35 replies to this topic

Can someone who is in a relaxed state of Body and Mind have DP?

Is it possible for DP to stay alive in someone who is not under any Stress, or Anxiety? And Yes ! People can be Relaxed and Anxiety free for the most part!!

Anxiety seems to be the fuel that keeps the DP burning like a wild fire out of control, and if the DP is smothered so to speak by taking away its fuel source ( The Anxiety ) then the fire will in time will die out, there is no choice!

Back to the question... Are there people here who can honestly say that their Anxiety is under control, and they are still dealing with this DP??

I just don’t think that would be the case...

Control the Anxiety and say goodbye to the DP!!

Yes! I understand its easier said than done, hell Its been with me for X amount of years... How can I change? I know I said this to myself when I got this DP and I knew back then getting rid of my Anxiety would be the Key to getting rid of the DP. And that freaked me out since I have had Anxiety for a very long time and could I make the changes in myself after all of these years... Sure why not? Have I really ever really put in the effort to work on my Anxiety? Not really... So how would I know unless I did try! And I have been working on this the past 4 months and have made some great progress I must tell you!

Just remember the Anxiety is not you! Its just a part of you that developed over time and this can be changed if we just put the work in to do so! Meds alone can't beat Anxiety, its just not enough!!! Anxiety is just a way of life that has gotten out of hand...

All of you out there who are trying out all of these different Meds to see if they can get rid of their DP and so far with no such luck, I ask you this… How are your Anxiety levels? Are you still dealing with anxiety as well as the DP? It seems to me that all the focus is on the DP which makes sense, but maybe we need to really look closer at the Anxiety, especially the anxiety created over thinking about the DP itself!

Please respond lets figure out what we need to do to beat this crap!! I just feel from all I have read and learned that the Anxiety is the Key to all of this! It just makes perfect sense… Why does DP just come and go for others??? Maybe they just were better equipped to deal with it… There has to be a common denominator to all of this!!
It just cant be this Mysterious, or could it?? I doubt it.

Lets get some good conversation going on this topic!!! Lets get to the bottom of this condition... If you don't think its anxiety keeping this DP alive tell us what you think it is!

Scott

P.S Yes we will always have to deal with some Anxiety thats just life. But when we get to the point that it starts to disrupt out lives then its a problem! The DP entered in when the Anxiety got to be too much and until it feels its work is done then it just hangs around until it feels you are doing better! And Yes there will be exeptions to the rule but I think as a whole we will find ou that this pretty much is the case...

I figured there would be a few cases but I imagine the percentage is low.. Either way that still is disturbing in itself!

I feel like my Anxiety is under control for the most part, but I still am working on moments were Im dwelling upon the feelings from this DP and in return feeling some anxiety ( Hot flashes just from thinking about the DP for a moment or two and then it goes right away ). But I’m getting there! I just think this has to be a big part of it.
Perhaps with the others that feel they have their Anxiety under control , there might be underlying issues that they are just unaware of ??

The DP for the most part is generated from Anxiety. I now remember feeling it during very stressful moments, but it only lasted maybe a min or so. Obviously DP is brought on by Panic attacks (The more severe side of anxiety) and then there is the DP that is brought on by Traumatic events in someone’s life... And lastly there is the DP that seems to just appear without no reason... just out of thin air?? ( Im not so sure of this..)
Its easy enough to see what brings it on! But why is it so hard to understand what the trick is in getting it to go away... The two would have to be connected?

DP for the most part does make sense, but what does not is why it keeps hanging around for others??
Sure the mind is very complex and trying to figure the in's and out's of it are hard to understand. So that is what makes it so difficult to understand. As far as the duration that one has it, its very different for everyone. Its spread out from weeks, months, to years! Which to me indicates the individual ( factor ) in all of this... We are all different in the way that we act and behave and most of all ,we are different in our genetic make up ( our DNA ) so I guess it does make sense in the duration that this DP hangs on for.

I just think we have to look deep within ourselves and explore all avenues ! Be sure that there are no hidden stresses that could be effecting us and most of all really look at our anxiety levels... be honest with ourselves and don’t try to gloss over things because that will not help matters on bit. Most of all we just have to work on the anxiousness we can have from living with this DP, which is the hardest part and could be the path out of this Hell!

Its a tough challenge! Needing to lower our Anxiety levels perhaps to be able to get out of this DPed state is a job in itself, but then we have the DP pushing back at us keeping the anxiety going! Not that the DP actually does this its really our reaction to the DP! We must work on our reaction to the DP just as much as our everyday anxiety itself... Its hard to do but it can be done, we must not let this DP shake us up!! Because all that does is keeps the cycle alive and thus keeping the DP alive too. Doing this and working on our Anxiety issues we had before the DP makes total sense!
If were just sitting by idle just waiting for things to change on their own, they won’t We have to do the work in order to be Rewarded and if we do then we will be!

Of coarse Im far from an expert on this but I think Im not far off...

[flat]

Yes the onset of dp is usually directly related to an episode of high anxiety...at least it was for me. But the weird part is the dp seems to have "replaced" the anxiety and doesn't want to go away. Since my dp started I have had hardly any anxious moments. The dp is just non-stop there...like a party guest who has worn out his welcome. If the dp goes away will the anxiety return? I don't know. Are we somehow "addicted" to dp because of the weirdness of it? Have we become obsessed with it to the point that we can't let it go? It is a freaking mystery.

Hey Flat !

I was going to say the same thing... You read my mind!

Thats what it seems like to me, it almost like the DP has become an Anxiety symptom in itself for some reason.

I too do not feel much anxiety these days either. Dont figure! But I have been working on my past anxiety trigers and feel Im responsible for some of the reduction. Anxiety can come in many forms though and I wonder if we just dont notice it as much?

Deep breathing has made a big difference for me in dealing with the DP feeling which Im trying to just roll with these days.

I just keep thinking of how I would get this feeling in the past ( not very often ) and how quickly it would go 30-60 seconds tops, but we must not be back to our baseline yet or the DP would have left by now, Im thinking??

I agree that we probably aren't back to "baseline". I have something to say that i think really shows this to be true.
I take this medication called cogentin which is benztropine and it helps my derealization. It takes me back to a state which is somewhere closer to having normal eyesight. (My colour vision and visual perception has never been the same since the dr started) It's the only thing that has really taken the edge of my dr. By the way, i reccommed people with dr as their main symptom should try it but that's another story. Well last month I took more than i usually take and my dr went away much more than usual. I guess that makes sense. But under the influence of benztropine i felt so close to normal and i KNOW what normal is because I have vey clear memories of how I was before the dr even though it was 19 years ago.

And in this state I experienced more anxiety, in fact it was at quite a high level. It was this nagging feeling of anxiety that can only be relieved by the drug wearing off and going into a state of derealization. This tells me that when I get closer to "baseline" or closer to how I'm supposed to be the anxiety is still there but I don't notice it because the dr does a good job of causing me to not feel it.

I hope that makes sense. This has been a remarkable time for me lately discovering this stuff about dp/dr.

[peachy]

i used to have anxiety but i haven't had it in years now and the dp is just as bad, if not worse.

[PPPP]

If there's a person in this world who never feels anxious there's something wrong with them.

[peachy]

TRUE, Depersonalization Disorder exists on its own. I believe it occurs mainly in individuals with stroke, tumors and head injury. This doesn't mean this doesn't cause the sufferer distress.

dreamer, could you elaborate on what you mean by head injury? is there any studies done on this and what not? i don't know much about the effects it would have and i'm quite interested to see how they apply. and you seem to have all the answers
i'm so thankful for that!

[peachy]

i had a head injury, a severe concussion though, but it happened at such a young age in my life that i'm wondering if that could have any effect. i was suffering from hallucinations following the concussion as well as some sort of a personality change. the thing is, i supposedly only hit my head on a glass table so i am very confused. :? hmm that doesn't seem like enough.