[Magneto]

Hi all

I was hoping for some input... maybe someone can alleviate some of my fears.

Playing the "matching game" as doctors do, with symptoms-to-syndromes, I have DP/DR, unquestionably. I fall under the DP/DR umbrella, the DP/DR "label". That being the case, I could begin trying the treatments that others have successfully undergone right? Unfortunately, I fear the answer for me may be "don't bother".

It seems that every mental issue can bring about DP/DR: depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, drug abuse, physical head trauma... the list goes on. As the classic example, a depressed/anxiety-ridden teenager develops dp/dr as a result of their depression/anxiety, and in dealing with their depression/anxiety they can eliminate the DP/DR. But what about the rest of us who don't fit this bill? How can we say even say that we "have" DP/DR in the sense that it is a somewhat clear-cut disorder worthy of a "label" (the same argument applies to much of mental health)? Since DP/DR symptoms have been known to arise from basically all forms of mental trauma, couldn't DP/DR be the brain's natural response to its own current or future deterioration or damage? For instance, there are some on this board who developed DP/DR from chronic drug abuse (including myself from marijuana), not from a single joint or pill. This puts us in a terribly unfavorable position, as the possibility of physiological damage is not only greatly increased, it is basically assumed. This being the case, how can we know whether we can recover from DP/DR? What if DP/DR is the state necessary for our batterered and beaten brain to remain? How can we know whether we stopped feeling "normal" when the DP/DR set in or whether the DP/DR set in because we stopped feeling "normal"? It is the latter which I fear.

Please, any comments, for or against would be most welcome. I really need to believe I can see the world again

Magneto

 

[Guest]

good post man

What i want to know is, and im not sure if anyone can give me insight on this or not, but if i become totally happy and content with my life, will whatever i have go away? I never say I have DP because noone has ever officially diagnosed me with it and im not totally sure what it is after all this time. I do believe i have DR though. But if i turn my life around and feel positive will things get better for me Anxiety/DR etc wise??

Does knowledge of self, happiness, & positivity eliminate visual disturbances??

 

[Magneto]

What i want to know is, and im not sure if anyone can give me insight on this or not, but if i become totally happy and content with my life, will whatever i have go away?

I think along the same lines often SoulBrotha (well, how could I not running this disease through my mind for 14 hours a day haha), and find myself running in circles with that one. It's as if, in order to be happy and content, I need to be rid of this, but in order to be rid of this, it seems I need to be happy and content. I don't know where to begin my recovery

You say you don't experience DP SoulBro? I would say I'm in the same boat, as I don't have "out of body" experiences or feel detached from limbs etc (or at least don't think I do). Do you get the detachment from your personality, and feel like you are "viewing" every thought though? That is interesting, both of our conditions were onset by marijuana and are mainly DR (don't get me wrong though, a know a statistical pool of size 2 means less than nothing ).

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't say i feel like im viewing every though, but i tend to analyze everything at certain times, like i will analyze my own thoughts, or what is going on depending on where i am. Id say im a analytical person. I really can't say i feel detatched from myself, id just say that i feel strange.

 

[Guest]

Well, if someone reaches a point of TOTAL happiness and contentment with life that never wavers, they've probably entered a form of insanity, grin.

However...you're on the right track.

The best way to treat mental symptoms is to treat the entire person - not to try and isolate the "problem feeling" and "fix" it. That is just not how the mind works.

In my opinion, and in my personal experience, and in the experience of many others I know personally, what seems to really do the trick is this: through therapy or whatever form of work you choose, you work on strenghtening the STRONGER parts of your mind. The healthier parts need to get even healthier = and as you sort of "jump start" yourself back into growth/maturity/development you will find that the symptoms (no matter WHAT they are) start to fade.

It feels counter-intuitive, I know that. But it works.

It FEELS like you've gone to the doctor for a broken ankle and he tells you to start eating better, get lots of exercise, work on your heart muscle, take vitamins and improve your circulation.

But with mental symptoms, that is precisely how it works.

Do everything you can in every arena that has NOTHING to do with your dp to develop strength and growth and insight and change and honesty and discovery.

Trust me.
And even if you don't trust me, lol...it can't hurt, right?

Peace,
Janine

 

[Guest]

This puts us in a terribly unfavorable position, as the possibility of physiological damage is not only greatly increased, it is basically assumed

Magneto, what's brought you to this conclusion?
Two different psychs showed me studies that concluded that it takes around 25 plus years of chronic marijuana abuse to show physiological damage, and this is in the motor-neuro area of the brain.

I'd investigate the source of my information, society (even medical experts) is on the whole very anti-drug and people will recklessly adopt the belief that marijuana can cause permanent harm with not enough evidence.
I believe in my case it's more accurate to say that marijuana can contribute to the onset of [insert disorder here].

I don't know where to begin my recovery

Have you had a cat scan and eeg yet? This is step 1 and 2 in my opinion, particularly for DR where marijuana is a factor. This is more to try and eliminate the belief that you're damaged in some way, than to show a problem.
I really believe its a total mind and body imbalance issue for me, very hard to rectify, but not permanent.

As soul destroying as these sensations can feel, I think it's important to keep your mind open, keep learning, question everything, and try to resist drawing conclusions until they are totally indisputable.

Hope this helps.

 

[JAG]

Well, personally, I think the jury is still out. If you or I were to basically say that we have adequately eliminated chronic anxiety and obsession from our lives, and have become relatively happy, yet DP and DR continues, then we could conclude that DP/DR is due to a physiological, and maybe a more incurable, condition. But really there is a fundamental question to ask. Why is DP/DR bad? What is so wrong about not feeling connected to the body? What is so bad with having shadows, fog, etc. I mean some people cannot even see at all and they don't complain every day about being blind. They just accept it.

Just some thoughts to ponder.

 

[Kelson12]

I'd like to comment on what Janine said in her reply.
And I quote:

"Do everything you can in every arena that has NOTHING to do with your dp to develop strength and growth and insight and change and honesty and discovery."

Well, that's just it. I feel like that is what I do. I eat well, I drink plenty of water ALL day. I exercise and work out 4-5 times a week. I don't smoke, and haven't drank for a few weeks (and have cut back considerably since graduating from college in 2002). I get a good amount of sleep the majority of the time. I have a job, I live on my own, I have a girlfriend, I have supportive parents, I have supportive friends, I have a college degree and am about to go back for the next degree. I just don't get it. What gives? How to snap out of this? Is it back to meds? How to I zap this monster????

Kelson