6 replies to this topic

[Interested]

Hi everyone

2 of the main methods for curing anxiety/dp are:

1) acceptance and floating techniques
2) distraction


It is interesting to me that these seem to be in conflict with each other. (I am testing the acceptance method now after diversion/distraction after not getting the results I wanted from diversion)

Which one should we be doing?

NOTE - they are in conflict because if you are diverting yourself all the time you are NOT accepting and floating through etc

[flat]

I think that first we accept it, then we try to float thru it by distracting ourselves from it. I wish it were that easy.

[Tommygunz]

i understrand why you would think that they contradict one another. but in truth they can't really work without each other. at least in the case of DP. the acceptance side of it is more like the AA way of acceptance, ya know, the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. kinda, finding peace with the fact that you have DP. and the distraction is more like moving on, and learning to live day to day without DP/DR being the focus of your everyday thoughts. the two terms are as figurative as they are literal. in order to truly recover you need both. and when you spell it out it makes sense why they are so difficult to acheive at the same time. because they do seem to contradict each other. it's only when you figure out how to say, "something is wronge, and thats okay, because i am going to fix it by forgetting about it and moving on with my life", that you recover. kinda like what you don't know can't hurt ya, or, out of sight out of mind. see why this is a problem for people trying to recover, it defies common logic. we know that in order to fix something you must apply yourself and fix it. but with DP it is quite the contrary, you must recognize the problem, ignore it and forget about it.

of course theres the elephant in the room problem, when your trying to forget about it, you remember it even more. thats where disraction comes in. find something that pulls you away from your thoughts. above all, physical activity, sports, nature walks, goin for a jog with some good music. things that are good for the mind and body and pull you away from DP are the best for teaching your mind to forget about DP.

unfortunately it comes down to one thing, each person discovering there own balance of acceptance and distraction. no one can tell you how to do it, it's something you just start doing when you have it figured out. like all things worth knowing in life, recovering from DP is one of those things ya just have to figure out for yourself.

good luck with finding the balance. and i apologize if this post doesn't make sense, it's hard to describe properly, and it wouldn't have made since to me before i figured it out.

[PSUgirl]

i understrand why you would think that they contradict one another. but in truth they can't really work without each other. at least in the case of DP. the acceptance side of it is more like the AA way of acceptance, ya know, the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. kinda, finding peace with the fact that you have DP. and the distraction is more like moving on, and learning to live day to day without DP/DR being the focus of your everyday thoughts. the two terms are as figurative as they are literal. in order to truly recover you need both. and when you spell it out it makes sense why they are so difficult to acheive at the same time. because they do seem to contradict each other. it's only when you figure out how to say, "something is wronge, and thats okay, because i am going to fix it by forgetting about it and moving on with my life", that you recover. kinda like what you don't know can't hurt ya, or, out of sight out of mind. see why this is a problem for people trying to recover, it defies common logic. we know that in order to fix something you must apply yourself and fix it. but with DP it is quite the contrary, you must recognize the problem, ignore it and forget about it.

of course theres the elephant in the room problem, when your trying to forget about it, you remember it even more. thats where disraction comes in. find something that pulls you away from your thoughts. above all, physical activity, sports, nature walks, goin for a jog with some good music. things that are good for the mind and body and pull you away from DP are the best for teaching your mind to forget about DP.

unfortunately it comes down to one thing, each person discovering there own balance of acceptance and distraction. no one can tell you how to do it, it's something you just start doing when you have it figured out. like all things worth knowing in life, recovering from DP is one of those things ya just have to figure out for yourself.

good luck with finding the balance. and i apologize if this post doesn't make sense, it's hard to describe properly, and it wouldn't have made since to me before i figured it out.

lol at ur last sentence. It made complete sense to me and i agree. thanks.

[Hoopesy]

It's a mixture of the two. First you accept, and I mean really accept it. Don't accept it for a week and get frustrated when it's not gone. You need to just submit to it and go about your life. Distraction is the next step. Keep busy with your friends, job, schooling, and hobbies. If you find yourself "not doing anything" force yourself to get busy. Other than that diet, exercise, sleep, and no drugs will speed along the process. But as I'm starting to find out we have to stop coming to the forums which obviously remind us of DP.

[nix]

I agree with everything mentioned above.

[Interested]

thanks for the replies everyone. Yeah it is a bit confusing when one method says don't distract yourself, accept the feelings kind of thing. Then the other says don't focus on your anxiety, distract yourself!

The message in these responses is that for dp it is a blended combination of the two approaches, acceptance and distraction