Joined
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22 Posts
Hi there peeps.
I haven't really visited the site much in the last couple of months, mainly due to feeling pretty much back to normal (you will find when you start to
recover you are no longer looking for answers all of the time). I can confidently say that I am 95% recovered, and would like to pass a few tips on to you which I am sure would help most of you greatly.
1) Depersonalisation/Derealisation is linked to anxiety/depression, so bear this in mind all the time, don't be thinking you have some weird disease that cannot be cured.
2) To fully recover, you need to fully accept your symptoms for what they are, just symptoms of anxiety and depression!!, don't be afraid of them, just accept them. This can be extremely hard at first, I know from experience, but it truly does work, for example, if your legs feel like jelly, just accept it and continue on with what you are doing, your legs won't give out on you no matter how much you think they might. If you are still complaining about feeling derealised, your vision, or whatever on a day to day basis then I can tell you that you haven't fully accepted your symptoms and you will stay afraid of them until such point as you do accept them.
3) Recovery takes time, I was always under the impression I would wake up one morning and blam, it would be all gone. However, I can tell you from experience that it is a slow process and you are likely to have setbacks, but remember each setback is a step closer towards recovery. It has taken a good 3-4 months to get to where I am now. Therefore, just let time pass and don't worry about how long it will take to get better. Remember that the months/years of anxiety you have experienced has sensitised nervous system so much that it will take time to get back to normal, leading me onto the next tip.
4) What does normal feel like - this is a hard one, but you have to rememeber that the symptoms you are feeling are normal symptoms that everyone has, for example, a person going for a job interview will feel nautious, his legs may feel like jelly, his hands may shake and his breathing may be rapid, however after the interview these symptoms will disappear. However, an anxious person has such a sensitised nervous system that anything, even just a thought or memory, can make you experience any of the symptoms associated with anxiety, although this will differ on a personal basis. Just remember that normal does not mean you will not experience these symptoms, normal means you will experience them as and only when really needed.
5) If you suffer badly from anxiety symptoms, then even if your doctors objects, get yourself on a low dose of benzodiazepine (e.g. Diazepam). I took a 2mg tablet of Diazepam three times a day and this helped me cope greatly. I slowly reduced the dosage until two months later I no longer need them and havent touched them for over a month now, so although there is an element of risk with addiction, I don't believe it is that great and the pros certainly outweigh the cons.
6) EXERCISE - you may not feel like doing this at first, but I can tell you that exercise helps you greatly, during vigorous exercise you will experience a fair few of the anxiety symptoms you get now, such as weak legs, dizzyness, blurry vision, nautiosness, but don't worry about it, this is perfectly normal and will help your nervous system settle down to normal levels. I personally now do 45 vigorous mins on my exercise bike, three times a week, and three weight-lifting sessions a week and I have never felt or looked as good, it's great confidence boost which leads me onto the next tip.
7) Avoidance leads to a lack of confidence, and you can end up in a vicious circle. I know you all feel like it's much easier to just sit at home curled up on the sofa or bed, but this is doing you no good whatsoever. To gain confidence again, you need to get out and do the things you used to enjoy doing, believe me this isn't easy, but each time you do this you will gain more confidence, if you feel really bad, just accept it and carry on with it.
8) Diet is veryimportant in the recovery process, don't just rely on eating junk food, no matter how much you may feel like it, this will just destroy your confidence, make you feel bad, put on weight and feel sluggish and lazy. You don't have to go mad, but just make sure you eat plenty of fruit, vegetables and protein and most importantly, drink plenty of water, at least two litres a day, dehydration can cause many of symptoms asssociated with anxiety.
9) Thoughts and memories - these will be one of the last symptoms to vanish and could take quite some time, just remember this following statement "The grieving process over the death of a loved one can take a long time, however from day to day you will gradually feel better and the memories will no longer hurt so much, however you will never truly forget the person you have lost". Similarly, it will take time for the thoughts and memories from the past months/years to recede and not hurt/scare you as much but eventually this will happen, also you will truly never forget the experience which is probably a good thing as the experience makes you a much stronger person in the long run.
10) Finally, just remember that you aren't the only people to experience this condition, millions of people across the world have been in a similar position and have recovered, you just won't find many of these people on these forums as they are back out enjoying life to the full, so try not to obsess too much over thinking that you will never recover, because you will. The recovery process lies within all of us and no one other than yourself can make yourself recover.
Anyway, I thought that some of the tips above may be of use to some of you, as I know from personal experience that all of the above is true. If any of you have specific questions then either post them on here or at a more personal level you can email me at [email protected].
Cheers,
Graham (Leeds, UK)
I haven't really visited the site much in the last couple of months, mainly due to feeling pretty much back to normal (you will find when you start to
recover you are no longer looking for answers all of the time). I can confidently say that I am 95% recovered, and would like to pass a few tips on to you which I am sure would help most of you greatly.
1) Depersonalisation/Derealisation is linked to anxiety/depression, so bear this in mind all the time, don't be thinking you have some weird disease that cannot be cured.
2) To fully recover, you need to fully accept your symptoms for what they are, just symptoms of anxiety and depression!!, don't be afraid of them, just accept them. This can be extremely hard at first, I know from experience, but it truly does work, for example, if your legs feel like jelly, just accept it and continue on with what you are doing, your legs won't give out on you no matter how much you think they might. If you are still complaining about feeling derealised, your vision, or whatever on a day to day basis then I can tell you that you haven't fully accepted your symptoms and you will stay afraid of them until such point as you do accept them.
3) Recovery takes time, I was always under the impression I would wake up one morning and blam, it would be all gone. However, I can tell you from experience that it is a slow process and you are likely to have setbacks, but remember each setback is a step closer towards recovery. It has taken a good 3-4 months to get to where I am now. Therefore, just let time pass and don't worry about how long it will take to get better. Remember that the months/years of anxiety you have experienced has sensitised nervous system so much that it will take time to get back to normal, leading me onto the next tip.
4) What does normal feel like - this is a hard one, but you have to rememeber that the symptoms you are feeling are normal symptoms that everyone has, for example, a person going for a job interview will feel nautious, his legs may feel like jelly, his hands may shake and his breathing may be rapid, however after the interview these symptoms will disappear. However, an anxious person has such a sensitised nervous system that anything, even just a thought or memory, can make you experience any of the symptoms associated with anxiety, although this will differ on a personal basis. Just remember that normal does not mean you will not experience these symptoms, normal means you will experience them as and only when really needed.
5) If you suffer badly from anxiety symptoms, then even if your doctors objects, get yourself on a low dose of benzodiazepine (e.g. Diazepam). I took a 2mg tablet of Diazepam three times a day and this helped me cope greatly. I slowly reduced the dosage until two months later I no longer need them and havent touched them for over a month now, so although there is an element of risk with addiction, I don't believe it is that great and the pros certainly outweigh the cons.
6) EXERCISE - you may not feel like doing this at first, but I can tell you that exercise helps you greatly, during vigorous exercise you will experience a fair few of the anxiety symptoms you get now, such as weak legs, dizzyness, blurry vision, nautiosness, but don't worry about it, this is perfectly normal and will help your nervous system settle down to normal levels. I personally now do 45 vigorous mins on my exercise bike, three times a week, and three weight-lifting sessions a week and I have never felt or looked as good, it's great confidence boost which leads me onto the next tip.
7) Avoidance leads to a lack of confidence, and you can end up in a vicious circle. I know you all feel like it's much easier to just sit at home curled up on the sofa or bed, but this is doing you no good whatsoever. To gain confidence again, you need to get out and do the things you used to enjoy doing, believe me this isn't easy, but each time you do this you will gain more confidence, if you feel really bad, just accept it and carry on with it.
8) Diet is veryimportant in the recovery process, don't just rely on eating junk food, no matter how much you may feel like it, this will just destroy your confidence, make you feel bad, put on weight and feel sluggish and lazy. You don't have to go mad, but just make sure you eat plenty of fruit, vegetables and protein and most importantly, drink plenty of water, at least two litres a day, dehydration can cause many of symptoms asssociated with anxiety.
9) Thoughts and memories - these will be one of the last symptoms to vanish and could take quite some time, just remember this following statement "The grieving process over the death of a loved one can take a long time, however from day to day you will gradually feel better and the memories will no longer hurt so much, however you will never truly forget the person you have lost". Similarly, it will take time for the thoughts and memories from the past months/years to recede and not hurt/scare you as much but eventually this will happen, also you will truly never forget the experience which is probably a good thing as the experience makes you a much stronger person in the long run.
10) Finally, just remember that you aren't the only people to experience this condition, millions of people across the world have been in a similar position and have recovered, you just won't find many of these people on these forums as they are back out enjoying life to the full, so try not to obsess too much over thinking that you will never recover, because you will. The recovery process lies within all of us and no one other than yourself can make yourself recover.
Anyway, I thought that some of the tips above may be of use to some of you, as I know from personal experience that all of the above is true. If any of you have specific questions then either post them on here or at a more personal level you can email me at [email protected].
Cheers,
Graham (Leeds, UK)
