depersonalization/derealization

jinul1m64 · Post by **jinul1m64** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:05 pm

wow i didn't realize that my topic would be such a hot spot. it certainly does suck that we all have to go through this. i alleviate some of the intensity of the symptoms by recognizing them as just symptoms of anxiety. i try not to be scared of them but it's very hard...and i'm pretty sure all of you can relate. i had a few questions for you guys though...the derealization/depersonalization for me has been VERY intense. where ever i go...i cannot feel the same experiences/memories that i once felt before the panic. it seems like everything is so alien to me...people, places, etc. it's almost as if i feel like i'm living in a different dimension than most people. even right now...me being in my house feels very surreal to me for some odd reason. i don't get the same feelings that familiar places once gave me. these symptoms scare the living hell out of me. it's as if i really screwed up my brain and now i can't seem to fix it. can anyone relate?

jinul1m64 · Post by **jinul1m64** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:09 pm

hopefully the post above makes sense. i really don't know how to describe it in words but in general...i just feel really weird.

heres the other question...

i don't know if it's because of the derealization/depersonalisation...but i'll be questioning/over-analyzing everything. I can just be driving and see everything pass by me. i'll then start to think...jeez it's really weird how time works...it's weird how everything is passing by me. i'll then become obsessed of how time works and i just don't get it. i try to think like god and see how everything is created and how everything works. even with reading...i'll think jeez it's really weird how i'm reading right now. how am i actually reading...how does the brain work so that i actually read? can anyone relate to this?

Faith_TX · Post by **Faith_TX** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:58 am

Yes I can relate to that, especially to everything seeming surreal like I'm in another dimension. I don't have it so much any more, but it used to be constant.

Also, if I have a really busy weekend where I do a lot of fun stuff, then I'm home alone in quiet, it feels a little odd because then I'm alone with my thoughts.

It's totally common with anxiety.

want relief · Post by **want relief** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 4:30 am

I read alot of your post a lot because we do share the same symptoms do you feel like that all day or in periods i took paxil and it messed me up that when i start having this feelings not so real but i stop taking it now im going thru withdraw the dr said. I feel real awful i have obssesion now i never had before or while on paxil and it is really bad. i hate those meds they make you feel real wierd. he wants me to try zoloft for 4 weeks he said it helps with the withdraw.

Faith_TX · Post by **Faith_TX** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:27 pm

Thank goodness I only feel like that once in awhile now. I had a period where it was quite often but as you learn to relax and your nerves calm down too your body doesn't go into protective mode, which is what makes your body produce all the extra adrenaline and make you feel so out of it.

Hiram · Post by **Hiram** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:21 am

jinul1m64,

Join the club.

I know exactly what you're experiencing. You've explained it perfectly. It is a VERY unpleasant feeling. However, it is like a wood-burning fire. If you continue to add to it and stir it up, it will continue to burn. I experienced it non-stop for about 3months. Prior to that it was off and on. For the last several weeks it's been alomost non existant. THANK GOD!!

I realized the results of fueling it because it started-out intermittant, then the more I stressed over it the more prominant it became. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat more about it. Hang in there. This too will pass.

Belinda333 · Post by **Belinda333** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:19 pm

Hi Everyone,
I just read all the posts on here and I also can totally relate. Anxiety and panic has plagued me my whole life, but depersonalization has been the worst part of it.
After i got off of Klonopin, it was at its worst. My doctor gave me Celexa, and I'm better. Different meds work on different people.
I don't get it as much now, only when i think and obsess over it. Then, I tell myself, "I don't do that anymore." For some reason, those words help me to snap out of the trance like fog. I then use some distraction and feel fine.

Don't fight it...it only makes it worse. Just float with it and it will go by fast.

want relief · Post by **want relief** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:29 am

hey i was wondering was this feeling from meds or just the way you felt

Hiram · Post by **Hiram** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:04 am

Want Relief,

I'm not on any meds and I've dealt with this. Not so much anymore but as I mentioned in a previous post it was bad for about 3mos.

labourg · Post by **labourg** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:19 am

Jinul..

You are not alone! I have been following this thread as this is probably my worst symptom. I could have written your post!! I constantly feel spacey and weird and question everything!! I will sit there and watch TV and get completely lost and then the thoughts start...did I just watch that? How did I watch that? Was that real or a dream? Is my life a dream? And I especially think about time and time passing by...again, like obsessed with it. It is a horrible thing. I have read that the more you think about it, the more it comes. The greatest thing that has worked for me is extreme distraction..something you have to be completely absorbed in...a book, puzzle, video games, knitting, anything with your hands. I know it is hard for me at work (as I just can't pull out my knitting at my desk) but slowly but surely, I am hoping this symptom will fade away with the others. Keep the faith!!