about all of the compulsive behavior that I'd had in the past, and about all of the thoughts of death and insignificance I'd experienced. I realized that I was constantly wrapping my thoughts around nonexistent problems.

The point of this post is to tell you all that the DR is escapable. The marijuana and the mushrooms and the caffeine and the Adderall and the ecstasy didn't do this to you; they simply pulled the hidden anxious and horrible feelings to the surface of your subconscious. This is why you felt terrified for no apparent reason. The fact that you can feel so insane from something you can't identify creates an entire new world of problems within your mind. The way to eliminate these feelings is to take care of your daily business. Pay your bills, go to work, and take care of the loose ends in your life. Even though many of the stressful things in your life seem so insignificant in comparison to how you feel, if you eliminate them, you will begin to feel better. Keep your mind occupied and think of all of the good things you have in your life. Keep telling yourself that no matter how real it feels and no matter how it was brought on, IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD!

Sorry about the length of the post but I was once in all of your shoes and I want you all to feel as good as I do now! I welcome emails - I will tell you specifically how I helped myself out of this state of mind!

- Stephen

I agree with the previous post.

Smoking cannabis for the first time triggered my DR, though I didn't learn my lesson. I found that I always had a certain level of DR though if I smoked more cannabis my DR level rose for a couple of weeks then lowered to this certain level. I then also experimented with Mushrooms, LSD, 2CB, 2CI, salvia etc etc and found that these didn't alter my state of DR in the slightest.

Bizarrely cannabis was the only drug that affected my state of DR.

I also found that the more I researched what I was feeling and the more I accepted it as a 'mental condition', the worse it got.

I also found that whenever I thought, 'I really don't want to get Derealization now', I would get it instantly. Almost like a shift between conscious states, which I could actually feel happen.

I was good at drama and found that before every performance I would think about DR and I'd get it, so I'd panic. Though when my mind was taken off it and I focused on the task at hand, it would disappear without me realising.

I don't get it too badly anymore, though I recurringly get it before public speaking/performances. I'm also particularly bad at making new friends or talking to the opposite sex, which has led to a dependendency on alcohol in order to socialise.

What I recommend to people just starting out thinking they've got DR is to remember the statistic that 80% of teenagers experience derealization to some degree. So it is something normal and the more you start accepting it as being serious, the more serious it will get.

However, I haven't experienced any of the physical symptoms that some people have mentioned and these seem more related to anxiety, which I couldn't comment on.

I have also read about how DR is directly related to the amygdala and I was wondering if anyone knows what effect 'clicking forward the amygdala' would have on DR?

I cannot beleive i found you guys! All my friends smoke pot and i've unfortunately given into peer pressure more than once. For a long time i smoked with my friends just because it was the thing to do, for about 2-3 years it never affected me at all, no high, no nothing. After that i went a year without smoking, took one hit and a half hour later i didnt know where i was. at band practice, i sat in a chair for about 4 hours, unable to remember what someone had said 3 seconds ago. It went away by the next day. Much later i gave into peer pressure once again, and I never really got over the high. My psychiatrist decided i had derealization. I knew it was from smoking, but everyone thought i was crazy when i suggested. It's very depressing, from time to time i even forget where i am, i feel like im in a dream constantly.

To knoodlez: if you do have derealization, its not at all like what i call derealization. its not something you can pull yourself out of. i dont have panic attacks, it isnt triggered by stress, anxiety, or anything of the sort, its just a constant feeling of unawareness, a high that never goes away.
When i tell people they think it would be cool to feel high all the time. It definately doesnt.

Thanks so much to the person that said to stare into the TV's 'snowy' screen for awhile.. afterwards I felt like it really helped, or maybe my mind just needed something to give me a reason to 'snap back' into reality. But it seems to have worked!! Wow.. coolies!! ahaha.. FUNNY.

Dear everyone!

When there is a very marked effect from a particular drug, and the symptoms do not seem to go away (which may last from weeks to even years), and all the usually indicated remedies fail i.e Nux Vomica, Sulphur etc, the best course of action, if one is ABSOLUTELY SURE the drug was the triggering factor of the symptoms, the best mode of action is to apply that drug in potency. I have used this method MANY times in clinical practice, and have used potencies of everything from Cannabis to LSD, crack cocaine and even Amyl Nitrate. The most amazing case I ever saw from this method was the application of LSD in potency of a patient who had been mentally unwell since using the drug heavily some 20 years previously, who telephoned me three days after it's administartion to tell me he had just come down from a 20 year long trip.

Caution is advised though, and thi method shouldonly be used when all other indicated remedies have been tried, and the patient is quite sure that the drug was the cause of the condition, such as the case of Erin at the begining of this thread.

RE: Cannabis itself, personally this is the only use I have found for this drug, and would not even apply it in potency for any other reason. It is a foul drug, and does not correspond in it's entirety to any disease complex likely to affect man naturally.

For further information for those who feel they may need to try this method...
Cannabis Indica=Hashish
Cannabis Sativa=weed

Best wishes.


-Jacob.

Hi,

And how on earth can I get hold of LSD in potency?

Best wishes

Martin

Heh, it never used to be available, and we had to make do with Ergot, which sometimes provided relief. However, potencies ARE now available, and many pharmacies now carry them, although they are rather candid about this, with all the rediculous new laws that are coming into place. I know of a certain pharmacy here in the UK that stocks it, but for obvious reasons I will not say which, you will have to do some calling around. If you have any problems finding the remedy, you can contact Patrick Durham in New Zealand, from whom all these potencies have been obtained.

Good luck!


-Jacob.

I'll definately have to see where i can get ahold of some in the states.

Hi, my name's David and I am 16.

The other day I tried some Marijuana for the first time and it had a horrible effect one me, I felt nervous, scared, and completely out of control. My mom and dad easily figured it out, and talked to me about it. I wasn't punished, but I still felt really bad for trying it.

Anyways, since then I have felt all wrong. At first I thought it was just because the marijuana hadn't worn off, but now I know it can't be that. I have total derealization, and I constantly feel like I'm dreaming. I feel like I'm no longer in reality, and I am scared constantly. I feel like I'm in a total dream world, and all I want is to wake up again. I can't concentrate on anything, and this is bad because I have school work.

I seriously need some help. Should I visit a doctor? And if so, who do I visit? A psychiatrist? Or a physician?

david-r

i know what u r going through and i would suggest you visit your regular doctor first, then maybe a psychiatrist.

I cant beleive this...ive had no idea what happended to me for two years now. I smoked weed occasionaly, and now ive had this disease that i finally have a name for, derealization, and suddenly i see this page with all these other people taht have the same problem. I thought it just came from stress but maybe it was a combination. My derealization caused me to be very depressed, break up with my girlfriend, smoke weed more to try to escape, and then smoking weed somehow ended up giving me social anxiety disorder. If I dont find a way to make things better soon, ill just end it.

im only 15 years old and ive had light headness for about a year. one night at a party i took only 1 hit of marijuana and about 10 minutes later i had a severe panic attack. i felt like i was going to die and told everyone to get me help but they just thought i was high. ever since then ive been dealing with lightheadness every day and ive been to doctors and they think it is a heart aryythmia. i will go to a cardiologist this friday to find out. but today i have been feeling like if i move my heart will stop. ive been feeling very unreal. im scared and i just want this to go away.