Is DP/DR dangerous????

7511 Views 46 Replies 8 Participants Last post by MissAngela, Aug 10, 2005

G

Discussion Starter · Aug 5, 2005

Is derealization/depersonalization dangerous?!?! Like can it turn into some other mental illness or phsycially harm you??

Thanks for any replies!

21 - 40 of 47 Posts

Martinelv

· #21 · Aug 9, 2005

DR/DP and panic attacks, in themself, cannot harm you. The worst that could happen is that you might faint. It's about as dangerous as trying to peel an orange with a toothpick.

While DR/DP is sometimes a symptom of psychotic disorders, in the vast vast VAST majority of cases, it's not. So don't worry about that, please.

G

Discussion Starter · #22 · Aug 9, 2005

Well, its good to know nothing worse can come from DP/DR/Panic Disorder.

Thanks

Da'Burgh

· #23 · Aug 9, 2005

Martinelv said:
While DR/DP is sometimes a symptom of psychotic disorders, in the vast vast VAST majority of cases, it's not. So don't worry about that, please.

Is it true that DP/DR occurs after the initial psychotic break? i.e. A vivid hallucination or something like this?

Sojourner

· #24 · Aug 9, 2005

MissAngela said:
Well, its good to know nothing worse can come from DP/DR/Panic Disorder.

While the physical symptoms themselves cannot cause anything, it's an oversimplification to say that "nothing worse" can come.

Left untreated, plenty worse can happen.

First rule of the Internet: Don't use it to obtain definitive medical information.

LOSTONE

· #25 · Aug 9, 2005

While the physical symptoms themselves cannot cause anything, it's an oversimplification to say that "nothing worse" can come.

Panic and anxiety can cause heart attack and ulcers although this is rare.

G

Discussion Starter · #26 · Aug 9, 2005

I have never heard that panic attacks cause heart attacks.. i have heard that stress can cause ulcers.

Sojourner

· #27 · Aug 9, 2005

He said "can" cause.

G

Discussion Starter · #28 · Aug 9, 2005

still though, i have never heard that before.

LOSTONE

· #29 · Aug 9, 2005

Well people CAN have heart attacks in there sleep. Anxiety and stress just make it more likely that you will have a heart attack.

G

Discussion Starter · #30 · Aug 9, 2005

well, what if you have had your heart checked out and they said nothing was wrong with it. Are your chances lower?

Sojourner

· #31 · Aug 9, 2005

MissAngela said:
still though, i have never heard that before.

Well, now you know!

http://www.nih.gov/news/WordonHealth/oc ... tory01.htm

--

This is one of the best sites for accurate medical information in the US today:

http://medlineplus.gov/

[rula]

· #32 · Aug 9, 2005

MissAngela said:
still though, i have never heard that before.

that's because it's rare, and almost unheard of. you would have to be under extreme stress for very many years before excess cortisol in your body can actually lead to that type of damage. people on this board have been dealing with stress/anxiety for 8, 10, 15 years, and no one has had a heart attack. much older people than you (on the benzo forum I go to), with hearts probably not as healthy as yours, also have their share of stress, and survive it just fine. don't worry about it. and yes, definitely don't listen to everything you read online. :wink:

G

Discussion Starter · #33 · Aug 9, 2005

This is what it says from a website about the complications of panic attacks.....

Panic disorder can become debilitating and destructive. Fear of recurrent attacks can lead you to adopt avoidance behavior ? avoiding what most people consider to be normal situations, such as going to the mall or leaving the house alone. You can develop a fear of fear.

In children, panic attacks can interfere with normal development, disrupting your child's social life and schoolwork. Children and teenagers, for example, may not go to school or may not even leave the house in order to avoid situations in which they fear a panic attack.

Having panic disorder also increases your risk of depression, suicide, and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

It doesn't say anything about increased risk of heart attack. That quote came from the Mayo Clinic so I think it is pretty accurate.

Sojourner

· #34 · Aug 10, 2005

Deleted

LOSTONE

· #35 · Aug 10, 2005

Like rula said, it is very rare. Any amount of stress and anxiety has a negitive impact on our helth though. The opposite is also true for positive thinking and laughter, it has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce the chance of heart attack and other serious health problems. Even petting a cat/dog has been found to be a benefit to our helth.
The best thing we can do is to try and not worry to much.
Our minds and body are connected and if we lay around all day thinking about health problems we are probably going to end up makeing ourselfs sick. I think this is what dp/dr is all about. I know that when I got dp/dr I was constintly worring about my health at the time. The constint worry and panic along with the drugs I was on made me lose touch with reality.
I think that the way back into reality is through positive thinking, laughter, caring for others and finding something to be a part of that is bigger than yourself. This is what I am currently working on anyway.

I don't think any of us should actually worry about heart attacks.
Worrying about something does not make the problem go away it will just tie up your mind and make you sick.

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Sojourner

· #36 · Aug 10, 2005

Untreated, it can indirectly KILL YOU.

http://www.nih.gov/news/WordonHealth/oc ... tory01.htm

Excerpt:

Stress and the Immune System
This complete communications cycle from the immune system to the brain and back again allows the immune system to talk to the brain, and the brain to then talk back and shut down the immune response when it?s no longer needed.

?When you think about this cross-talk, this two-way street,? Dr. Sternberg explains, ?you can begin to understand the kinds of illnesses that might result if there is either too much or too little communication in either direction.?

According to Dr. Sternberg, if you?re chronically stressed, the part of the brain that controls the stress response is going to be constantly pumping out a lot of stress hormones. The immune cells are being bathed in molecules which are essentially telling them to stop fighting. And so in situations of chronic stress your immune cells are less able to respond to an invader like a bacteria or a virus.

This theory holds up in studies looking at high-levels of shorter term stress or chronic stress: in caregivers like those taking care of relatives with Alzheimer?s, medical students undergoing exam stress, Army Rangers undergoing extremely grueling physical stress, and couples with marital stress. People in these situations, Dr. Sternberg says, show a prolonged healing time, a decreased ability of their immune systems to respond to vaccination, and an increased susceptibility to viral infections like the common cold.

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LOSTONE

· #37 · Aug 10, 2005

Sojo thanks for posting that!
I didn't want to wast my time.

Sojourner

· #38 · Aug 10, 2005

LOL. I moved it to the end because I added a new "killer" first line. ; )

[rula]

· #39 · Aug 10, 2005

Sojourner said:
LOL. I moved it to the end because I added a new "killer" first line. ; )

you somehow keep missing the point. This is a support forum, someone is having panic attacks/anxiety and you insist on adding fuel to the fire by claiming that it could also KILL HER (love the dramatic caps.) your claims are also unsubstantiated, nothing that you posted says anything about heart attacks. immune system problems and susceptibility to infection? that's common knowledge. you still haven't provided any evidence that heart attacks are a concern. besides, it really doesn't sound like MissAngela is leaving her condition "untreated", she's seeing doctors and getting check ups. I just don't get your intent.

LOSTONE

· #40 · Aug 10, 2005

Is dp/dr dangerous? That is the topic right.
I did not mean to scare anyone, but it is good to not delude yourself either. Sometimes not haveing all the facts can be fatal. I am not going to lie to MissAngela just to make her feel more comfertable. I am sure that MissAngela knows that we are not doctors and that she should take eveything on this board with a grain of salt.

Stress- The silent killer. http://watchtower.org/library/g/1998/3/ ... cle_01.htm

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