A huge thanks to everyone that replied. "Sunnyweather" you are awsome. I'm sitting here crying after reading your post. I have spent many days and countless hours wondering if this will ever go away. I worried daily how or if I could go on if it never went away. Every day is suck a struggle. With the program i have noticed that the stress and anxiety has lessened slightly. Your responce has lifted a "HUGE" weight off my shoulders that has been there for a long time. I know that i'm going to get better. I look foward to getting the information you will be sending.
Again may thanks to everyone.
Amy
Derealization & Depersonalization
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sunnyweather
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:12 am
Of course- I am so happy to help. Writing here is a great way for me to work on my minor anxieties and struggles as well- but I've been where all of you are at, felt the same desperation and hopelessness- but those are just feelings, they in no way are "foretelling" your future. I promise that much.
At the bottom of this post is a post that helped me tremendously when I went through dp/dr. I hope it gives you some comfort and patience to let this blow over, in its own time. Again, I don't want to take credit for it, (I think it was a post from the name KAREL if you want to look it up). Take care!
Hi my first post on here.
I have noticed a lot of posts on this feeling so I thought i would share an article I once wrote on the subject. I am now fully recovered and what I write here is what helped me overcome this symptom.
Depersonalisation
D.P., as I will refer to it, is a common and understandable offshoot of the anxiety condition. I can also tell you that it is in no way a mental illness. It is not serious or harmful in any way and has a totally logical explanation. It is temporary and, with patience and understanding, eventually passes like any other symptom.
The key to recovering from this feeling of detachment is to surrender to this strange feeling, to pay it no respect and realise it is just the product of an over-tired mind, fatigued by your constant worrying thoughts and the constant checking in to how you feel. This symptom relies on your fear of it to keep it alive.
When people are caught up in the worry cycle, they begin to think deeply and constantly. They study themselves from deep within, checking in and focusing on their symptoms. They may even wake in the morning only to continue this habit, “How do I feel this morning? “I wonder if I will be able to get through today”. What’s this new sensation I feel?” This may go on all day, exhausting their already tired mind further. This constant checking in and constant assessing of their symptoms then becomes a habit, but like all other habits this one can also be changed.
All this worry is bound to make your mind feel dull and unresponsive. Is it any wonder you have come to feel so distanced from your surroundings? Is it any wonder you find it so hard to concentrate? Some people, when studying for exams for hours on end, get to the point where they can no longer take information in, so they take a break and carry on the day after. For you, there are no breaks and no time outs.
As I have already mentioned earlier, your body has a safety mechanism that protects it from all this worry and slows the mind down to safeguard itself. It takes a step back from this onslaught, which can then produce your feelings of detachment and the world around you may become hazy or out of focus.
Once you understand this symptom as being caused by an over-tired mind, exhausted through worry, that you are not going mad and these feelings can’t harm you in any way, it makes sense. With the fear factor taken out of this symptom, it can start to hold less power over you and affect you less than it did before. Although still annoying, you now know why you feel these feelings. Once you learn to accept them and stop adding worrying thoughts to the mix, this is another symptom that you will be able to overcome in time. Taking a step back and giving up the worrying thoughts, gives your mind the chance to rest, rejuvenate and refresh.
When it happened to me, I recognised and understood what was causing it. I realised that I was checking in and worrying about it and I did fear this sensation, so I just stopped doing it. I also learnt to get busier and stop brooding on this and other symptoms. Being active gives you another focus. Having too much time on your hands can open the door to too much needless thinking. With less worry and fear of this harmless but upsetting symptom, I was eventually able to overcome it. It merely became a nuisance and because I knew the reason for its existence, it no longer held any power over me. When a worry or fear loses its importance, it loses its power and that is why it is essential to realise these symptoms are neither harmful nor serious. Gradually, without all the checking in and worrying, this symptom that so dominated my life began to diminish and eventually disappeared completely.
This symptom is like any other; all symptoms are still being fuelled by your fear of them. As long as the fear continues, so will the symptoms. When we start to understand why we feel like we do, we automatically fear them less and they start to lose their edge and importance, this is when symptoms gradually start to fade.
Hope this helps people understand.
Take care
At the bottom of this post is a post that helped me tremendously when I went through dp/dr. I hope it gives you some comfort and patience to let this blow over, in its own time. Again, I don't want to take credit for it, (I think it was a post from the name KAREL if you want to look it up). Take care!
Hi my first post on here.
I have noticed a lot of posts on this feeling so I thought i would share an article I once wrote on the subject. I am now fully recovered and what I write here is what helped me overcome this symptom.
Depersonalisation
D.P., as I will refer to it, is a common and understandable offshoot of the anxiety condition. I can also tell you that it is in no way a mental illness. It is not serious or harmful in any way and has a totally logical explanation. It is temporary and, with patience and understanding, eventually passes like any other symptom.
The key to recovering from this feeling of detachment is to surrender to this strange feeling, to pay it no respect and realise it is just the product of an over-tired mind, fatigued by your constant worrying thoughts and the constant checking in to how you feel. This symptom relies on your fear of it to keep it alive.
When people are caught up in the worry cycle, they begin to think deeply and constantly. They study themselves from deep within, checking in and focusing on their symptoms. They may even wake in the morning only to continue this habit, “How do I feel this morning? “I wonder if I will be able to get through today”. What’s this new sensation I feel?” This may go on all day, exhausting their already tired mind further. This constant checking in and constant assessing of their symptoms then becomes a habit, but like all other habits this one can also be changed.
All this worry is bound to make your mind feel dull and unresponsive. Is it any wonder you have come to feel so distanced from your surroundings? Is it any wonder you find it so hard to concentrate? Some people, when studying for exams for hours on end, get to the point where they can no longer take information in, so they take a break and carry on the day after. For you, there are no breaks and no time outs.
As I have already mentioned earlier, your body has a safety mechanism that protects it from all this worry and slows the mind down to safeguard itself. It takes a step back from this onslaught, which can then produce your feelings of detachment and the world around you may become hazy or out of focus.
Once you understand this symptom as being caused by an over-tired mind, exhausted through worry, that you are not going mad and these feelings can’t harm you in any way, it makes sense. With the fear factor taken out of this symptom, it can start to hold less power over you and affect you less than it did before. Although still annoying, you now know why you feel these feelings. Once you learn to accept them and stop adding worrying thoughts to the mix, this is another symptom that you will be able to overcome in time. Taking a step back and giving up the worrying thoughts, gives your mind the chance to rest, rejuvenate and refresh.
When it happened to me, I recognised and understood what was causing it. I realised that I was checking in and worrying about it and I did fear this sensation, so I just stopped doing it. I also learnt to get busier and stop brooding on this and other symptoms. Being active gives you another focus. Having too much time on your hands can open the door to too much needless thinking. With less worry and fear of this harmless but upsetting symptom, I was eventually able to overcome it. It merely became a nuisance and because I knew the reason for its existence, it no longer held any power over me. When a worry or fear loses its importance, it loses its power and that is why it is essential to realise these symptoms are neither harmful nor serious. Gradually, without all the checking in and worrying, this symptom that so dominated my life began to diminish and eventually disappeared completely.
This symptom is like any other; all symptoms are still being fuelled by your fear of them. As long as the fear continues, so will the symptoms. When we start to understand why we feel like we do, we automatically fear them less and they start to lose their edge and importance, this is when symptoms gradually start to fade.
Hope this helps people understand.
Take care
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sunnyweather
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:12 am
One more post from KAREL-
The reply I promised you.
I know how hard this symptom can be and it was the last thing to go for me also. A lot of it is caused by habit, a habit of checking in. Habits can take a while to break, but they do in time. It never ceased to amaze me how habits could be changed and a new point of view eventually came through.
How I eventually overcame it was I did not even do the self-talk with the symptom, "This is only anxiety", "This is just my tired mind", I did do this but what I was really saying was "This is only anxiety, but please go away", I knew I was still giving it it's importance.
I knew that I had to just let it be there and to let it have it's space, I did not question or try to halt it in any way. Once I lost my fear of it I knew it would pass.
And in time I would just have fleeting moments of clear thinking and clear vision. I knew then that my tired mind was showing moments of recovery. I just carried on accepting this symptom without question and just kept moving forward, in time these fleeting moments became longer and eventually this symptom went.
It is about understanding also, someone can tell you to let it be there, but if you still fear it then it can still hold it's importance. I had a very good understanding of this symptom and also studied it as much as could, this made me realise exactly what was happening and the symptom did lose it's edge and importance. It is like a ache or a pain in your body, the more we concentrate on it the worse it seems to be, if we just let it be there the less it seems to bother us.
Hope this helps a little.
The reply I promised you.
I know how hard this symptom can be and it was the last thing to go for me also. A lot of it is caused by habit, a habit of checking in. Habits can take a while to break, but they do in time. It never ceased to amaze me how habits could be changed and a new point of view eventually came through.
How I eventually overcame it was I did not even do the self-talk with the symptom, "This is only anxiety", "This is just my tired mind", I did do this but what I was really saying was "This is only anxiety, but please go away", I knew I was still giving it it's importance.
I knew that I had to just let it be there and to let it have it's space, I did not question or try to halt it in any way. Once I lost my fear of it I knew it would pass.
And in time I would just have fleeting moments of clear thinking and clear vision. I knew then that my tired mind was showing moments of recovery. I just carried on accepting this symptom without question and just kept moving forward, in time these fleeting moments became longer and eventually this symptom went.
It is about understanding also, someone can tell you to let it be there, but if you still fear it then it can still hold it's importance. I had a very good understanding of this symptom and also studied it as much as could, this made me realise exactly what was happening and the symptom did lose it's edge and importance. It is like a ache or a pain in your body, the more we concentrate on it the worse it seems to be, if we just let it be there the less it seems to bother us.
Hope this helps a little.
Hi Sunnyweather,
Thanks so much for sending me the post. It makes me feel much better. Were did you get your information on this condition? I have found very little. I would like to read up on it. I printed out the post and will refer back to it throughout the day. I have a hard time focusing on anything but I'm going to try hard to remember the advice in the post you sent.
Thanks again, it helps to discuss this subject and to know that there are others who know how I feel and what I'm talking about.
Amy
Thanks so much for sending me the post. It makes me feel much better. Were did you get your information on this condition? I have found very little. I would like to read up on it. I printed out the post and will refer back to it throughout the day. I have a hard time focusing on anything but I'm going to try hard to remember the advice in the post you sent.
Thanks again, it helps to discuss this subject and to know that there are others who know how I feel and what I'm talking about.
Amy
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sunnyweather
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:12 am
Here's a great site to read personally about someone who has dealt with dp/dr specifically, and is now GREAT!
<A HREF="http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/deperson ... ation.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/deperson ... on.html</A>
I hope that helps.
<A HREF="http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/deperson ... ation.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/deperson ... on.html</A>
I hope that helps.