I am just curios. I have chosen the way of learning to accept them and my anxiety. I have always pushed unwanted thoughts and feelings away and for me it is a dead end to distract. But we are all different. It seems paradoxically that distracting and trying to avoid the feelings will cure DP because DP seems to start with a trauma that the brain tries to distance it self from. So I`m just curios if people find it helpful in the long run to distract?
Does really distracting you from the feelings/thougts from DP cure it?
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Diving into and embracing the hurt can transform it into peace.
The hurt can be looked at like Mud and when its embraced with the light of your awareness it can bloom into the lotus.
We are all full of so much potential.
Especially people on this site.
We need to face these feelings directly, reach into them and not turn away.
I think embodying the mindset that 'I Am exactly who i'm supposed to be"
Is very powerful, transformative and healing.
Forget about DP/DR, the label should be dropped. Its not who you are.
We are what we are, and its much more beauitful, deep and powerful then "DP".
The hurt can be looked at like Mud and when its embraced with the light of your awareness it can bloom into the lotus.
We are all full of so much potential.
Especially people on this site.
We need to face these feelings directly, reach into them and not turn away.
I think embodying the mindset that 'I Am exactly who i'm supposed to be"
Is very powerful, transformative and healing.
Forget about DP/DR, the label should be dropped. Its not who you are.
We are what we are, and its much more beauitful, deep and powerful then "DP".
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Having a broken leg doesn't make you a broken leg. Having a broken leg still sucks, though, and not identifying as that broken leg doesn't magically fix said leg.
No it dosent magically fix it, but it can be a big part of healing when you stop telling yourself "I have this or that" or "this isn't how I should be" and "i'm sick". Those thoughts reinforce the symptoms and become truth.
For me when i flipped that mindset and persistently told myself the opposite "i am exactly who i should be at all times" "this is exactly how I should be feeling" those thoughts manifested into my reality and there was no longer an inner conflict within me.
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Yup....Thats gonna work alright.....NOT!!!
The very heart of DP revolves around the loss of the sense of self and the loss of recognition of your environment. and the loss of regular feelings attached with that environment..
Face your feelings???? Half of the people on here have NO feelings and even if they do they are all terrifying.......
Embrace the hurt???? None of us even know what hurt caused this in the first place...
There is no feeling or hurt with DP just sheer terror and confusion and not knowing what to believe in......
Please stop pep talking...Thats not a good thing to do for DP sufferers...
We want solid answers NOT hocus pocus fantastical suggestions......We are people who doubt...Solid answers and proven treatments are what we want to put our minds at ease.....We are all sick to death of pep talks and guess work..........
Oh and BTW...Its literally impossible to forget about DP...In case you havent noticed...
Its not guess work though, I've put in thousands of hours of inner work over the last 5 years and it was a proven treatment for me. I talked more about what helped me in the Breath Awareness Meditation thread.
I've lived that struggle to my man, for 20 + years. i know the pain. and i've got rid of alot of those symptoms. If its not your cup of tea its all good, i'm sure theres a method/treatment out there that will suit you better, I just came back to the forum to shed some light on what helped me.
cheers
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Hi again Sun, I have been trying the breath meditation and it seems to be helping... very early days still but I posted a link about the neurobiology of why it might help in your thread.
I think there is a very distinct difference between early, intermittent DP and the disorder itself DPD which is chronic and actually has changes in neurobiology and brain structures, triggered by trauma and drugs and isn't simple to reverse. Simply forgetting about it and carrying on with your life is easier in those intermittent mild forms where distraction can actually get rid of the anxiety and therefore the symptoms.
I think the chronic DPD version actually needs medication or active things that will begin to reverse the brain structures keeping this in place. That makes it sound permanent but I still believe this can be overcome. IMO meditation could help that and has helped people with the chronic DPD version of this triggered my marijuana (Sun Yata above being one of them).
I guess it depends Yuri as to how long you've had this, when it was triggered and if its chronic or intermittent. If it is early, intermittent and caused by anxiety then certainly distracting yourself rather than ruminating on the disorder could help. If its later on ie 6 months or more, triggered by drugs and chronic, then in my experience simply trying to live as normal doesn't work as nothing is changing, And I find I can't exactly lead a normal life with chronic DPD, socialising and working are very very difficult. I do them to my best ability, but I no longer enjoy those aspects of my life
I think there is a very distinct difference between early, intermittent DP and the disorder itself DPD which is chronic and actually has changes in neurobiology and brain structures, triggered by trauma and drugs and isn't simple to reverse. Simply forgetting about it and carrying on with your life is easier in those intermittent mild forms where distraction can actually get rid of the anxiety and therefore the symptoms.
I think the chronic DPD version actually needs medication or active things that will begin to reverse the brain structures keeping this in place. That makes it sound permanent but I still believe this can be overcome. IMO meditation could help that and has helped people with the chronic DPD version of this triggered my marijuana (Sun Yata above being one of them).
I guess it depends Yuri as to how long you've had this, when it was triggered and if its chronic or intermittent. If it is early, intermittent and caused by anxiety then certainly distracting yourself rather than ruminating on the disorder could help. If its later on ie 6 months or more, triggered by drugs and chronic, then in my experience simply trying to live as normal doesn't work as nothing is changing, And I find I can't exactly lead a normal life with chronic DPD, socialising and working are very very difficult. I do them to my best ability, but I no longer enjoy those aspects of my life
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Only the people on here who have experienced chronic incapacitating DP can tell you how literally impossible it is to stop or alter the thinking patterns....
Anybody on here who has managed to "Think" their way out of DP has not had it in its chronic debilitating form....
The obsessive side to chronic DP is relentless and NO amount of positive thinking makes it go away...If that was the case DP wouldnt be an issue in any of our lives and we could just move along as if it never happened....That is simply not the case with this condition in its true chronic form...
Its basically the same as asking a person with schizophrenia to stop listening to the voices they are hearing...
I believe what you have actually experienced is your DP eased off with time...Which often happens for a certain group of sufferers...Of course they falsely believe that certain ways of thinking etc got them out of it...Thats just not the case...Not with true chronic incapacitating DP anyway...You CANNOT think your way out of true chronic DP...
Anybody on here who has managed to "Think" their way out of DP has not had it in its chronic debilitating form....
The obsessive side to chronic DP is relentless and NO amount of positive thinking makes it go away...If that was the case DP wouldnt be an issue in any of our lives and we could just move along as if it never happened....That is simply not the case with this condition in its true chronic form...
Its basically the same as asking a person with schizophrenia to stop listening to the voices they are hearing...
I believe what you have actually experienced is your DP eased off with time...Which often happens for a certain group of sufferers...Of course they falsely believe that certain ways of thinking etc got them out of it...Thats just not the case...Not with true chronic incapacitating DP anyway...You CANNOT think your way out of true chronic DP...
I didnt think my way out of it, quite the opposite actually.
But having a positive mindset and positive thoughts did help the healing process along and got rid of a lot of inner conflict.
It was more meditation, yoga, mindfulness/embracing the internal pain energies and the moment that started to heal me. DR symptoms especially.
And yes I was chronic. It wrecked my life. i spent years in a hospital unable to leave my bed, tried all their meds and even turned to shock therapy at one point out of desperation.
But anyways i'm once again stepping away from this site as its not good for my health.
I Wish you well dude, i hope that you find the relief you're looking for.
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Unless you've forgotten all about it, it's very hard to NOT think about something, so I tend to prefer the term thought dismissal to distraction, as this is about dismissing anything relating to symptoms and giving them as little attention and power as you can. So you might think something quick and simple like, "that's nonsense," and turn your attention to something practical and "real world," thereby orientating yourself in actual life.
A similar way is thought substitution, where you immediately replace delusional or destructive thinking with something more constructive, realistic and positive.
Not saying it's easy because it takes time, but as with all these things getting the ball rolling is the hardest part, and it does get easier with practice. Thoughts are habits and the more attention we give the destructive ones the more power they have. Place DP on a pedestal and worship it, and it will be your god, so belittle it, undermine it, give it as little attention as you can, and think of it in any way that makes you feel better and more empowered.
For example, some people balk when someone suggests simply telling yourself it's "just anxiety," but leave theoretical debates to the master-debaters and just see if it makes YOU feel better about it by looking at it in a diminished way, as mundane, even boring. If you feel lighter and less overwhelmed then that's all that matters.
Sometimes it goes deeper than this and we have to look at why we are tearing ourselves apart in the first place, and behind this can be a destructive core belief that we are flawed, damaged or bad. The more we identify with this idea instead of challenging it, the more we pick ourselves apart with habits like self-checking and brutal self-analysis, but we can use the same substitution technique here too. When we identify with negative thoughts as our own we are in effect sleeping with the enemy, because often they came from other people who were not concerned with what was best for us. Imagine if a bully hit you with a stick for a while, got bored and left, then you picked it up and kept hitting yourself with it for the rest of your life. It's like that.
Anyway, hope this helps and gives you some food for thought on potential ways of approaching recovery.
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Yeah, strategies like this can no doubt be helpful.
Not really DP-related, but I used to be envious of others. I fixed this by realizing that it makes more sense to compare myself to a past version of myself rather than comparing myself to others. This way, I focus on my own progress and what I am rather than on what I'm not.
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Yes, that sounds like a practical example. You've taken a recurring thought or belief that was causing you harm, and replaced it with one that's more adaptive.
The more central and destructive the belief is to our sense of self, the more it can fuel chronic dissociation, and the more powerful a correction can be.
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It's weird actually I just think of this, because it is quite obvious. But we are constantly looking at the symptoms (or I am anyway), whenever I am conscious, so that feedback loop is always there giving a bit of underlying anxiety almost with the thought always in the background "it's still here".
But I guess one reason meditation could work is your eyes are closed but you are still awake and distracting yourself directly from your thoughts to your breath. Whatever can distract you in whatever way may help, but like I say you can't really distract or not focus on something that is always there
But I guess one reason meditation could work is your eyes are closed but you are still awake and distracting yourself directly from your thoughts to your breath. Whatever can distract you in whatever way may help, but like I say you can't really distract or not focus on something that is always there
Thank you for enlightening answers. It is god too see that different things works for different people. I will stick with my way for now, acceptance. For me it is very powerful and I can see the changes it makes. Small changes is better then none and I think in the real world small steps is almost always the only way. When you start to accept your negative thoughts and emotions sometimes they become the same as sensing for example that something is hot or cold or maybe here something on the radio. You acknowledge the information and then you move on. Let the mind do its thing, you cant stop it (I cant anyway) so better just accept it.
It is not helping anyone if we sit in here and reenact the Four Yorkshiremen scethc by Monty Python. Human suffering is absolute. Everybody suffers. Yes everybody. It can be hard to remember that when you have full on anxiety attack but we shouldn't say that people who got well did it because they didn't suffered hard enough. That they didn't have it as extremely hard that I (not meaning me here) have had it. You cant possible know that and that can also scare away the people who got better. We need those people here for inspiration. This is not a competition. It can be soothing to think that your suffering is the worst ever but in the long run it doesn't lead anywhere. You can try to be the winner but you will end up the loser because you just move further away from finding a solution. I have had mental problems for 20 years and suffered enough for a couple of lifetimes. But I got a gift as well. I am stubborn i spades. I have tried most of the different therapies by book at home, also had my own ideas to recover that I tried. Finlay I have find what I think is my way to a better life, acceptance. Hang in there and hopefully you also will find your way. I don't know if it will cure me but I'm going to try. What else is there to do really?
It is not helping anyone if we sit in here and reenact the Four Yorkshiremen scethc by Monty Python. Human suffering is absolute. Everybody suffers. Yes everybody. It can be hard to remember that when you have full on anxiety attack but we shouldn't say that people who got well did it because they didn't suffered hard enough. That they didn't have it as extremely hard that I (not meaning me here) have had it. You cant possible know that and that can also scare away the people who got better. We need those people here for inspiration. This is not a competition. It can be soothing to think that your suffering is the worst ever but in the long run it doesn't lead anywhere. You can try to be the winner but you will end up the loser because you just move further away from finding a solution. I have had mental problems for 20 years and suffered enough for a couple of lifetimes. But I got a gift as well. I am stubborn i spades. I have tried most of the different therapies by book at home, also had my own ideas to recover that I tried. Finlay I have find what I think is my way to a better life, acceptance. Hang in there and hopefully you also will find your way. I don't know if it will cure me but I'm going to try. What else is there to do really?
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You sound wise, Yuri.
Yes, I think that it can be so much about how we look at a thing, in a way that makes sense to us, and there can be many ways of describing a similar process. If you have found a way of approaching things that feels right and is helping then stick with it.
The work I've done with core sense-of-self is really another way of healing that inner wound, as with acceptance. Here Sun Yata was describing the same thing:
Yes, no-one should presume to know another person's medical history, or their experience and knowledge. The old, "if anyone got better they never had it in the first place" argument is one I'm thankful I don't subscribe to. I think it's the illness talking.
Yes, I think that it can be so much about how we look at a thing, in a way that makes sense to us, and there can be many ways of describing a similar process. If you have found a way of approaching things that feels right and is helping then stick with it.
The work I've done with core sense-of-self is really another way of healing that inner wound, as with acceptance. Here Sun Yata was describing the same thing:
Whenever I felt that terrible sense of badness inside, I would use an equivalent phrase like, "I'm not bad or flawed, there was never anything wrong with me," to turn self-judgement into self-support.
Yes, no-one should presume to know another person's medical history, or their experience and knowledge. The old, "if anyone got better they never had it in the first place" argument is one I'm thankful I don't subscribe to. I think it's the illness talking.
Interesting. It sounds like accepting self. That is a hard thing to do. So thanks for another thing I can use in that regard.
Yeah it is the anxiety talking. I have those thoughts and feeling myself from time to time. They come up when you suffer a lot.
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Not that you ignore what you think or what you feel.
Not that you trick your self.
Not that you think your way out of it.
You transcend. You go on living. Get out of the mind set that you are mentally crippled with some kind of debilitating mental illness and continue on with your life.
Dont adopt the belief that there is no way out. Thats rediculous and totally not true. Theres always a solution.
Dont listen to people on here who say that there is no remedy that cause DP/DR to go away because there absolutely is.
You can search on youtube and see so many people who recovered from DP/DR and they all say the same thing. You grow out of it.
You go on living and stop believing that you cant and that you have some kind of mental illness.
The sooner you toughen it out, stop worrying about it and go on living the sooner it goes away.
And there is so much you can do to help you do this. Meditation. Exercise. Nutrition/eating well. Yoga. New hobbys. Traveling. etc. These are all great remedies to help you become stronger as a person and to transcend the symptoms that are DP/DR.
Worrying about your mental condition and believing that there is no remedy is useless and totally unbenificial and is obviously not true.
Not that you trick your self.
Not that you think your way out of it.
You transcend. You go on living. Get out of the mind set that you are mentally crippled with some kind of debilitating mental illness and continue on with your life.
Dont adopt the belief that there is no way out. Thats rediculous and totally not true. Theres always a solution.
Dont listen to people on here who say that there is no remedy that cause DP/DR to go away because there absolutely is.
You can search on youtube and see so many people who recovered from DP/DR and they all say the same thing. You grow out of it.
You go on living and stop believing that you cant and that you have some kind of mental illness.
The sooner you toughen it out, stop worrying about it and go on living the sooner it goes away.
And there is so much you can do to help you do this. Meditation. Exercise. Nutrition/eating well. Yoga. New hobbys. Traveling. etc. These are all great remedies to help you become stronger as a person and to transcend the symptoms that are DP/DR.
Worrying about your mental condition and believing that there is no remedy is useless and totally unbenificial and is obviously not true.
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Its really unlike me to call people out but I have to. I go here occasionally just to check things out. I would like to make treatment and understanding of DP/DR more clear to people.
Eddy1886, doesn't fully understand what hes talking about when he says there is no cure. There totally is. DP/DR is totally manageable and treatable.
Also, the things said on this thread by Eddy1886 are very pessimistic, unhelpful, non beneficial, and not true.
I would encourage others to seek other sources for solutions rather then listing to Eddy1886.
Go to youtube and look up videos of people recovered from DP/DR. Its actually very possible.
People please, if you are having a hard time in your life and with your self dont try to give people false ideas that they are doomed just because you your self are having a hard time.
Eddy1886, doesn't fully understand what hes talking about when he says there is no cure. There totally is. DP/DR is totally manageable and treatable.
Also, the things said on this thread by Eddy1886 are very pessimistic, unhelpful, non beneficial, and not true.
I would encourage others to seek other sources for solutions rather then listing to Eddy1886.
Go to youtube and look up videos of people recovered from DP/DR. Its actually very possible.
People please, if you are having a hard time in your life and with your self dont try to give people false ideas that they are doomed just because you your self are having a hard time.
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