Hi guys, long time no post... 
Been feeling a lot better and been really busy getting stuck back into life. It was the weirdest thing to log on and look at the Dp discussion forum and not go through each post and go 'already read that, read that, and that ...'. The day you log on and you don't recognise the whole page of topics has to be a good sign!
This whole dp thing has to be one of the most troubling mental problems there is. From what I understand, a lot of us on this site suffer from dp due to psychological problems, caused by a weak sense of self. That sounds really vague. This is how I experience or understand dp. If something troubles us that threatens our ego or makes us anxious, we get confused. Then our symptom, our defence mechanism, namley dp, kicks into action. Like our brains go into neutral, rather than going forward, for fear of any more confusion. The problem is, sometimes you don't notice that subtle change in gear, and carry on the rumination in your head and everything then starts to get even more confusing and foggy. At this point you know your brain has tripped a wire but you can't help the obsessive thinking. It then becomes difficult to figure out why you suddenly feel different or out of place. Because the nature of dp makes you doubt everything and feel so confused which threatens our sense of self even more. Its a vicious circle. Really vicious aswell, the bastard.
It is almost as if you feel the need to follow the thought through to its conclusion, leaving you drained and confused and foggy headed, and unable to 'understand' things because your inner self has suddenly come unglued.
For me, it can be an accumulation of negative thoughts over the day, maybe even gone unnoticed, or one thought that triggers my brain to go 'oops, hang on, conflict, that thought doesn't fit right - where shall we file this one guys?' and everything goes into breakdown mode. Unfortuntely it is so counterproductive it's unbelievable. But we needn't stay in that mode to sort out the problem, but I feel that what we probably all do is go chasing off in the wrong direction trying to solve our feelings triggered by the symptom as opposed to the feelings that trigger the symptom. This vicious circle keeps us in dp. (For those who experience like I do - mental ruminations, foggy thoughts etc)
Having been dp free for a while and spent a lot of time reading psychobabble, I can almost stand aside and watch dp when it tries to come a-knocking. I feel like I'm watching a naughty child try and tie my shoe laces without me seeing- 'go on, try it, make my day, you little brat.....'
I can see why it is so difficult to understand because it is just so damn confusing with so many variables thrown in for good measure. It can throw you off track in an instant because it threatens everything you know and feel and you don't know which way to turn to help yourself out of the maze. We can't lead each other out of this maze but we can help each other to take the right turn in the right direction with advice and support. If I could give any advice to anyone who may suffer in a similar way to myself, what I have learnt about removing myself from dp and having had it reinforced after a 'dip' today is this: You can become totally consumed, dp is just a symptom and it is like being ill, you are not functioning properly at this point. The aftermath of that initial reaction is chaos.
'It takes a very strong and wise person to distrust his own thinking' - Richard Carlson
'Just because you are doing something wrong, doing it more intensely isn't going to help ' - Vince Lombardi
Step aside and don't think of yourself as just this confused mess, no matter how overwhelming that sensation is, you are still you underneath. The nature of dp makes us focus on the negative. But the key to resolving negativity is not to focus on it, or to think our way out of it, as your brain will only produce more negative scenarios. The answer is not found that way. Work on the positives, focus on them and develop this way of thinking and the negatives will fall away.
This helped me get out of dp, yet the whole post is kind of contradictory because it focuses on symptoms! I hope some of it made sense and some of you can relate. Any opinions or views welcome because I am still learning too!!!!
Gx
Been feeling a lot better and been really busy getting stuck back into life. It was the weirdest thing to log on and look at the Dp discussion forum and not go through each post and go 'already read that, read that, and that ...'. The day you log on and you don't recognise the whole page of topics has to be a good sign!
This whole dp thing has to be one of the most troubling mental problems there is. From what I understand, a lot of us on this site suffer from dp due to psychological problems, caused by a weak sense of self. That sounds really vague. This is how I experience or understand dp. If something troubles us that threatens our ego or makes us anxious, we get confused. Then our symptom, our defence mechanism, namley dp, kicks into action. Like our brains go into neutral, rather than going forward, for fear of any more confusion. The problem is, sometimes you don't notice that subtle change in gear, and carry on the rumination in your head and everything then starts to get even more confusing and foggy. At this point you know your brain has tripped a wire but you can't help the obsessive thinking. It then becomes difficult to figure out why you suddenly feel different or out of place. Because the nature of dp makes you doubt everything and feel so confused which threatens our sense of self even more. Its a vicious circle. Really vicious aswell, the bastard.
It is almost as if you feel the need to follow the thought through to its conclusion, leaving you drained and confused and foggy headed, and unable to 'understand' things because your inner self has suddenly come unglued.
For me, it can be an accumulation of negative thoughts over the day, maybe even gone unnoticed, or one thought that triggers my brain to go 'oops, hang on, conflict, that thought doesn't fit right - where shall we file this one guys?' and everything goes into breakdown mode. Unfortuntely it is so counterproductive it's unbelievable. But we needn't stay in that mode to sort out the problem, but I feel that what we probably all do is go chasing off in the wrong direction trying to solve our feelings triggered by the symptom as opposed to the feelings that trigger the symptom. This vicious circle keeps us in dp. (For those who experience like I do - mental ruminations, foggy thoughts etc)
Having been dp free for a while and spent a lot of time reading psychobabble, I can almost stand aside and watch dp when it tries to come a-knocking. I feel like I'm watching a naughty child try and tie my shoe laces without me seeing- 'go on, try it, make my day, you little brat.....'
I can see why it is so difficult to understand because it is just so damn confusing with so many variables thrown in for good measure. It can throw you off track in an instant because it threatens everything you know and feel and you don't know which way to turn to help yourself out of the maze. We can't lead each other out of this maze but we can help each other to take the right turn in the right direction with advice and support. If I could give any advice to anyone who may suffer in a similar way to myself, what I have learnt about removing myself from dp and having had it reinforced after a 'dip' today is this: You can become totally consumed, dp is just a symptom and it is like being ill, you are not functioning properly at this point. The aftermath of that initial reaction is chaos.
'It takes a very strong and wise person to distrust his own thinking' - Richard Carlson
'Just because you are doing something wrong, doing it more intensely isn't going to help ' - Vince Lombardi
Step aside and don't think of yourself as just this confused mess, no matter how overwhelming that sensation is, you are still you underneath. The nature of dp makes us focus on the negative. But the key to resolving negativity is not to focus on it, or to think our way out of it, as your brain will only produce more negative scenarios. The answer is not found that way. Work on the positives, focus on them and develop this way of thinking and the negatives will fall away.
This helped me get out of dp, yet the whole post is kind of contradictory because it focuses on symptoms! I hope some of it made sense and some of you can relate. Any opinions or views welcome because I am still learning too!!!!
Gx
