[bleu]

hello, this is my first post but not my first time browsing this forum.

i used to deal with dp/dr back when i was in high school, but i recovered around the time of my graduation. but recently i feel like it has come back. it all started when i got into a car accident back in september and it's just gotten worse ever since. i've been to the doctor a few times and at first it was just the physical pain bothering me. they said it was just whiplash but the pain hasn't entirely gone away so it's hard to believe that's all it is. but anyway, these are my symptoms: people and places around me seem unfamiliar, memory is spotty... i feel detached from everyone and everything, it's as if my vision has changed and gotten darker, when i think about past memories they feel really distant even if it was very recent or sometimes it just feels like they're not my memories at all. now everything i look at looks strange and it's like my brain has never seen them before... i'm questioning everything and nothing feels right, almost as if i was dropped off on another planet. my symptoms seem to only be getting worse every day and i'm not sure what to do. sorry for the rambling as i am currently anxious typing this all

 

[Phantasm]

Hi bleu,

I had a traumatic event in my life a long time ago and the way you are describing how you feel sounds very familiar to me. I didn't handle it well at all. Looking back I can see that I was desperately trying to control myself and keeping things so bottled up I was like a pressure cooker, so it's no wonder I got very ill. My first thoughts on advice would be to not view how you are feeling as strange or alien, but as a perfectly natural and normal reaction to a potentially life-threatening event. I think it is really important to validate and acknowledge that, otherwise you're fighting against yourself and that's a fight you cant win. A concrete way to do that would be to see a trauma councilor. It's better to air these concerns to another person than be left with them spinning around in your head. I would also be on the safe side and still have check-ups for the injury.

 

[bleu]

thank you phantasm. i’ve been following up with doctors a few times and each time they say it’s just whiplash but the physical pain persists. i’m actually going again tomorrow for x-rays... and i’ve set up an appointment for actual therapy as well. but even as i am typing this i am finding my symptoms getting worse and scarier... like almost nothing is familiar anymore.. i can recall things very well but it still seems foreign. it also feels less and less like what’s happening in front of me is real, like i’m losing grip with reality... it’s just scary

 

[Phantasm]

Did you have concussion? That's good you are getting an x-ray and getting therapy.

When feelings are charged with fear they can feel overwhelming, and we can then start to obsess over them, but it's the obsessing that becomes the problem. It exhausts the mind and gives it no time and space to heal and recover, so anything you do to counter that will be a positive thing.

 

[bleu]

i think i might have, but i’m not sure. the doctors didn’t really give it much thought and just focused on my neck pain. but my head does still hurt. i’m trying my very best to not let my anxiety get the best of me but it is very hard

 

[Shkurka]

Talking to someone professional and sharing your experience may help a lot. Many of my friends managed to solve their problems only while talking to a therapist or going to a field doctor. Try doing it, and also, if the accident was not your fault, you should get compensation for all the bills you are paying related to this. When my dad had an accident at work and later a car accident, he couldn't get the compensation as they said he had a problem with the type of insurance. Then we had some counseling from Workers Comp Lawyers in NC and managed to receive all the necessary compensation. This is why I suggest you check if you can also receive one.