[opie37060]

It has been years since I used to frequent this forum and as you can tell by my profile I first became a member back in January of 2010. So yeah I've had my fair share of worrying and experience with Dp/dr and this site in general. I doubt anyone knows me as I was most active around 2010 - 2012. Just like me it seems most people average 2 years or less on this site and disappear. Now there are very many reasons people leave this forum but the main reason is because they heal or learn to deal with DP and no longer have a reason to visit Dpselfhelp.com anymore

When I first got Dp back in 2009 like many of you I was a complete wreck. Every single day was a struggle and I pretty much felt as if I had no future. I spent on an average of 5 to 6 hours a day looking for an answer. I spent thousands on doctor's visits and supplements. I'm just telling you guys all this so you can know that I've been where many of you are right now and I'm going to let you guys know what has helped me the past 10 years. Now this may be long so bear with me. Also before you read further know that what has helped me might not be right for you. Everyone is unique and after 10 years of research and experience I no longer believe the theory that anxiety / trauma is the sole cause of everyone's dp/dr. But the one thing I've found is that usually the healing stories share many similarities.

So one of the first things that helped me was medication. Now I know a lot of people don't want to hear this but for some people medication might be necessary. The biggest thing I found to help was LAMICTAL aka Lamotrogine. As many of you know Lamotrogine is widely used in the DP world. It never completely took away my DP but made it to where life was manageable. I would say it took my dp away by half. Also Clonazepam was a godsend at the time. It helped lessen my anxiety and allowed me to focus less on dp. Now I'm not advocating medication and only you can decide if it's ultimately right for you. This is just what helped me. Remember many people are thriving today with Dp through some form of medication. Jeffrey Abugel author of Stranger to myself : Inside Depersonalization has done pretty well over the years on the Lamotrogine / Celexa / Clonazepam combo. So there is hope with medication.

The second thing that helped me was supplements. Yes supplements such as vitamins and herbals. For some reason I've noticed that there isn't a lot of talk about supplements on this forum today compared to back when I used to frequent. Back then supplements were widely talked about and for many members they were crucial for their healing. It's a shame there isn't a supplement section like there used to be

Now Personally the best supplement I found was INOSITOL. Inositol is great for anyone suffereing from intrusive / ocd / existential thoughts. There was a period back in 2011 were I was thinking the same thought literally a thousand times a day and Inositol stopped the thoughts in a matter of months. I also found B vitamin complex, Fish oil, and phosphatidylserine helpful at times. The supplement / vitamin route might be a great option for those opposed to medication. Heck you can always do what I did if you have to. Which is try every supplement until you find one that helps. Remember just because it's a vitamin or herbal supplement doesn't mean it can't help your healing.

And probably the most important thing that helped me was LEARNING TO LET GO. Yes I know this gets repeated over and over by recovered members but it's true. If all else fails just let it go. Personally I didn't start to truly heal until I stopped worrying about DP and just tried to live my life as normal as possible. I also I stopped coming to this forum religiously. I realized that I was so focused on curing my DP that it consumed me. And that in general was harmful to my mental health and wasn't allowing me to heal. So after I stopped thinking about DP and let it go my focus went away from DP. And that's also why you see members active on this site and then disappear. Many have learned to let it go and in the process have healed. I know Letting it go it's easier said than done but just try it for awhile. It can't hurt to try.

One last thing I want to say is that after being gone for so long and coming back to this forum I've noticed that there is a lot of negativity here and this forum has kinda got a little depressing. Back in my day this forum was extremely active and highly supportive. Sadly dpselfhelp.com feels like a former shell of itself. It seems like a lot of members here have a defeatist attitude. Getting out of DP takes work. Do whatever it takes. Sitting around and moping about having DP will get you nowhere.

Anyways I guess that's the insights I want to leave with you guys with right now. That there is hope, you can heal, and there are things out there that can help you in your journey. Whether it be from medication, supplements, letting it go or whatever. Never give up and don't be afraid to try whatever it takes to get out of this. If anyone has any questions just leave them in the comments. Hope everyone one of you guys find that something that helps you get to where you need to be!

 

[opie37060]

No thoughts or questions? lol. Dang back in my day there would have been at least 10 questions to this topic by now. This forum has really become dead over the years

 

[willbarwa]

Interesting story. You mention that what may work for you , may not work for others. But I also believe that what triggered your dp may not be the same as others. In my case, it was anxiety. A long exhausting life filled with anxiety and stress that led up to my dp back in Aug.2017. Since then I made a lot of improvement, you see, I'm very stubborn and almost a renegade at heart. I can't even let dp dictate what I am. First few months were hard and inositol, as you mentioned, does wonders.

I'm almost back. I think the most important thing is to have a strong identity, which I did not have growing up. So maybe other factors than just anxiety led up to my dp. Regardless, I'm doing better and even started smoking weed again. Something I thought I could never do again. (Dp hit me two days after I smoked and had a lot of axlnxiety that day)

 

[Phantasm]

No thoughts or questions? lol. Dang back in my day there would have been at least 10 questions to this topic by now. This forum has really become dead over the years

The first time I joined as a member was about the same time as you. I think I remember your username. The site's had a lot of problems and taken a lot of knocks since then. The first time I left was when an abusive member came in who split the forum and a lot of people left. A few years ago the site was sold to the current owners, who don't interfere but obviously sell advertising space, which wasn't popular and slows down loading times. A staff member at the time led a revolt and the site was scuttled and abandoned for a long while with no staff and post approval left on so no new members could post. That almost killed off the site completely, which I think was the intention. About a year ago a few old members came back to fix up the place and keep it running because there are so few resources for this condition and we felt it was the right thing to do, but it may never recover fully.

Negativity is almost inevitable because it's usually part of mental illness, but the site doesn't have any significant problems anymore so most of the staff have stepped back to leave things to the members, but it's obviously up to people if they want to use it.

 

[FirstAid]

The first time I joined as a member was about the same time as you. I think I remember your username. The site's had a lot of problems and taken a lot of knocks since then. The first time I left was when an abusive member came in who split the forum and a lot of people left. A few years ago the site was sold to the current owners, who don't interfere but obviously sell advertising space, which wasn't popular and slows down loading times. A staff member at the time led a revolt and the site was scuttled and abandoned for a long while with no staff and post approval left on so no new members could post. That almost killed off the site completely, which I think was the intention. About a year ago a few old members came back to fix up the place and keep it running because there are so few resources for this condition and we felt it was the right thing to do, but it may never recover fully.
Negativity is almost inevitable because it's usually part of mental illness, but the site doesn't have any significant problems anymore so most of the staff have stepped back to leave things to the members, but it's obviously up to people if they want to use it.

Possible to give me a run down of your symptoms or should I tell you mine. If have this sick feeling mine is somehow different to everyone else's and I actually have something far more severe than dp.

 

[Phantasm]

Hi, sorry FirstAid, didn't mean to overlook your question, it's just that I'm a DP veteran and so didn't know how to answer because I don't really think about DP or symptoms anymore. I know that dwelling on things only gives them significance, when they may not have any meaning except as the result of stresses and traumas we have experienced in our lives, so I tend to dismiss symptoms quite quickly.

We should always get checked out by a doctor for any possible physical causes, but if you've already done so, it's not unusual to worry it might be something more. That's often part of it but it's usually anxiety and paranoia.