I thought I would write down everything I've tried to help with my 3 year long DPDR so I don't forget. I still have DPDR, so I don't have any cures, more just things that have not / have slightly improved it. I used to have like a 9/10 DPDR and now it's more like 7/10, which sucks but it is a mild improvement to my daily life.
Medication
No medications have helped
Zoloft (Sertraline)
I was taking Sertraline when I first developed DPDR, and the doctor I saw suggested I increase the dosage from the 100mg I was taking then to 200mg.
It didn't help, and I think it made the emotional blunting from DPDR so much worse. I took it for about 6 months.
Effexor (Venlafaxine)
After Sertraline didn't work out, I tapered off and asked my GP for help again after a few months of suffering with DPDR. They suggested I try Venlafaxine, which I started at 150mg. Once again, didn't help, so I got sent to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with persistent depressive disorder (with DPDR being a symptom of depression (?)) and increased dosage to 225mg, and then again to 300mg.
It didn't help at all, and once again I think it was contributing to the emotional blunting. I told the psychiatrist again it wasn't helping, and he told me to just keep taking it anyways and make lifestyle improvements, after which I decided on my own to taper off and give up on medication. I took it for about 6 months.
Supplements
I tried Omega 3/6, B-Complex, and multivitamins, without any changes at all
Lifestyle Changes
I was living a poor lifestyle over a year into DPDR now, and I decided to deal with some of those issues to see if they helped.
Quitting Nicotine
It took me ages to quit nicotine, it was I think the most difficult thing I ever did. I was switching between nicotine gum/lozenges/spray and vaping, but not able to ever stop. After a year of attempts to quit, I finally was able to quit at the end of last year after almost a dozen attempts.
My DPDR improved after maybe a few weeks of quitting and decreased down to maybe a 8/10.
Quitting Alcohol
I still drink now, but I was drinking heavily, around half a bottle of vodka a night. I tried quitting a dozen times for alcohol too, and even quit for a few weeks a couple times, but always relapsed. I quit at the start of this year, and drink one day a week now. Having made a close friend realllly helped with quitting, since part of the reason I drank was loneliness.
My DPDR improved after maybe a month of quitting and decreased down to maybe a 7/10.
Busyness / Social Life
After quitting drinking, I needed to fill my life with stuff to do (and it also is very much recommended in DPDR circles). I started volunteering at university at the start of this year, and joined the marketing team at a student society. I am quite busy now, and I do have a lot more social contact now.
It has reduced some of the negative depressive feelings I had, but it did not affect my DPDR. I just forget about it often and think about it a lot less, which hasn't really helped me as much as it seems to help others on this forum.
Exercise
Sadly, exercise has not improved my DPDR. It has reduced the negative emotional pits I used to fall into more. I do about 30 minutes of strength exercises 3 days a week, though I need to try doing cardio more. I did run most days for a month, and near the end I had one day where I felt energetic which was great, so I need to try that again.
Therapy
I've been to 4 psychologists, 1 mental health nurse, and 1 counsellor.
Psychologists
Psychologist 1
I went to this as soon as I started getting symptoms, and I paid extremely high ($200 per session) to get good quality help even though I could barely afford it. I told them the symptoms I was experiencing and they told me it can happen with high stress, and it will go away once I make lifestyle improvements. The therapy just ended up serving as a vent space for me and I felt like I was being scammed, and I stopped after 8 sessions.
Psychologist 2
After a frustrating several months of no changes, I tried a different psychologist again ($200 per session again). I told them about my symptoms, and they tried going into my past and digging up trauma. After this didn't work, they suggested I make lifestyle improvements, and the therapy just ended up serving as a vent space again. I stopped after 10 sessions.
Psychologist 3
This time, I gave up on mentioning my DPDR, and just decided to focus on improving in social domains, since at this point I had no friends (and everyone just kept telling me to make lifestyle improvements). I had really poor motivation to pursue friendships since I found it impossible to connect with people because of the DPDR (I only mentioned I have low motivation to the psychologist), and the psychologist ($200 per session again) asked me what I expect to accomplish in therapy if I don't even want friends. I kept going for a session or two, but I ended up dropping it early because of that. I stopped after 3 sessions.
Psychologist 4
I started university after that, and I decided to go see the university counsellor who ended up being a psychologist (free). I have given up on being honest with my problems at this point, and just told him I want to make friends and not mention any DPDR or motivation issues. It helped slightly with anxiety in social settings, and I ended up joining a student society because of this, but no impact on DPDR.
Counsellor
I went to a counsellor from a service that funds cheap counselling for students/unemployed ($70 per session). I felt the most understood by her, since she validated my experience and actually tried to help my DPDR, with meditation, and some somatic experiencing stuff. Sadly we were on Zoom because of COVID lockdowns, so it maybe wasn't as effective as it might have been. She also did some trauma-focused stuff. But it didn't help in the end, though I did appreciate the genuine care that I I did not experience from psychologists. I went to 25 sessions.
Mental Health Nurse
This was the first time I was actually referred out. I went to my GP because of heart palpitations, but it ended up not being a physical issue so my GP suggested it was stress/anxiety. I didn't feel that way, but the nurse was free so why not try it.
The nurse tried weekly CBT about social anxiety, which didn't help with anything, and I eventually told her about my DPDR, to my surprise she immediately knew what I was talking about. She forgot about it the next session, and I brought it up again since the CBT seemed pointless. She suggested I try going to another psychiatrist since the diagnosis of persistent depressive disorder seemed weird (and I thought so too). I will be going to my GP next week to get a referral to a psychiatrist, so eventually I will go but I will update when I do.
Conclusion
All in all, not much has helped with DPDR other than quitting the substances that were making it worse. Things I still want to try:
Medication
No medications have helped
Zoloft (Sertraline)
I was taking Sertraline when I first developed DPDR, and the doctor I saw suggested I increase the dosage from the 100mg I was taking then to 200mg.
It didn't help, and I think it made the emotional blunting from DPDR so much worse. I took it for about 6 months.
Effexor (Venlafaxine)
After Sertraline didn't work out, I tapered off and asked my GP for help again after a few months of suffering with DPDR. They suggested I try Venlafaxine, which I started at 150mg. Once again, didn't help, so I got sent to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with persistent depressive disorder (with DPDR being a symptom of depression (?)) and increased dosage to 225mg, and then again to 300mg.
It didn't help at all, and once again I think it was contributing to the emotional blunting. I told the psychiatrist again it wasn't helping, and he told me to just keep taking it anyways and make lifestyle improvements, after which I decided on my own to taper off and give up on medication. I took it for about 6 months.
Supplements
I tried Omega 3/6, B-Complex, and multivitamins, without any changes at all
Lifestyle Changes
I was living a poor lifestyle over a year into DPDR now, and I decided to deal with some of those issues to see if they helped.
Quitting Nicotine
It took me ages to quit nicotine, it was I think the most difficult thing I ever did. I was switching between nicotine gum/lozenges/spray and vaping, but not able to ever stop. After a year of attempts to quit, I finally was able to quit at the end of last year after almost a dozen attempts.
My DPDR improved after maybe a few weeks of quitting and decreased down to maybe a 8/10.
Quitting Alcohol
I still drink now, but I was drinking heavily, around half a bottle of vodka a night. I tried quitting a dozen times for alcohol too, and even quit for a few weeks a couple times, but always relapsed. I quit at the start of this year, and drink one day a week now. Having made a close friend realllly helped with quitting, since part of the reason I drank was loneliness.
My DPDR improved after maybe a month of quitting and decreased down to maybe a 7/10.
Busyness / Social Life
After quitting drinking, I needed to fill my life with stuff to do (and it also is very much recommended in DPDR circles). I started volunteering at university at the start of this year, and joined the marketing team at a student society. I am quite busy now, and I do have a lot more social contact now.
It has reduced some of the negative depressive feelings I had, but it did not affect my DPDR. I just forget about it often and think about it a lot less, which hasn't really helped me as much as it seems to help others on this forum.
Exercise
Sadly, exercise has not improved my DPDR. It has reduced the negative emotional pits I used to fall into more. I do about 30 minutes of strength exercises 3 days a week, though I need to try doing cardio more. I did run most days for a month, and near the end I had one day where I felt energetic which was great, so I need to try that again.
Therapy
I've been to 4 psychologists, 1 mental health nurse, and 1 counsellor.
Psychologists
Psychologist 1
I went to this as soon as I started getting symptoms, and I paid extremely high ($200 per session) to get good quality help even though I could barely afford it. I told them the symptoms I was experiencing and they told me it can happen with high stress, and it will go away once I make lifestyle improvements. The therapy just ended up serving as a vent space for me and I felt like I was being scammed, and I stopped after 8 sessions.
Psychologist 2
After a frustrating several months of no changes, I tried a different psychologist again ($200 per session again). I told them about my symptoms, and they tried going into my past and digging up trauma. After this didn't work, they suggested I make lifestyle improvements, and the therapy just ended up serving as a vent space again. I stopped after 10 sessions.
Psychologist 3
This time, I gave up on mentioning my DPDR, and just decided to focus on improving in social domains, since at this point I had no friends (and everyone just kept telling me to make lifestyle improvements). I had really poor motivation to pursue friendships since I found it impossible to connect with people because of the DPDR (I only mentioned I have low motivation to the psychologist), and the psychologist ($200 per session again) asked me what I expect to accomplish in therapy if I don't even want friends. I kept going for a session or two, but I ended up dropping it early because of that. I stopped after 3 sessions.
Psychologist 4
I started university after that, and I decided to go see the university counsellor who ended up being a psychologist (free). I have given up on being honest with my problems at this point, and just told him I want to make friends and not mention any DPDR or motivation issues. It helped slightly with anxiety in social settings, and I ended up joining a student society because of this, but no impact on DPDR.
Counsellor
I went to a counsellor from a service that funds cheap counselling for students/unemployed ($70 per session). I felt the most understood by her, since she validated my experience and actually tried to help my DPDR, with meditation, and some somatic experiencing stuff. Sadly we were on Zoom because of COVID lockdowns, so it maybe wasn't as effective as it might have been. She also did some trauma-focused stuff. But it didn't help in the end, though I did appreciate the genuine care that I I did not experience from psychologists. I went to 25 sessions.
Mental Health Nurse
This was the first time I was actually referred out. I went to my GP because of heart palpitations, but it ended up not being a physical issue so my GP suggested it was stress/anxiety. I didn't feel that way, but the nurse was free so why not try it.
The nurse tried weekly CBT about social anxiety, which didn't help with anything, and I eventually told her about my DPDR, to my surprise she immediately knew what I was talking about. She forgot about it the next session, and I brought it up again since the CBT seemed pointless. She suggested I try going to another psychiatrist since the diagnosis of persistent depressive disorder seemed weird (and I thought so too). I will be going to my GP next week to get a referral to a psychiatrist, so eventually I will go but I will update when I do.
Conclusion
All in all, not much has helped with DPDR other than quitting the substances that were making it worse. Things I still want to try:
- Regular, intense cardio
- Dopamine detox
- Getting into a relationship/having a feeling of safety or trust with someone
- Lamotrigine
- Lavender Oil
- Meditating regularly
- EMDR
- An atypical antidepressant
- Neurofeedback
