[mcsiegs]

The worst thing I hate about DP is looking in the mirror and getting scared at times because I look like a stranger to myself. Even when I feel as though I am getting better inside, I feel as though I still don't know my own face.

Does anyone else experience this? Have you had any advice from counselors of how to overcome this? If I stare at myself in the mirror for a while, I get freaked out, especially my eyes.

Am I the only one?

 

[Guest]

I definitely can relate. the ONLY thing you can do is to avoid looking in mirrors (I know this sounds sarcastic, and please know that is NOT my intent)

It's just the reality of these symptoms that the HARDER we try to FORCE things to look or feel normal, the more bizarre they will appear.

The only way "out" of the delusional effect is to sidestep your own mind, to move out of the way, to AVOID examining any of the areas that feel so disjointed. Over time, your mind will reinstate itself.

We KEEP the symptoms going every single time we address them. We look harder, closer, with more focus and more effort. That is FOOD to the symptoms - it makes them thrive.

If you see your reflection and it seems eerie and somehow not right, look away. Do anything else, distract yourself. That is the ONLY way out of this hell.

It feels like we NEED to look harder, to try to "right" the image, to try to force it back into reality. That is the kiss of death.

Turn your focus ANYwhere except on the things that seem most bizarre. If EVERYthing seems bizarre, try to DO something without really observing closely.

Attention is what feeds these states.

It is SO simple and it is so difficult to do. You will agree with me, and then fight me tooth and nail. You will say you'll do this, and then in a matter of minutes, you'll be right back "staring" at whatever aspect of the dp feels scariest.

We have to trust that our INSTINCTS about what we should do to get better are WRONG. Turn all your energy elsewhere and one day you will offhandely notice that you do NOT feel so bizarre. But you can't "Un-bizarre" things. You can only reach reality again by not looking for it.

 

[Kelson12]

I'm to the point where I literally want to murder the living hell out of these "symptoms". One of these days I'm going to make myself fast enough to catch the floater and I'm gonna murder it and then murder it again and then murder it again. This is making my life a living hell and I don't even care much for living right now.

 

[agentcooper]

sometimes, when i'm feeling REALLY dred, looking in the mirror actually helps bring me back to reality. i look at my reflection and say "don't worry, you're not going crazy...this will pass," and it can help me to connect to myself.

 

[sming]

I find looking in the mirror immensely comforting (stop sniggering in the back please). It grounds me. It reminds me that "I'm Pete". If you know what I mean (well, you won't, unless your name's Pete but I digress...).

Then again, my experience of DP/DR is rather atypical it would seem, the more I learn about it. I don't get a lot of the symptoms that others here get.

I'm seeing quite a lot of my coping mechanisms, which I came up with independently without ever hearing of DP/DR coming through in other poster's words, it's most peculiar.