Sunlight causing derealization! Has ANYONE recovered from this?

The opposite is true for me....Dark grey overcast skies make me more spacey and lost .....The sun make smy DP literally vanish....

This might be because I also experience S A D in winter.....The darker short days make me feel so awful and gloomy...I hate it...Spring and summer are like a new lease of life for me each year....The end of autumn and into deep winter are horrendous for my mood and motivation levels...

I think it all depends on what part of the world you live in...

How often have you heard people from dry hot climates say they would love constant rain but yet ask a person from the British Isles what they think about constant rain......

When we are DPed and very anxious our senses are heightened...Its the fight or flight scenario....

Things look and appear strange or distant or spacey, loud noises become more deafening, touching things feels odd to hold and touch, food can taste weird and we can smell stuff more intensely.........

Our vision becomes heightened along with all our other senses...Its your body and mind alerting you to danger (That isnt really there)

Of course as DP sufferers with obsessive behaviours we will focus on the things that seem strange or different to us...

Sounds kinda stupidly simple but if the sky and sun seem like they look odd to you dont look at them as intently and as often and DISTRACT your attention with something more pleasant to you...Stay in the shade even as often as you can maybe...

The less attention you give it the less troublesome it will become....Eventually it will fade away as a symptom...

zouzoux said:

Yea heightened vision could be a nice explanation. I no longer have anxiety but somehow it's still here. However while I was on a combo of Antipsychotic and SSRI I felt almost cured and stopped them . it returned a few months later so this time I went back only on SSRI but it didn't help really. So maybe reading the antipsychotic could be interesting

Click to expand...

For some including myself SSRIs do nothing unless they are taken in conjunction with an Antipsychotic....

The Antipsychotic takes that overwhelming power out of the DP symptoms which allows the SSRI to go to work on the anxiety levels and mood...Thats just been my experience over the years anyway....

Ahungerf said:

Artmuzz thank you for your comment. So this symptom eventually did go away as you just paid less attention to it? Eventually you looked outside or at the sky and u felt connected again? Did u notice it reducing or did you have to forget about it for it to go away?

And Eddy thank you as well and I'd like to ask you the exact same question. Thanks guys!!!

Click to expand...

It eases with time yes....But you have to learn to reduce stress in all areas of your life and take better care of yourself...Its about managing the anxiety and tension levels in your life....Stress leads to Anxiety / Anxiety leads to DP.....Then DP leads to more Stress and more Anxiety....Its a vicious circle.....

If you are able for it, its important to focus on positive hobbies and interests that engage your mind....This is exercising your mind in a positive way (DPers know it as DISTRACTION)

I also must again emphasize that alcohol and drugs are a no no when it comes to dealing with any DP symptoms.......That is simply throwing fuel onto a fire thats already burning out of control....They have to be abandoned completely....

Im actually of the opinion now that in the modern world the word STRESS needs to used instead of the words MATERIALISM, GREED & AMBITION...Cos thats what tends to be at the heart of most peoples stress.........

We have all set our personal bars way too high because thats what society has told us we need to do to be not only a success in life but also to be accepted and allowed to fit in........

My heart goes out to younger people in the modern world...The demands are way too high on them....

The pharmaceutical companies are loving it though....God I despise Capitalism....Its a disease in society......

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere its actually important to expose yourself to as much sunlight as possible without getting sunburnt of course.... (Sunlight is the most natural source of vitamin D3 which is the feel good vitamin)

This is why winter depression or S A D is so common the further North past the equator you are...I myself experience S A D every year as soon as October arrives and the days start to shorten and darken....I despise Irish winters with a passion and lose all my motivation...Then as soon as Spring starts to arrive its like im being reinvigourated....The difference in me is literally night and day LOL...

You should see what happens to people in the British Isles when the sun starts to shine brightly in Spring and Summer ....The transformation in everybodys mood is actually astonishing...