I am new here. I am doing the program and it makes complete sense and is helping!
I have a question.....does anyone else have thoughts that life is not real? I know it sounds so crazy, but i what if all of the time, like. What if I am not my kids mom, or am I really here, or what if things are not as they seem. I am constanly scaring myself with these thoughts. These thoughts cause me a lot of anxiety and panic. I am also one of those people who has been diagnosed with OCD. When these thoughts come I cannot seem to get rid of them. I feel like i am on the outside of myself looking in and this is the scarriest feel of all.
any input would be helpful right now! I need a little reasurrance.
What
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Guest
Hi,
That is just one of the many uncomfortable symptoms of anxiety. It will never kill you, it will always go away, and it's actually a sign that you are NOT "crazy". It can come in the form of depersonalization-thinking that you aren't real, or derealization-thinking that your surroundings aren't real or both. This program refers to the symptom as "bewilderment", and it will be talked about on your CD's.
Basically, it's a side effect of adrenaline that is produced by your body when you become frightened. It's your body's way of producing its own natural drugs in order to give yourself a break from stress. So, when it happens just say, "My body is producing it's own drugs now, and it won't hurt me." All of us, even if we don't have anxiety disorder, will do this at times in our lives. Some people just go, "I'm tired", when it happens and don't freak out. Some people like it:)! However, people who are anxious get afraid of it, produce more adrenaline, and the cycle grows.
I have been through major trauma in my life, and this was one of my major symptoms of anxiety that I absolutely hated. Two years ago, I would have never thought that I could be cured, and thank God I was wrong. It was really bad, and it was incapacitating. The severity of depersonalization is based on two main factors in my opinion. If your stress is greater without coping skills then the more severe it can become. For example, survivors of severe child abuse often have severe depersonalization as a symptom because their body is protecting them from severely painful circumstances. In addition, as adults, any triggers or reminders of abuse sets off depersonalization. A second factor is the strength of your identity. The stronger sense of identity that you have based on solid ground, the less likely you are to have this symptom. For example, let's say again that you were abused by your family of origin. You grow up and go out on your own. All of the sudden you develop horrible depersonalization. It could be that as a child you were busy surviving and didn't have time to develop a strong sense of identity, especially apart from your dysfunctional family. These are just some things to consider, but don't apply to everyone who has this symptom of anxiety. No matter what, when you gain good coping skills your body will have less of a need to use this symptom to give itself a break:).
So many things helped me. This program. People on here who reassured me that it was just my anxiety and why it was happening. Claire Weekes' books. Consistent exercise to get rid of the excess adrenaline that had built up in my body. And I can't emphasize enough learning about the importance of boundaries in my relationships with others and myself. I highly recommend the books, "Boundaries" by Dr. Henry Cloud and Townsend and "Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin" It doesn't seem like it's related to this symptom, but learning about boundaries was so important for me. For example, there was a period where I needed to rest, my body was telling to rest, and I was ignoring it and trying to please people by overworking. My body started to yell at me with depersonalization to get some rest. In a time of severe depersonalization I was living with my in-law's who have now been shown to be destructive. My body told me to get out of there with depersonalization because I didn't have the assertiveness skills to protect myself from them. Now that I have healthier boundaries and I can face issues with others and myself with more confidence, I really hardly ever have that symptom anymore. If I do have it, I listen to it as a signal to take care of myself or stand my ground with others where I need to, and it's worked out for me.
I also suggest that since you have just started to do this program, it's change. Just a different perspective on some deep rooted belief systems could be triggering you, but it's important to keep going at the right pace for you and you will find relief.
I hope something I said helped. Your question gets asked a lot on here so maybe you can scroll down and look at other threads dealing with this to get more help and reassurance. Some may actually ask about being in a dream or depersonalization, etc. I just noticed that no one had replied to you so I wanted to say at least something to reassure you:).
Take care,
luvpiggy
That is just one of the many uncomfortable symptoms of anxiety. It will never kill you, it will always go away, and it's actually a sign that you are NOT "crazy". It can come in the form of depersonalization-thinking that you aren't real, or derealization-thinking that your surroundings aren't real or both. This program refers to the symptom as "bewilderment", and it will be talked about on your CD's.
Basically, it's a side effect of adrenaline that is produced by your body when you become frightened. It's your body's way of producing its own natural drugs in order to give yourself a break from stress. So, when it happens just say, "My body is producing it's own drugs now, and it won't hurt me." All of us, even if we don't have anxiety disorder, will do this at times in our lives. Some people just go, "I'm tired", when it happens and don't freak out. Some people like it:)! However, people who are anxious get afraid of it, produce more adrenaline, and the cycle grows.
I have been through major trauma in my life, and this was one of my major symptoms of anxiety that I absolutely hated. Two years ago, I would have never thought that I could be cured, and thank God I was wrong. It was really bad, and it was incapacitating. The severity of depersonalization is based on two main factors in my opinion. If your stress is greater without coping skills then the more severe it can become. For example, survivors of severe child abuse often have severe depersonalization as a symptom because their body is protecting them from severely painful circumstances. In addition, as adults, any triggers or reminders of abuse sets off depersonalization. A second factor is the strength of your identity. The stronger sense of identity that you have based on solid ground, the less likely you are to have this symptom. For example, let's say again that you were abused by your family of origin. You grow up and go out on your own. All of the sudden you develop horrible depersonalization. It could be that as a child you were busy surviving and didn't have time to develop a strong sense of identity, especially apart from your dysfunctional family. These are just some things to consider, but don't apply to everyone who has this symptom of anxiety. No matter what, when you gain good coping skills your body will have less of a need to use this symptom to give itself a break:).
So many things helped me. This program. People on here who reassured me that it was just my anxiety and why it was happening. Claire Weekes' books. Consistent exercise to get rid of the excess adrenaline that had built up in my body. And I can't emphasize enough learning about the importance of boundaries in my relationships with others and myself. I highly recommend the books, "Boundaries" by Dr. Henry Cloud and Townsend and "Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin" It doesn't seem like it's related to this symptom, but learning about boundaries was so important for me. For example, there was a period where I needed to rest, my body was telling to rest, and I was ignoring it and trying to please people by overworking. My body started to yell at me with depersonalization to get some rest. In a time of severe depersonalization I was living with my in-law's who have now been shown to be destructive. My body told me to get out of there with depersonalization because I didn't have the assertiveness skills to protect myself from them. Now that I have healthier boundaries and I can face issues with others and myself with more confidence, I really hardly ever have that symptom anymore. If I do have it, I listen to it as a signal to take care of myself or stand my ground with others where I need to, and it's worked out for me.
I also suggest that since you have just started to do this program, it's change. Just a different perspective on some deep rooted belief systems could be triggering you, but it's important to keep going at the right pace for you and you will find relief.
I hope something I said helped. Your question gets asked a lot on here so maybe you can scroll down and look at other threads dealing with this to get more help and reassurance. Some may actually ask about being in a dream or depersonalization, etc. I just noticed that no one had replied to you so I wanted to say at least something to reassure you:).
Take care,
luvpiggy
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Guest
I have had this a lot with my anxiety. It has been my biggest scary part of my anxiety. I am soooo with you on this one. When I start to go through a stressful situation that is the first thing that seems to manifest itself. It happened to me when I moved in with my husband. It happened when I got pregnant with my first son and after I delivered my second. It's just your body's way of protecting itself from experiencing the stress. It is scary though and I have a hard time sometimes working through it. Just know you are not alone 
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Guest
I get this too sometimes... I do find it kind of interesting though... I watched some programs on quantum physics and particle matter and such and it kind of seemed to tie into that feeling of 'what are we really' just a bunch of matter milling around and bumping into eachother I do just hope I can hold my own matter together - haha. I agree with the others that it does go away, and I sometimes with hold on to or touch someone (my husband or dog or something) until I feel real again... I hope that doesn't sound crazy?
I do just hope I can hold my own matter together - haha. I agree with the others that it does go away, and I sometimes with hold on to or touch someone (my husband or dog or something) until I feel real again... I hope that doesn't sound crazy?