You all need to stop fighting this condition and over-analyzing everything. Depersonalization is a method for your brain to cope with stress or danger; it happens to everyone. If you have an episode and try to fight it you'll only feel more depersonalized because your mind is perceiving danger. If you smoke weed or do drugs and wonder why you feel depersonalized then an IQ issue might be the problem. Hello...? Instead of living your life for depersonalization, try to pro-actively dedicate the same amount of attention to something productive. On the other hand, if you're complaining about depersonalization but in reality are covering up, ignoring, or running from some emotional truama, then deal with that with some professional counseling since deprsonaization is only a symptom in that case. Be honest with yourself.
Let depersonalization run its course
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·I am not trying to come off by being rude but what the hell, you have a lot of nerve. We are not a bunch of eccentric hyperchondriacs that have nothing better to do then to over analyze how we feel. We are mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, sons, and daughters who are just trying to cope with this disorder that has come upon us. This board and my family are truly the only two things that have kept me going. I have a master's degree and work in a very high demand medical field treating patient's with life threatening illnesses so I do have other outlets in my life besides this disorder. I am sorry to come across as such a b*#@ch but wow that post was truly unsympathetic and mean spirited.
It's okay. You should come across being rude because that is evidently how you feel. Stop worrying how you're coming across, how people are going to judge you....live it up. I was not mean spirited but I must have touched a nerve for you to react that way. I've had depersonalization for many years but I don't beat around the bush or over-indulge in metaphors because you'll only feel worse. Stick to the facts: fear is a barometer of the unknown, don't let it take over your thoughts but recognize it for what it is. Your depersonalization will NEVER go away; it's part of who you are, but if you learn not to fear it'll become a minor inconvenience. Yes, I too was a hypochondriac, fearing the blank empty detached void in my mind but I'm still here, succesful, totally bitchin', and super happy. But I don't have a Master's Degree like you.
I am one of those success stories. Three years ago I was glued to my couch; driving was harrowing because everything was so unreal. I let it run its course without medications and it doesn't bother me one bit. As a matter of fact, I invoke depersonalization at times to experience an altered state but it doesn't kill or harm. Stop being afraid of your own mind and thoughts ....you'll never go crazy!!!!!!! Accept it.
I think he has a point, but it could have been said in a nicer way rather than telling us we need to check our IQ's. I tuned out after that. But really, most of us are productive, it's just hard living with this fear. And I disagree that everyone has the same degree of depersonalization that some of the people on this board do. But rather than argue, tell us your story and how you got through it, how long you suffered, etc? I'm up for any ideas.
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I really don't see depersonalization has something that just needs to "run its course." People get this disorder because there was probably something wrong with the way they were living. They need to change in order to properly recover. How can you say that depersonalization never goes away and is a part of you, yet go on to say that you are completely recovered? And besides, that's like telling someone that paranoia or OCD is just a part of them.
When I mentioned IQ I was intimating that if you use drugs and wonder why you feel the way you do and continue to smoke weed, endo, chronic, hemp, dank, hasj, etc, then I have no empathy because the diagnosis is repetitive-stupid-decision-making-disorder. I was not implying that people with genuine DP are stupid; on the contrary, they tend to be pedantic and creative at the same time.
I've had DP since I was fourteen-currently thirtynine-in varying degrees, and I agree that different people have it in their own special way. But the predominant theme tends to be this self-indulgent "scared of bright stores...feel weird after naps...dark places freak me out..etc" type of symptoms. Constantly going to the doctor and being told nothing's wrong with you. I just got sick and tired of this B.S. when I was seventeen and just decided to learn coping and acceptance skills. I'm not saying that you should just snap out of it because that's impossible; however, you should realize how rediculous these symptoms sound to other people. Sorry if it sounds insensitive but there are people dying from Ebola, Marburg virus, Diabetes, and hypertension. My sorry symptoms are nothing compared to some real medical issues. Depersonalization will always come and go. Just make sure that it's not a symptom of some unresolved issue that you've tucked away in your subconscious
I've had DP since I was fourteen-currently thirtynine-in varying degrees, and I agree that different people have it in their own special way. But the predominant theme tends to be this self-indulgent "scared of bright stores...feel weird after naps...dark places freak me out..etc" type of symptoms. Constantly going to the doctor and being told nothing's wrong with you. I just got sick and tired of this B.S. when I was seventeen and just decided to learn coping and acceptance skills. I'm not saying that you should just snap out of it because that's impossible; however, you should realize how rediculous these symptoms sound to other people. Sorry if it sounds insensitive but there are people dying from Ebola, Marburg virus, Diabetes, and hypertension. My sorry symptoms are nothing compared to some real medical issues. Depersonalization will always come and go. Just make sure that it's not a symptom of some unresolved issue that you've tucked away in your subconscious
It's just hard facing those unresolved issues. It would be easier of course if I wasn't already completely messed up from the dp and panic. I have this theory about drug addicts and how the reason their lives are so hard to clean up and everything is a mess when they try to quit (friends and family have abandoned them, money problems, etc) is because they went so long burrying these problems and not dealing with them as they came that now they have a mountain of issues that make it 10 times harder to get off the drug. This is me. I have a mountain of issues that built up while I was avoiding stuff, or smoking pot and hiding from my problems and then the panic attacks and dp hit and now it just feels like too much to face while in the midst of my panic attacks. I still live a productive life of course, college, grad school, job, but I'm not living. And I worry everytime somebody tells me to deal with my unresolved problems because how do you do that?? I wrote a post about it recently but nobody got what I was asking. I'm rambling and you're not my shrink dreamland, lol. I'll shut up now. I actually thought your post was helpful so thanks for it.
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It was helpful, but I think it is safe to say that noone here wants to read that dp will NEVER go away. Not encouraging
enngirl5. ...I know that it is hard facing those unresolved issues but for crying out loud please do it ASAP. Don't think that it's too late because you've lived your life so long this way. I don't know who you are but you are a special person and deserve to live a happy and complete life. You're probably thinking that you should have dealt with your problems five or ten years ago, but it's not to late. I agree with your theory about drug addicts and their coping mechanisms; moreover, they also use it as an excuse/scapegoat for their dire status in life. Can you imagine what life would be like if everything went wrong and you had nothing but yourself to blame? It's a vicious cycle. It's not my intention to come across sounding like Dr. Phil or Judge Judy but I have refused to succumb to the destructive self worth destroying component of depersonalization. I just wanted to get people out of their comfort zone and judging by the expeditious replies it's working.
I was not implying that you'll have it 24/7 but it will probably come back every ten or fifteen or twenty years. I have a twenty year remission but after the death of my dog it came back with a vengeance....out of nowhere...for a year and a half!
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i actually agree with dreamland,im living in this strange world but you have to get real with yourself....i meen im reading posts now saying that 'eating baked beans gives me dp' i meen c'mon dont analyze everything,we are living in this strange world due to anxiety/depression/panic....
i personally cant blame this disorder on anything else...screw anxiety
i personally cant blame this disorder on anything else...screw anxiety
Angry? Me? I'm a lover not a fighter.....that's ignorant! LOL! No I'm not angry but I don't susbribe to the theory of discussing every weird emotion or altered state with everyone. You all need to realize that you're sronger than you think you are. Enduring DP gives you a form of mental toughness because of what you have to endure. Yes, it's a pain in the rear but by now you should have come to the conlusion that you're not going crazy. As soon as you're aware that we all suffer from "terminal uniqueness" (nobody understands how I feel, my feelings are worse) you're ten steps ahead. I have a lot of empathy for people and animals; they can make me cry in a split second but I also believe in grabbing the bull by the horns when it comes to your own destiny. Depersonalization can be daunting; fearing it and overanalyzing will keep you trapped. Learn not to fear it....I did it! You can too! It will come back ten years from now and I'm ready for it.
The problem I find with posts like this is that the author of them is presuming to know the motives, conditions, and personalities of a group of people and assigning a prescription based on these stereotypes. Kind of like the psychiatrist who doles out anti-depressants to everyone with any kind of anxiety disorder. It's an exercise in arrogance, no matter what the intention. And I can't even tell if the intention is necessarily benign in this case. It usually isn't.
I agree with a lot of what you're saying, Dreamland, but your presentation is all wrong. It's laced with contempt and an air of superiority.
Let me let you in on a little secret: Most of us already know 99% of what you've written. If it was as easy as "ignoring it", "not dwelling on it", or "dealing with your issues", etc. then we wouldn't be here, and psychology would be a floundering business. We know this. That is the foundation of psychological recovery. A lot of us have had remissions in our DP before. A lot of us haven't. I've felt as empowered as you before. I've clawed my way out of the abyss and cackled in glee at the summit of sanity. Then I fell back in.
Another thing, all suffering is relative. Whether I have the ebola virus or DP. You can't compare one with the other in terms of putting them on a "suffering scale". They're totally dependent on the individual. Granted, one is a death sentence, while the other is an anxiety disorder. But still, it's dangerous to rate things like that on an objective scale, because it belittles the person with DP, as if to say, "God, you're a whiner. There are people out there dying, and you're worried about a little anxiety disorder." This disorder is crippling to a lot of people. Whether it's psychological or physical is irrelevant. People have killed themselves over losing some money, and others have survived having their families massacared by maniacal genocidists.
I'm happy to hear that you're doing better, but you seem to be implying that the rest of us are somehow a bunch of helpless whiners who are crying at our keyboards every night and thinking of various ways to sabotage our mental health.
Look...I don't totally disagree with your message, but take the arrogance out of it. Your intentions may very well be good, but a lot of times, when people come on here and post something equivocal to: "You guys just need to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and get better", it sounds a lot like someone trying to feed their own ego by showing how much more "together" they are than the rest of us lunatics. I'm not saying that this is you.
I hope you continue to post positive threads like this Dreamland. I love hearing recovery stories as do most of us. Just, please, make them a little more palatable next time.
s.
I agree with a lot of what you're saying, Dreamland, but your presentation is all wrong. It's laced with contempt and an air of superiority.
Let me let you in on a little secret: Most of us already know 99% of what you've written. If it was as easy as "ignoring it", "not dwelling on it", or "dealing with your issues", etc. then we wouldn't be here, and psychology would be a floundering business. We know this. That is the foundation of psychological recovery. A lot of us have had remissions in our DP before. A lot of us haven't. I've felt as empowered as you before. I've clawed my way out of the abyss and cackled in glee at the summit of sanity. Then I fell back in.
Another thing, all suffering is relative. Whether I have the ebola virus or DP. You can't compare one with the other in terms of putting them on a "suffering scale". They're totally dependent on the individual. Granted, one is a death sentence, while the other is an anxiety disorder. But still, it's dangerous to rate things like that on an objective scale, because it belittles the person with DP, as if to say, "God, you're a whiner. There are people out there dying, and you're worried about a little anxiety disorder." This disorder is crippling to a lot of people. Whether it's psychological or physical is irrelevant. People have killed themselves over losing some money, and others have survived having their families massacared by maniacal genocidists.
I'm happy to hear that you're doing better, but you seem to be implying that the rest of us are somehow a bunch of helpless whiners who are crying at our keyboards every night and thinking of various ways to sabotage our mental health.
Look...I don't totally disagree with your message, but take the arrogance out of it. Your intentions may very well be good, but a lot of times, when people come on here and post something equivocal to: "You guys just need to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and get better", it sounds a lot like someone trying to feed their own ego by showing how much more "together" they are than the rest of us lunatics. I'm not saying that this is you.
I hope you continue to post positive threads like this Dreamland. I love hearing recovery stories as do most of us. Just, please, make them a little more palatable next time.
s.
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