[jft]

I have read many uplifting stories here of where people have improved or even recovered, and many more where you all speak of glimpses of recovery and lots of hope. This is where I stand as well, especially with the added attention given to dp/dr by researchers.

But I remember couple years back when I was seeing a cognitive therapist and we were working hard on this "fog" to subside but it would not budge and I asked to see a psychiatrist about meds. I did and his view was that I had anxiety disorders that went into overload when I did recreational drugs and my mind became "hardwired" with dp/dr. He said all I could do is manage symptoms for the rest of my life. Nothing else would help. I would never recover. He charged me 200 bucks and shut the door. My therapist was enraged over this, discounting every thing he said. We continued to work on flooding this dp/dr fog out but it came to no avail.

Any thoughts on this? Is hardwiring a legitmate or bogus view? Is past recreational drug use a variable in whether or not one can recover? Was this shrink full of doggy doo?
I think he was.

 

[Monkeydust]

I'm almost certain that he's wrong.

Let's be honest here, we don't know if we will recover, but we know that we can. It is in us, all of us, to overcome this. We got this way somehow, we can get out, too. And most sufferers of DP, in my opinion do - it's only those who have it particularly badly that find their way to message boards :wink: .

Many people have recovered from chronic, debilitating DP in the past from conventional techniques alone. Even if we were not able to do this (which we are), just think how much treatment of mental health conditions has changed in the last, say, fourty years. In time, if all else fails, something might be found that helps us immensely. So there is hope, even if it may seem to be all gone.

 

[[rula]]

i would have to vote for he's full of doggy doo.

even if your dp became hardwired (i supposed that's serious chronic use?), the brain can remap and transform itself. it can create new synaptic connections, prune away old ones, and strengthen or weaken existing ones...you can create alternate circuits and bypass old ones; if you couldn't do that, then we couldn't really change much about ourselves, like the way we feel and react, or whatever. it's a slow process, but you will recover.

a psychiatrist prescribed 8mg of klonopin a day to one of my friends! OMG! my friend couldn't even wake up for days; how bright is this dude?

-rula