[lost235]

I’ve been dealing with dpdr for the past 3 months now. I started school about a month ago, and because I ride the subway to school, I’m absolutely terrified that I’ll suddenly forget where I am. What if I’m halfway home and just get lost? How do I get home? I’m gonna have to go there tomorrow and I don’t know what to do, I’m so scared. I don’t feel real anymore and have lost my emotions, I don’t even feel safe with my family. How on Earth do I stop feeling this way? Should I just go ahead and do it even though I might absolutely go insane? Is this even normal when dealing with dpdr? Please help.

 

[Jacob_s]

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[Absent]

Hello lost235. Yes, it's horrible to be out and not feel where you are or how to get home. That my body is in different locations without me being emotionally aware of it, is very difficult and unpleasant. Worrying about being lost is entirely understandable and natural, since DPD flattens so much, but I find it better not to question where I am and instead to trust. Questioning makes it worse for me and trusting is ok because I always know as information where I am, even as DPD stops me experiencing it. Also, what is natural is still there behind the DPD 'numbing divide' and it looks after me even though I feel absent from space-time. I always get home. I hope this helps. In short, DPD leads to understandable doubt, but doubt makes it worse. It is difficult to find the 'poise' with that but trusting reality works for me practically and keeps me calmer, even as realness is obscured.

 

[imsofucked]

Hello lost235. Yes, it's horrible to be out and not feel where you are or how to get home. That my body is in different locations without me being emotionally aware of it, is very difficult and unpleasant. Worrying about being lost is entirely understandable and natural, since DPD flattens so much, but I find it better not to question where I am and instead to trust. Questioning makes it worse for me and trusting is ok because I always know as information where I am, even as DPD stops me experiencing it. Also, what is natural is still there behind the DPD 'numbing divide' and it looks after me even though I feel absent from space-time. I always get home. I hope this helps. In short, DPD leads to understandable doubt, but doubt makes it worse. It is difficult to find the 'poise' with that but trusting reality works for me practically and keeps me calmer, even as realness is obscured.

this was an incredible response. It seems as though all we really have is trust and the trust is really the only thread holding us together as the realness of the symptoms is so incredibly convincing that what were experiencing is true. Going to try to remember this response the next time i find myself spiraling or just as a constant reminder throughout the day really.

 

[Absent]

Thank-you 'imsofucked', I appreciate your comment.

I agree that trust is one thing to hang on to when all seems so unreal. It took me a long time to turn to that and away from the powerful 'reality doubt', which had been intolerably stressful, restrictive and caused lots of OCD. I find it takes daily vigilance not to lapse from my own strategy, but I use it successfully to avoid much of the secondary anxieties of DPD. If it helps you or others, that is great. Sharing ideas on this forum has been good for me too.

 

[lost235]

Hello lost235. Yes, it's horrible to be out and not feel where you are or how to get home. That my body is in different locations without me being emotionally aware of it, is very difficult and unpleasant. Worrying about being lost is entirely understandable and natural, since DPD flattens so much, but I find it better not to question where I am and instead to trust. Questioning makes it worse for me and trusting is ok because I always know as information where I am, even as DPD stops me experiencing it. Also, what is natural is still there behind the DPD 'numbing divide' and it looks after me even though I feel absent from space-time. I always get home. I hope this helps. In short, DPD leads to understandable doubt, but doubt makes it worse. It is difficult to find the 'poise' with that but trusting reality works for me practically and keeps me calmer, even as realness is obscured.

Thank you so much for this response. This week has been tough but I feel like this will help a ton. Feels good to know you're not alone, wishing you all the best!

 

[lost235]

Hey, you'll be okay I've felt similar ways before and just know that you're not alone in feeling these feelings and that you will get through it. You won't forget where to go, and you won't go insane I promise you. Maybe try to get up a little earlier so you have more time to prepare your day and get sorted and feel more in control. Try and get some good sleep and eat brekkie in the morning. Rushing and trying to do things at full speed especially when you're not feeling too good is no help at all so I would definitely recommend trying a few of those things. One thing that helps me when I'm out and about is to chuck on some earphones and listen to a funny podcast on Spotify or a Netflix movie on my phone, it's a nice distraction and can put you in a little more lighthearted frame of mind. You'll be ok I've felt very similar things, it's weird but you just have to keep going.

I'll definitely try that, podcasts have really been helping me through all this. I'm starting to feel more motivated to keep going so thank you so much for the tips! Wishing you the best!