Anxiety Depersonalization & Derealization, Strange But Common
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Depersonalization & Derealization
There is a common symptom-phenomena anxiety disorder sufferers will experience, called "depersonalization and de-realization". These occur commonly in patients with anxiety disorder and sometimes also with clinical depression patients, who suffer with co-existing anxiety and are very concerning to them. What I wish to do in this article is to explain what these symptoms are and to offer some comfort to those who may suffer Anxiety Disorder by relating the fact that both of these are experienced commonly with these emotional disorders and the vast majority of the time, they are neither harmful nor dangerous.
First let's look at "depersonalization". This symptom phenomena commonly found in anxiety disorder sufferers, but especially those with panic attacks, is a symptom-induced experience, where a patient feels they are "unreal", like they no longer exist as a person. They may even feel they have become invisible and that others around them are real but they are not. Some patients describe it as feeling like being a robot and no longer like a human being. Patients have described episodes for example, of looking at their own hand, in front of their face and wondering if it is really there. Patients will also describe experiences of looking into a mirror and actually feeling as if they do not recognize them selves and they feel as if they are having some type of identity crisis. Obviously, these are very scary and very unpleasant experiences for anxiety patients and ones they certainly do not want to continue or reoccur.
These episodes of depersonalization are reported by some anxiety disorder sufferers, to happen immediately preceding the onset of a panic attack or with other severe anxiety symptoms, while others experience depersonalization during an attack of severe anxiety or panic symptoms. Once the depersonalization symptom is experienced by some anxiety suffers, they report that it will occur more frequently and will be triggered more easily, even with less severe anxiety symptoms.
"De-realization", is similar but in this case, that which seems to become unreal, is the person's surroundings. With de-realization, an anxiety sufferer will have episodes of experiencing feelings that their surroundings have become unreal. They will feel as if even reality itself is no longer something they can fully grasp, during those moments. They may even question the existence of things and wonder if life itself is a dream of some type. Some descriptions I have heard of this experience are; "like being inside a bubble", or "like trying to see everything, through a curtain" and "like everything is covered with a thick fog".
Many anxiety sufferers, will experience both depersonalization and de-realization, at the same time or these may alternate, so that they experience each at different times. During episodes of either, they will also commonly have mind fog, meaning they feel hazy and unable to concentrate. These features only add to the unpleasantness of these experiences.
What causes these strange feelings of depersonalization and de-realization that are so concerning to anxiety sufferers? Well we know the "fight or flight response" itself is a protection mechanism, created in us, to help us flee or flight danger and to help us perform more powerfully, with important tasks at hand. These unreality type symptoms, where things seem to become unreal, is very likely part of that same protection mechanism. It may be that our minds will cause ourselves and our surroundings, to temporarily fade from our minds, in order for us to concentrate more intensely, on locating the actual danger that threatens us. It is similar to the reason an anxiety patient's mind will race, because it is trying to scan for dangers that have threatened them and set off the fight or flight response. We also know that all senses are heightened during strong anxiety responses and this too likely adds to these feelings of unrealities.
What is important for anxiety sufferers to know and to understand is the fact that these unreality symptoms, do not indicate the onset of insanity or of one losing their mind. They are very common occurrences with anxiety conditions and will not cause damage to a person's mind or sanity. This fear of going crazy is a very concerning one to those who experience severe anxiety and also those with clinical depression and these two often co-exist but are irrational thoughts and will never take place!
True psychosis, the true term for one actually losing touch with reality and having actual delusions and hallucinations, is the term for actual mental disorders that may or may not have significant emotional aspects to them. Anxiety and common clinical depression are both in the neurosis category, meaning they are stress related and not caused by an underlying mental disorder. Persons with really severe forms of depression, such as Bipolar Disorder, may have psychotic episodes but your more common type depression, called Clinical or Major Depression, is not in the psychosis category. Estimates by some Mental Health Organizations state that psychosis affects an estimated 1% of the U.S. population, whereas, the more common anxiety and depression conditions, affect a much, much higher percent of the population.
Patients with severe anxiety conditions need to learn not to fear these symptoms because adding more fear will intensify and extend the duration of these episodes. This is of course more easily said than done but with time and effort, those with Anxiety Disorders can learn to have less and less fear of these unreality symptoms, to where these symptoms are what fade into the background rather than the realities of self and surroundings.
If you are an anxiety and/or depression sufferer and are concerned by these unreality type symptoms, I challenge you to do a search on the internet, using the search term "Anxiety De-realization and Depersonalization" and you will find many other articles stating how common these unreality symptoms are and the fact that they are not dangerous. In fact do another search, using the term; "Anxiety Depersonalization and De-realization, neither harmful nor dangerous" and you will find even more articles that will help you. These unreality symptoms are common and not dangerous.
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Comments
Bless you for the kind comments Jill! I sincerely hope people who suffer anxiety will be helped by reading these articles on the subject.
really good read, thanx Jim. Helps when you are going through this
wow, thanks. it took years for me to even put a name to these feelings, but i still feared them as being very abnormal. you have done more good for me than the doctors i've tried to ask about this. thanks so much.
Wow, this is great. So many people on my support board believe they are "going crazy". I was wondering if we can "pin" this at the top of our website.
Thanks Amber, Jeanne and Sandy!
Sandy, you can certainly post the link to the article and a description you might want to write about it. I know HupPages is all for linking to articles here. It's really liberating to anxiety sufferers, when they find out how common unreality symptoms are! I would be proud to know that a link to the article is being displayed on your support board/site.
Thank you so much Jim for describing what I always thought was a crazy part of my make-up. I had my first unreality experience when I was eight years old. I thought there was definitely something wrong with me. As an adult I now know that many of the so-called strange thoughts and ideas I have are all part of my anxiety disorder. This is the first time I have heard of this actually being a disorder and other people have it. It makes me feel a bit better about myself.
You're welcome Cathy and I'm so glad to hear it was helpful!I wanted to point out that the anxiety resources I have listed around the article, at Amazon, are my own authored e-books and the audio listed is also mine. That audio titled; "Chronic Anxiety a Complete Look", is offered for .99¢ and a nice 41 minute educational tool for people with anxiety.Thanks for sharing your testimonial in experiencing anxiety symptoms.
I'm 15 and I have delt with Anxiety all my life - but only a few weeks ago I started to experience this. I didn't no what it was, or how to explain it to anyone; but after reading this I am feeling so much better, and feel as though I can rest my mind. - Though I am still working on getting better and dealing with it. I can't thank you enough :p
Rebecca,How wonderful to hear and thank you for letting me know that! I'm also glad to hear you are working on ways to cope and overcome anxiety. Keep at it and those small gains will add up to big victories. Also see the Amazon links I have posted on this article because I'm the author of them. The anxiety audio (yellow cover) has brought me great comments from anxiety sufferers who've listened to it and I made it very affordable (listed for .99cents). Consider giving it a listen if you get a chance.I loved hearing about your liberation from fear of unreality symptoms!
that article is so helpful to know im not going mad i have had these horrible symptoms and anxiety since my little girl was born 3 years ago and it is terrifying.i also question my body all the time like whats going on inside it like i look at my veins and cant belikeve that is my blood running through as dont feel real any one else have these symptoms?
Julie, what you describe is a perfect example of an unreality symptom and very similar to that other anxiety sufferers describe. When I had severe flares of anxiety due to the onset of autoimmune thyroid disease, I began having panic attacks and very severe free-floating (onigoing) anxiety. I was familiar with this type severe anxiety, having experienced it earlier as a teen while having Mitral Valve Prolapse (common heart murmur known to cause anxiety). The difference in that latter anxiety period were the unreality symptoms and I remember at one point staring at my hand while holding it in front of my face and wondering if it was really there and sometimes looking into a mirror and wondering if I was really recognizing the reflection as being me. Like you, it concerned me terribly that I was possibly going crazy but as I researched chronic anxiety, I found that unreality symptoms are a common occurance and do not indicate the onset of insanity. It is liberating knowledge that anxiety sufferers need to be made aware of because it can help diminish the severity of their anxiety. I'm so glad you came to this knowledge. Also consider my anxiety audio I list at the top-right of this article I have available through Amazon.
i could cry thankyou so much for your explanation.i have known been due t anxiety in a way but never here any 1 else say they obsess whats happenin in there body like int it wierd we have a brain and stuff and it makes me so anxious !i no it shouldnt its called been human but sum times just dont.also when i was pregnant with my girl 3 years ago b4 i got this loved been pregnant now i want another child but the thought of been preg freaks me out like me growing something inside my body it sends me in such a panic attack.im so down idolise my little girl then next day dont reconise her can you still assure me not going mad or wont jim?
julie, speaking directly to the unreality symptoms brought on by anxiety, I can say with backing by many reputable anxiety resources, that it does not indicate true mental illness in the true sense of the word (psychosis, bi-polar etc...). I will say however that if you experience problems beyond typical unreality anxiety induced ones, only a mental health professional can truely evaluate you.For your own peace of mind, I would ask for a referal for phychiatric evaluation. As a writer on health and anxiety subjects, I keep things general and never attempt to actually evaluate people from their comments. I do at times point out anything I feel is obvious, for example someone suffering thyroid type symptoms I might suggest blood testing for it. As far as being definitive with people asking questions about their health concerns, I have to supply general info, being a patient advocate and not a medical professional. Thanks for reading and commenting and I wish you the best with any consultations you have with qualified practioners and diagnostic/treatment specialists.
thanks jim i would but they just say its normal down to anxiety!i sometimes just dont think there as clued up with depersonilization.i think that is the main issue eg freak out bout been pregnant and if i dont feel like im inside my own body then the thought of some 1 else init well just panics me but am sure its down to this!it is the worst thing any 1 can go through just hope we all get cures.im fine a couple of months well 80% then 2 months quite bad but thanks jim am worrying now still incase they ant picked up on out more mentally serious but guess thats just my anxiety again!
Hi Julie, I feel the same Im pregnant now and Im pretty sure thats what triggered dp/dr only I feel Im going to be like this forever, hopefully once the baby is born it will sort of subside its on my mind 24/7 and I cant rest and sleep properly. There has to be something out there to help us!
congrats to you!do you feel the same about been pregnant how long u had it?i hate it so much but nice t know there is other people it just always looks like my friends and family have such normal lifes yet i cant go t bed without panickin or thinking about really irrational stuff gets me so down just want t be normal as so want a baby and yet the thought panics me!!
Ladies, I wanted to say this is interesting because it may point to pregnancy as a common cause of anxiety unreality symptoms. It may be just as depression can manifest severly in some pregnant woman (postpartun as well), anxiety may also. There may be studies out there on this and I'll do a search soon to see.
mine was just after i had my little girl as was fine when was pregnant it was when she was 9 wks old and never reaaly felt in my body and been depresssed since then!but probably both coursed by preg hormone or chemical change!
Thanks Jim. takes a load off.
You're welcome Buck, thanks for reading!
Ive suffered with this all my life. (im 24 now but had to see a child psychologist when I was 3 years old.) I couldnt believe life was real .. my pares were advised it was because i was "too clever" and had an "over-active imagination.". Ive been with my boyfriend for 4 years and have successfully hid it from him. But its become hideously bad again lately to the int where Im having really scary thoughts....i.e death and stuff. Im sick of feeling like im not real and im imagining everything and everyone. I have a VERY stressful job and try to rationalise things all day but find the more i rationalise the more i think im dreaming everything. I dont understand why im here and what life is about. Just think whats the point if the only thing you can be certain of is death?? I wake up panicking that life isnt real and that death is cruel.
Smudge, I've read the testimonies of people with severe lifelong anxiety disorders, many of them having OCD (obsesive compulsive disorder) and their unreality and "catastrophic thinking" was severe. Despite this, they found the more they learned about these anxiety phenomenons, the more they faded in severity. Some people also suffer from dissociative disorder however, with this condition people phase-out a lot, so-to-speak to escape reality, rather than wondering about it. They also suppress memories and are usually actually triggered by trauma. What you describe sounds a great deal more in the unreality symptoms category and I truly believe learning all you can and learning not to fear the symptoms, will diminish them over time. I had it severe at one point as well and felt as if it would never leave but it did for the most part. I related to some to your descriptions because I often had a very strange feeling when looking into a mirrror and wondering who I really was and if I really existed or was in a dream. Mine came more often with strong free floating anxiety and during times I suffered panic attacks. I was concerned about loss of sanity and that I might enter a phase of this that I would not come out of but that's the nature of severe anxiety, it puts you into a somewhat altered state of mine due to the fight or flight response. It wants you to scan for all possibilities that threaten you and your existence and is why the very strange feelings and thoughts trigger.
You might want to see this Hub I wrote as well>> http://hubpages.com/hub/anxiety-catastophic-thinki
Thanks for writing this, reading it made me feel instantly better. I've only just started suffering real anxiety attacks although I'm generally quite an anxious person anyway. Had a whole week of them on and off recently where I convinced myself that I'd lost my mind. Reading about other people having similar experiences, especially the horrible "unreal" feelings and ideas made me realise that I'm not on my way to the nut house. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome Mat! You hit the nail on the head and have added a really nice testimonial. It's so true that understanding these anxiety unreality symptoms and the fear of going crazy that are both so common to sufferers of severe anxiety, does in itself bring relief and ability to better cope with them.
Reading this brings tears to my eyes and comfort to my entire self!
Fantastic Jess! Thanks so much for adding that word of testimonial and uplift!
I have had these experiences throughout life. Recently. I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Are these symptoms usually found in Bipolar?
Yes it can Amanda. Unreality symptoms can happen with any emotional disorder that has anxiety as an aspect and depressive disorders often do. I will say that unreality symptoms are not the same as actually losing touch with reality which can happen intermittently with bipolar if episodes of psychosis happen with it. The difference between the two is that unreality anxiety symptoms are feelings that are unpleasant to you while actually losing touch with reality is something you are not usually even aware is taking place and may not even be scarey to you. Also on the subject of bipolar: "the name describes just what this is, "two opposed extremes". People with it, will become severely depressed, followed by episodes of "mania", meaning periods of exaggerated elation. In fact during these manic episodes, the person seems very energetic and wants to go on a shopping spree for example, or work on a project endlessly and can actually go without sleep for days or even weeks."The above is a quote from my article here>> http://hubpages.com/hub/AnxietyandDepressionVsPsyc This is just my layperson opinion but if you have any doubt about your diagnosis of bipolar disorder, I would seek the second opinion of another mental health professional. I do know that bipolar can be successfully treated in the vast majority of cases.I know you are aware of this but I need to add for sake of readers coming by that it is very important to take medications as prescribed to you and never attempt stopping them for any reason, unless under the supervision of a Doctor. That's kind of off subject but I felt I should add it.
I AM HAVIN SIMILAR SITUATION CAN U FEEL LIKE IN A DREAM LIKE STATE WITHOUT BEIN ANXIOUS ALL THE TIME I HAVE HAD THESE SYMPTOMS FOR OVER 3 WEEKS THAT CAUSED ME TO HAVE TO LEAVE WORK AND STAY AT HOME ON A MEDICAL LEAVE BECAUSE I WENT INTO DEPRESSION OVER IT I THOUGHT IT WAS THE PHENTERMINE THAT I HAD BEEN ON AWHILE AGO FOR WEIGHT LOSS WHAT MEDICATION DO U PREFER I AM CURRENTLY ON CYMBALTA
Tina,
Yes there are medications including some types of antidepressants that can induce some floaty type feelings and feeling like you're unreal or your surroundings are unreal. Depression as well as anxiety can affect you in these ways. Some people also kind of dissociate from things, like they go into a mild trans. If you have severe dissociative problems, this too can be a disorder (dissociative disorder) but not quite the same thing as unreality symptoms common with anxiety.
Make sure to follow your Dr.s directions on everything and allow him to diagnose what is causing your dream like feelings. It is almost certainly not something that is harmful to you though I'm sue is very unpleasant.
I personally don't take any emotions drugs but know that SSRI antidepressants and other types are very helpful to people in need of them.
Thanks for commenting.
Thank you so much,this article was the most helpful of any I've read. This is the scariest feelings I have ever felt! Is there anything you can do at home for yourself in between Dr visits to relieve it a little? at times I think I may just stop recognizing or being able to talk to my family members anymore,I truly love my husband and my children very much and want to spend a normal life with them.Knowing every one of them and be able to enjoy them again!
genette, Anxiety sufferers report that once they start having the unreality symptoms, they seem to trigger more easily and more often. This really does not mean your anxiety or emotional condition has worsened, it's really a matter of a learned behavior. It's almost as if you train your brain to think a certain direction and it begins to center-up on testing the reality of things and in searching to see if feelings for people are still there ect... When my anxiety symptoms were at their worst, I too had the weird sensations that I had lost my recognition for those I loved and even had a hard time feeling love for them at those times. It was a scary aspect of my anxiety disorder but all of it improved over time as I learned to direct my thinking into other directions when the symptoms tried to trigger. It wasn't easy and took time but I now have almost non-existent unreality type sensations and anxiety itself is pretty much at normal levels for me. Really, it has a lot to do with counseling yourself by reassuring yourself that the unreality symptoms are not actually harmful and will fade over time. I wrote an article somtime ago where I suggest humor as being a good weapon against "catastropic thinking" (similar to unreality thinking). Here's that link>> http://hubpages.com/hub/Overcoming-Catastrophic-An
Really any methods for changing your thought patterns can help over time and simply continual reassurance to yourself that you won't really lose feelings or recognition for your family but these are only harmless senations. Also consider getting my audio download for .99cents shown above and to the right that's available through Amazon "Chronic Anxiety a Complete Look".
Thanks also for reading my hubs and for the very kind comments about them.
I just want you all to know you can make this go away. i had my son 4 years ago and it all started during my preg. and was even worse the minute i had him. i did not know what was going on and was affraid to ask i was so scared and felt so fake at the same time. i thought i was going to die, i went to doctor after doctor. no one knew what my poblem was, this went on for months untill my mom(god love her for her support and all the hours of the same conversation over and over) gave me a book on dp. once i started that book i could not stop, it was all the answers i needed. i could not believe what i was reading, there was a name for what i was feeling,i was a new person. i wasnt the only one and thats all i needed to know. anyways enough about that, i want to say one thing, i have delt with this for almost 5 years and the best thing to do is stop thinking about it. dp will not hurt you, get your mind off of it sopt and yell stop in your head. find a good friend to talk to and change the subject and just STOP THINKG. it works
aIAMFREE
What a super good coment you've made! I love hearing that type testimonial and want to say that you are truly an inspiration to anxiety sufferers . Thanks so much for adding your comment!
I love all the things you have said about derealization and how to cope,Please tell me how to get your books and tapes through the mail or with a credit card online. I don;t have an iphone or any of that other stuff yet,but I really want to order this stuff.I think your great! and congratulations on your mental freedom,I can;t wait to fel normal again.
genette,
Thanks for the kind comments, I'm so glad my Hubs have been of help to you!
Click here for the Amazon page that has my anxiety audio>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E6CEAS
The audios are full length downloads that play on your computer.
My ebooks at Amazon are here> http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss
The ebooks require that you're set up with a Kindle unit through Amazon for reading them, so if you don't have one the audios are a good way to go, plus they're very affordable.
Do remember that the better gains you make in overcoming anxiety, are the ones that take some time to see progress in. You have to determine to stay committed to the effort but it is well worth it because you will see definite gains that will stay with you. A major aspect I address in my anxiety resources, is learning not to fear anxiety symptoms because that is a major key to overcoming them in my opinion. Thanks again for the uplifting comments. Your attitude is right for helping you with self-therapy. There's also nothing wrong whatsoever with additional help from a therapist and/or medication if needed but many people do very well with coping/overcoming anxiety on their own as well. I wish you the best with it!
I have suffered from anxiety for quite sometime now but I have never really felt this way before, this detachment from reality is really frightening and I can't concentrate in my classes or anything. The last 2 days have been terrible and when I really started feeling this depersonalization. Could the fact that my girlfriend of 3 years and I broke up just about a month ago be a trigger for these intense feelings I'm having? Some days are good, some days are bad, but these last 2 days have been horrible. It feels as though I will never get over it, but your article did reassure me I'm not going crazy.
Thank you
Aaron,
Thanks for the great comments!
Yes, life events can definitely aggravate anxiety symptoms and is something I have personally experienced on a number of occassions. Your realizing that the unreality symptoms are not actually harmful although extremely unpleasant is a big step toward getting victory over them. Learning not to fear anxiety symptoms is an important aspect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the goal being to view symptoms differently so that you also react to them differently. Keep making those small gains because they will accumulate into big accomplishments in coping with and overcoming anxiety over time.
I JUST THINK IT IS SO AWESOME YOU HAVE OVERCOME THIS JIM, AND YOU HAVE THIS SITE TO ANSWER PEOPLES QUESTIONS, THAT REALLY NEED THE HELP. YOU ARE TRULY AN INSPIATION TO THESE PEOPLE ANS MYSELF. I FEEL AS I HAVE MINE UNDER CONTROL VERY WELL, BUT I STILL HAVE MY DAYS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. I HAVE BEEN SICK WITH SINUS PROBLEMS AND TIME TO TIME I FIND MYSELF WORRING ABOUT ALL MY ACHS AND PAINS TO THE POINT I THINK IAM DYING, AND IN REAL LIFE ALL IAM DOING IS IS FOCUSING ON IT SO BAD I MAKE MYSELF THINK IAM WORSE OFF THEN IAM. I CALL IT THE LADDER AFFECT. YOU FOCUS ON CHEST PAIN SO TO SAY AND THAT TURNS INTO YOU CANT BREATH AND THEN YOU HAVE YOUR ATTACK AND YOU NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEN YOUR DYING AND SO ON. I COULD TALK ABOUT THIS ALL DAY. BUT THEN I SIT AND LAUGH AT MYSELF CAUSE I KNOW I DO IT I JUST CANT STOP SOMETIMES. THAT WHEN YOU JUST NEED TO TALK TO A GOOD FRIEND AND GET IT ALL OFF YOUR MIND. NOT TO MENTION THE DP FROM ALL THE WORRING DOES NOT HELP.ANYWAYS ENOUGH WITH MY PROBLEMS. I JUST RY TO GET MY UNCONCIUS MIND TO STOP THAT VICIUOS CYCLE, AND THE BEST WAY IS TO TALK TO SOMEONE YOU KNOW ABOUT ALL THATS ON YOUR MIND EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT OVER AND OVER TILL YOU FELL BETTER. GOD BLESS YOU ALL ON GETTING BETTER
aIAMFREE,
Thanks for adding your comments and inspiring advice! I too have always found that when I'm sick or overly tired or stressed, I become more sensitized to anxiety. I in fact wrote a hub on that subject as well> http://hubpages.com/hub/anxiety-sensitization
I also appreciate your comments about confiding with people you can talk to when you need an ear, to help you cope with times of severe anxiety. You are so right and something anxiety sufferers should always do!
Blessings,
JimLow
Dear Jim,
I just read your article and the whole pinnboard here. I always thought I am the only one having those strange symptoms of being detached from reality and feeling as if I was dreaming all the time. I was sure I'm going crazy. Though now, that I read all the comments, it reassured me, that even though my family doesn not know what I'm talking about and experiencing, there are some people who can understand the tremendous horror one is experiencing while feeling so surreal. However, I still don't know what to do in order for DP to go away. Will it go away? Or do I have to live with it? It's so scary.
Thank you very much for the support , Jim
Blessings - Eli
Eli, I'm so glad to hear that the Hub was of help! Thank you for adding comments to it.
There are methods to help you overcome unreality symptoms from severe anxiety and I go into this in several others hubs that might also help you in this area.
Here are the links to those,Click here> http://hubpages.com/hub/anxiety-catastophic-thinki here> http://hubpages.com/hub/Overcoming-Catastrophic-An
also here> http://hubpages.com/hub/Mastering-Anxiety-and-Maki
Note that I talk about "catasrophic thinking" in a couple of these hubs however, unreality symptoms and catastrophic thoughts are very similar and the methods to overcome them work for both.
Here's one that might offer some comfort in regard to the fact that unreality and catasrophic thoughts are not an indication of psychosis,Here> http://hubpages.com/hub/Differences-Between-Psycho
Hello,
It does help me to read articles that say this can be beat. I have been suffering from depersonalization for several days now. I have had it a couple of other times in my life, but that was when I was getting off of a benzo. I have not been on any medication for a yr and a half, but I have begun to have anxiety. Came close to a panic attack a few days ago and have had this depersonalization and it is very frightening. I think for me its the scariest because there is no way to know how long it will last. Some people have it for yrs. I have begun to believe that it is caused by my extreme state of anxiety, this period that I am going through. From what I understand once my body calms down and this excess fight or flight chemicals are gone then it should improve. That is what I hope and pray. Thank you for your article.
Shantown,
I believe you are exactly right. People who experience unreality symptoms with anxiety do so when it is severe and especially when they reach that point of being close to panic attacks or when they are having them. For some, they continue having some of the symptoms even when the anxiety level goes down, as if their mind has been trained to experience it. Regardless of the scenario, the ureality symptoms can be reduced greatly and even eliminated and in my opinion most of what does this is learning not to fear them. It is the fear of the symptoms that causes the mind to focus more on them and they intensify. For most people they increase the symptoms due to fear of going crazy or losing control but once they learn that these are irrational fears (phobias), they can begin to focus less on them and the symptoms fade on their own.
I know from personal experience that depersonalization and derealization can be eliminated over time by simply not giving them credence and just moving on past them. It gets easier the more you do this but can take time and patience.
Thanks for the comments!
Loved this article, I myself sometimes cannot believe that im inside a body and I thought there for a while I was going completely hystericA thing I have noticed though as my physical symptoms have decreased in intensity, my mental symptoms have dramatically increasedI went to a neurology clinic there a week or two ago because my physical symptoms resembled those of multiple Sclerosis and it turned out I just have a serve form of anxiety disorderthough I have a question....Do you think that whenever I get these "im not in a body" sort of delusions that I should play along with them in my mind and go as deep into them as possible, simply try to ignore them, or like I do..... literally tell myself to stfu????
Alex,
In my opinion, you do in a sense flow with the feelings/sensations by not resisting them because anxiety thrives on struggle which triggers the fight or flight response even more. You flow with them by letting it happen and reminding yourself that it is harmless and will pass. Over time, by doing this, you take the power out of them and they will fade over time.
Different techniques work for different people so doesn't hurt to experiment with it to find what works. I even suggest using humor to overcome unreality symptoms. Just add humor to thoughts that might arise.
See this hub> http://hubpages.com/hub/Overcoming-Catastrophic-An
Hello JimLow,
Been doing a lot of research on dissociative disorders and came across your article. I've been diagonose with it well over 10 years. Feel like there's no other better treatment than psychoatherapy. I'm afraid of having to be put on other medication. Kinda found out the hard way of cooping with side effects.
mayhmong,
I too took medication (SSRI antidepressant) for anxiety and depression but mine was thyroid disease - caused, so when treatment with thyroid hormone was given to me, I improved. While I was on the SSRI, I experienced a lot of undesirable side effects (dry mouth, dizzyness, brain-zaps, tremor, low libido, fatigue). This doesn't take away from the fact that lots of people are helped a great deal by these type medications.
Some people with dissociative disorders are given different types of medications like antidepressants and even anti-seizure drugs in some cases. Some info out there differentiates dissociative disorder from the more common anxiety-caused unreality symptoms but they are similar and some people may experience aspects of both at the same time. In fact other sources place depersonalization/derealization in the dissociative disorder category.
I agree with you that psychotherapy is very effective and more doctors should recommend it along with medications or as a trial treatment apart from medication. I also believe patients should be thoroughly tested for medical conditions that can contribute to emotional disorders, to rule them out or treat any found which can also help the emotions improve.
Thanks for commenting and I hope you continue to see good progress!
You guys are so luckly to have it come and go. For me it has been a lasting disorder every second of every day for 7 years. To everyone else I seem to function perfectly. I am a honor student in college and have been very successful. Internally I feel like I am disconnected in some way. Like you have one foot in this world and the other somewhere else. I feel like a robot going through the motions. If the room had a taste to it then I would say now it tastes bland. Kinda like how a dream seems real when you are having it but then you wake up. And in that split second is how I feel every single second of everyday. Time also seems to be distorted. You are right it is a real disorder and it can go away. However, for some it never will. It is always there for me.
I am suffering from drug induced depersonalization. I only smoked weed once when this first happened 7 years ago. It was a very high potent dose and I experienced an extremely disturbing high. Hand to the bible the next day after and since then I was never the same. It is very rare to occur from marijuana use especially one time use. But it can trigger underlying psychosis and depersonalization permanently. In 2007 and 2008 researchers in Great Britain are begining to realize the connection though further study is needed. Just google for the findings. It also concluded that in very few cases it stayed long after the drug metabolized. and/or it raises someones chance for future permanant psychotic disorders by 40% Although the margins are very low.
Hi d,
Thanks for sharing your experience although I'm sorry to hear it has been such a struggle for you.
Very intersting, in regard to marijuana triggering underlying psychosis. I have seen this attested to by people before on forums. My oldest brother stopped using pot after years of doing so (this was also many years ago) because during his last use of it, he had a paranoid aftereffect that truly scared him.
There may be things that are triggers for mental illness to surface. As far as anxiety unreality symptoms themselves go however, I believe when directly caused by anxiety, they do not indicate underlying mental illness.
My personal belief is that persons who go on to experience actual psychosis, already have pre-dispositions for doing so. In other words the depersonalization/derealization might serve as a trigger for psychotic episodes but are not the cause of them. Mental illness was actually already present in these individuals rather than common anxiety disorder or panic attacks.
If anxiety disorders which have unreality symptoms commonly manifested through them were the cause of psychosis, the statistics would be much higher for those having psychosis (versus 1%) as opposed to anxiety disorders (20%).
Thanks for commenting!
I have had depersonalization/derealization since I was 15 yrs old. I am now 40. Every 2-3 yrs I will experience dp/dr for serveral weeks at a time. They are very disturbing and very scarey. I hate to even drive when I am depersonalized since I don't feel "in my body". I force myself to everyday since I have two girls who desperately need me. I have had panic attacks, ocd, ptsd, and clinical depression for years. The feeling of unreality are so debilitating. I feel I will be stuck in this glass bubble forever. Thank you for explaining to me that others do suffer from it and it doesn't necessarily mean anything physical is wrong. I have had so many blood tests and everything is always fine! I am in dp/dr again right now for about 3 weeks since the doctors changed my meds from Paxil to Zoloft. That triggered a panic attack and I was taken off the meds and back to Paxil. I do hope it will work again for me as it has in the past. This is a very scary feeling, but I want to thank you for making me feel not alone and not "crazy". Donna
You are very welcome. I would add that what I discovered years ago and what I've seen other anxiety sufferers attest to as well, that struggled for years with unreality symptoms is that they faded for them when they learned not to fear them. That's of course easier said than done but starts with educating yourself about the symptoms as you are doing. Anxiety thrives on struggle and increases because it is the "fight or flight" response. Whether we realize it or not, we resist those feelings and it in turn increases them but simply flowing with them and reminding ourselves that they are not harmful, makes them fade and sometimes completely disappear. The fact that you recognize the unreality symptoms and are unpleasant to you, in itself proves they are not delusions but are unpleasant and unwelcome symptoms. People with true psychosis do not recognize their delusions as being such.
If you work on not resisting and by that I mean not struggling and fighting the symptoms but just letting them run their course and not fearing them, you'll see them settle down over time. I even suggest using hunor to divert your thoughts by making fun of the symptoms. See my similar advice at these hubs about anxiety>>
http://hubpages.com/hub/anxiety-catastophic-thinki
http://hubpages.com/hub/Overcoming-Catastrophic-An
its so nice to see that this is infact rather common ,i suffer gad terribly and derealization and depersonlization not to mention also agrophobia ,im currently in counselling to help over come this but feel she does not understand me which in fact is really frustrating, its so horrible to feel like this and i am constantly hunting for ways to overcome it although i have never found anything yet,its great that your are helping us with this and showing us how to understand it, panic attacks have got to be the worst to,not being able to go out because i fear i will have another panic attack ,i wish there was a miracle cure to help us who feel like this but unfortunatly i know there is not one but when we find advice like this it helps because we can see we are not the only one whoo feels the odd one out ,thank you
lisa-marie,
Thanks for the comment & for sharing your experience!
Learning about anxiety symptoms helps take some of the fear out of them. Educating yourself as you are doing is a big step toward coping and if you stay with it you'll see small gains that will add up to big ones over time. Understanding that although the symptoms are extremely unpleasant, they are actually niether harmful nor dangerous can be liberating.
The step of learning, heads you in the right direction toward better coping!
Hello Jim,
I guess I have the same for a full year now. About 15 years ago I had heavy stress and panic attacks and on one day I awaked and the whole world seemed strange. The feeling was horrible and like I was looking though a glass wall. After visiting several doctors who all told me I was very healthy and nothing was wrong, I thought I was loosing my mind. No-one seemed to understand what was going on and I was sure that I would end up in the bin.
Due this feeling, I started worrying about excistential questions like 'who am I', what am I', and I could not understand that 'all' was all so common before. My own hands were scary to me....
Due training hard and focussing on work the feeling escaped me and I was cured completely. But still there was 'something' deep down and sometimes when I was in a foreign country I thought about the situation , felt lost and the DP came back, only for a few days or so.
About a year ago I was very stressed due work and lack of sleep.I had to go to a foreign country with businessrelations and I was one of the 'tripleaders'. In the plane to the destination I felt trapped as I could not escape and had to be their guide for the next days. Only one thought was enough to get a panic attack and Immediately I felt like I was only 'in my head' watching the world from inside out.
THe following days were hellish as I tried not showing to anyone. I did not sleep the whole trip and when I got home all seemed very strange. Long story short; I have dp since then and allthough I know what is going on and why, I can not help thinking about the situation. Every morning the feeling is the worst and that triggers the thoughts. Again about excistencial things. I feel strange in my own body allthough I know that its me who does this. I went to a psychologist and he things that I'm blocked in my feelings. I think that he does not understand what is going on allthough I gave him a 'lesson' in dp. Sometimes I succeed in 'forgetting' about this and I feel rather fine. ONe thought only can be enough to break this and falling in dp again...
Rena,
Thanks so much for sharing your personal story. It is very interesting and is so classic for anxiety DP - unreality.
I went through very similar times in which I questioned who I was, the purpose for everything and even my faith beliefs. It is a very strange place to be in, that unless a person has been to, has no idea how bizzare it feels. In my case, I at first thought I might be having an identity crisis.
It helps a great deal toward coping, as you relate above, to understand that the symptoms are directly related to the severe anxiety state.
My best wishes to you in seeing more coping and less of the DP/unreality symptoms.
Thank you so much for this article Jim. It really is comforting to know that I am not alone with these strange and terrifying symptoms. I've had both anxiety and DP/DR for over a year now (this time around, I've had both in the past) and I was trying to figure out which was causing which. I think I've been caught in a vicious cycle where the DP/DR symptoms would scare me into panic and anxiety, and in turn that would drive the DP/DR.
Looking back, my first panic attack was set off by external stressors that sort of put that cycle into motion. The difficult thing is now to stop it. This article has given me a better understanding of what is going on with my condition. I feel more confident now that I can beat this thing and get my life back. Thank you for your help.
Fantastic Roger!
I love hearing fellow anxiety sufferers attest to the liberating effects that understanding the unreality anxiety symptoms can bring to them.
Those who first suffer them and sometimes even for a long time into the symptoms, they literally believe it indicates severe mental illness or signs of insanity. These added fears only add fuel to the anxiety and resulting symptoms as you pointed out.
As time goes by, you'll see better coping because of the major step you've found in learning not to fear these symptoms!
Thanks so much for sharing the positive comments!
Hi, I'm Stefan. 6 weeks ago I contracted UV-conjunctivitis (arc-eyes) when using a photographic technique while etching. Eight hours after exposure I woke up with conjuntivitis and cloudy vision as a result of oedema of the cornea. Scary experience! The GP prescribed cortisone eye drops and my vision cleared the next morning. Unfortunately this was not the end of my agony. Being prone to panic episodes (first one 18 years ago), I was convinced that there was permanent damage to my vision as a result of this episode. Subsequently I consulted one optometrist and two opthalmologis and all confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my vision. This, however, did not upease my fears. Six weeks down the line I'm haunted by symptoms like blurry vision, dizziness, unreality, cloudy vision, disorientation, problems wiyh 3-D vision, etc. During previous panic episodes I also experienced DR but it was not the focus of my attention - thoughts of going crazy then took poll position. However, now the DR made a connection with the arc eyes episode and became the focus of my thoughts and attention. I look at my surroundings and see things differently. I get anxious about visual stimuli that previously would not have bothered me. I feel that I have insight and try to rationalize all the time. How do I move on? I've been told that I need to confront this demon, not run away. It's difficult.
stefan3,
I realize this sounds like an oversimplified solution but learning not to fear the symptoms is a major part of overcoming them. I say this because anxiety fuels itself. When your attention is centered on symptoms, it magnifies them because anxiety thrives on struggle. Even the name "fight or flight response" describes the trigger and the struggle anxiety can produce. Of course under real circumstances, fight or flight is essential but "anxiety disorder" is what we're talking about, when the triggering of it happens when no real danger is present.
Learning to recognize symptoms as not being dangerous and finding ways to also divert your thoughts away from anxiety-triggering ones are what can help. It takes time and sometimes gains are slow but if you practice doing these things, the gains over disordered anxiety build into big ones over time.
Keep self-educating yourself because learning more is a key to taking the fear out of the anxiety symptoms. Find search online for "deep breathing relaxation" and "anxiety diversion". Also be willing to take added help of an anti-anxiety drug if needed, it's nothing to be ashamed or embarassed about. You may only need an as-needed one, as you develop better coping skills. Also consider joining a forum where anxiety sufferers share their experiences and coping techniques.
I hope this helps and I wish you the very best with it!
Two weeks ago I had a panic attack. My symptoms started when I was in bed about to go to sleep and I gotreally uneasy and started wondering "Am I even real? How am I evenalive right now?" After scaring myself with the fear of not being realI got this weird feeling like I didn't even exist. I felt (and still do) really zoned out.My chest started to hurt and my heart got really fast and my breathing felt heavy.I felt like I was dying, and I didn't know what was happening to me.The next day I woke up and still had this terrible feeling. I couldn't calmdown and I had to go to the hospital. They told me I was having panic attacks fromsituational anxiety. I wasn't satisfied with this answer because it felt like somethingwas seriously wrong with me. They gave me medicine to get me through the next day.The medicine didn't really help and it only temporary relaxed me. I became really frustratedbecause it felt like I was going crazy and I was going to be stuck like this forever. I feltreally trapped and depressed because I started thinking that I was never going to get betterand I was some sort of freak of nature. That's when I really started feeling out of touch withthe world. I felt like a robot and I wasn't even in control of my body and started to fear things likeif it was possible for me to forget how to breathe and if it was possible to get so disconnectedto the point to where you forget everything and you just fall over and die. I have to constantlyremind myself what things are and who people are. With that I also feared of making myselfhave a stroke or heart attack from thinking this way and the panic attacks really felt like I was having a heart attack. With being so overwelmed my "zoned out" feeling got even worse andI was scared of the possiblity of randomly ending up in some kind of different universe as a completely different person in the blink of an eye. I am so unsure and confused and quite franklyfrustrated, and it seems like talking myself out of my dreamy state only works for a second and thenI get right back to it. Sometimes it gets so unbearable to the point where I feel like I could pass outat any moment. I really have a hard time concentrating now and I feel like my fear is taking overmy life. Most of the time I really doubt that I will ever get better and that no one else has ever felt theexact same way I do (which really isn't likely at all.) I really just feel like going to sleep and never wakingup (not in a suicidal way.) or just crawling into a hole and never coming out.
Ever since that moment I have felt zoned out and this article gave me some hope, but I am very concerned with having to deal with this for years and years and I don't know if I can handle it.
Haily,
I want to encourage you, in that if you put a little ongoing effort into it, you'll see a degree of improvement over the unreality symptoms and probably a great deal of improvement. You might even see complete reovery over time. I do know for most of us who've experienced anxiety DR and DP (unreality symptoms), it's as though once experienced, the brain continues to trigger it, as if it learned something new that it begins to repeat.
Despite how terribly unpleasant the symptoms are however, they really do not harm you in the literal sense of causing any physical or mental damage. The harm they cause in is causing you to have the unpleasant feelings that can sometimes be restrictive in allowing you to enjoy things as much or do the things you enjoy as you did before. Do be encouraged however because you'll gain those things back over time. How do I know? because you've taken that biggest step in educating yourself about this symptom phenomenon. If you can, you might also do a search on google to find anxiety forums and most have threads on the DP and DR subjects. It will help you to relate to others and know you're far from being alone with this. You might read-only or join-in and do some posting. Either way it can be helpful.
Also learn not to fear the symptoms because this dis-empowers them over time. Even learn to find humor in them over time and at some point to even challenge them to hit you with their best shot. At that point, you will have gained a lot, if not total victory. This is of course easier said than done at first but you simply allow yourself all the time you need and don't rush it. Those little improvements will become big improvements over time.
Don't shy away from therapy or medication if you need one or both because they are usually temporary needs when you're also working on coping techniques. This is just my layopinion but I would try an as-needed ant-anxiety medication rather than the SSRI antidepressants that must be weaned off very slowly if at some point you discontinue them. If one is needed however, there's nothing wrong with that either.
Keep also reading positive anxiety coping articles. I have a number of them here at HubPages and you find lots of other authors writing them by doing google searches. I suggest "panic attacks neither harmful nor dangerous" as a suggested search and also "anxiety depersonalization harmful nor dangerous". Also search "Freedom From Fear - 10 facts of panic".
Best wishes with it and post again anytime!
Hey jim , i really need your help im 18 and am having very very bad direalization i feel like nothing is real and im watching myself i have lost all intrest in activites because this is so emotinally tireing. i have anxiety but usually just minor attacks not alot. more OCD than anything anyways. about a two years ago my doctor thought that i have anxiety driven add which was why i wasnt doing good in school anyways i felt fine back then i was happy with no worries and never had experince a panic attack. after about i year and a half i decided to quit this drug citalopram i was on 20 mg a day and after that i started having bad withdraw symptoms because i quit cold turky. after this the doctor put me on clonazapam to get through the withdraw i took about 2mg a day for 2 months. right when i started to ween my self off these drugs i started to feel seperated from everything my brain was in a complete fog and has been this way for 2 full weeks since my last dose it truley feels like it will not get better i cant stop thinking about it every night i get so worked up because i know tommarow i will have this awful fog again and i have it 24/7 is there anyway the benzo has triggerd this short term ? anyways any help would be great thanks
Curtis, your post shows twice but no big deal, I'm just deleting one of the copies. First I want to say I'm sorry you are going through the unreality symptoms and the brain fog as I call it. I do want to encourage you however by assuring you that the symptoms are not harmful although extremely unpleasant. They tend to make a person fear that they will become insane but that is not going to happen. It is an anxiety symptom-phenomenon and actually a normal reaction that happens at inappropriate times or out-of-context you might say. The "fight or flight response" is amazing in that it has aspects to it that cause lots of strange sensations. It for example causes your brain to focus differently by placing self and surrounds more into the background so that you can locate the perceived danger. There's really not a danger in the case of anxiety "disorder", so it keeps your mind in the state of altered concentration until you find a real danger. Your own adrenal glands keep you on alert and this keeps the fight or flight in a continually triggered state.
You will see relief from it, just hang in there and try not to place more emphasis on the symptoms than they deserve (I know that's easier-said-than-done). Kind of learn to flow with the symptoms rather than fighting them because resistence truggers more adrenaline. The symptoms absolutely will not cause you harm other than restricting you to a degree from doing things and enjoying things as you would like. This too will change given time but you'll need to be patient because gains in better coping can be small at first. They will build into bigger gains over time.
Your withdrawal from the drug likely exacerbated the unreality symptoms but as more time goes by, you should see that effect diminish from the withdrawal. I've seen other anxiety patients attest to it taking a number of months to see those side-effects completely resolve from stopping a drug. The benzo, shouldn't hurt, as far as making the withdrawal worse but should help. You do want to avoid longterm use if possible bwecause it's also harder to wean off a benzo after longterm use.
As I suggest often to anxiety patients and something that helped me, is too read fellow anxiety sufferer's stories on anxiety forums and even post yours if it will help. This helps you feel less alone (you're far from alone) and helps you not to fear the symptoms (a big key to coping). Also continue to educate yourself via good anxiety sources. Also look for my anxiety ebooks & audios you'll see posted around my articles via Amazon links.
You'll do better over time because you desire to do better! Hang in there and don't rush yourself. Give yourself permission to feel anxious and allow yourself lots of time to learn to cope. It will happen!
Blessings,Jim
Sometimes, I feel like I experience derealization. It is very rare. I am generally a happy person, laid back and infrequently anxious. I do smoke marijuana, however, on a weekly basis.. and I think maybe sometimes I just get "spontaneously high," as I've heard that that can happen. It's rare. It happens to me maybe once a year, and usually occurs when I am very hungry or tired. Sometimes when I've lost a lot of blood due to my period.
It's kind of strange, isn't it?
I too thought I was going crazy. It went away after about an hour, however. I was surprised at the feeling, though.
I've seen the testimonials of other people who experienced what you are describing, that was related to smoking pot. In fact one of the people is in my family and he related to me his experience of feeling unreal and paranoid and it happened to him several times which made him quit smoking it. He said it was different from the high and was very unpleasant and surprising to him too, with the fact that he was a user for 25 years previous and had never experienced these episodes.
Some of the people who relate this happening say that the unreality feelings stayed with them afterward, even after they stopped smoking for years.
Hi there, I have had this on and off for 12 years and now i decided not to take any medication at all, but im worse than ever, i dont understand what to do, as i know what it is and why its occuring yet it still doesnt go!!.. please help
Wow one of the most comforting articles I have ever read.....Thank you very much. Also do you know if its common to experience these feelings in the first stages of taking a medication like celexa?
sashab1,Always make sure any change of dose or weaning off of a medication is with doctor-supervision because symptoms can worsen in these cases as the body adjusts. It can be dangerous not to have your doctor overseeing it.
It takes time to learn coping and sometimes you need the added help of therapy or a medication. Google "Anxiety Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" and educate yourself on coping techniques but also be sure to follow your doctors treatment guidelines and supervision.
Also become involved in anxiety patient support forums which you can also find by search online. At least read fellow anxiety sufferer stories and coping successes but also post on these if it helps. These are the major starting points toward coping, especially by self-educating.
Robin,
I'm so glad the article was of help. See my suggestions in my reply to sashab1.
Yes, I've seen other anxiety patients attest to experiencing side effects from starting an SSRI antidepressant and other types that include a temporary worsening of certain symptoms including the unrealty symptoms and brain fog. These improve as the body adjusts over time.
I personally saw some symptoms increase when I took Paxil for a few months a few years ago, in fact my anxiety also increased for a while. I also experienced the electrical sensations they call "brain zaps" that were scarey because I wasn't warned that they could happen.
Geven time, you should see the side effects diminish and the benefit of the medication increase. As I stated in my above post, do make sure to follow your doctors orders in taking the med.
Thanks to both of you for the comments and sharing your experience.
Jim,
Thank you very much for your article, and I really appreciate your responses to everyone's comments. I am 27 and had several episodes of these symptoms over my childhood and teenage years. One of the first occurred when I was in junior high school and took No-Doze, not knowing how I would react. The excess of caffeine triggered panic symptoms and these "floating" or "detached" feelings, but it eventually subsided. Then a couple of years later, I smoked too much marijuana (for the first time) and that triggered a much more intense reaction, and for a couple of days I felt like I was going crazy. It seems from people that I've talked to that, while most people find marijuana highs to be relaxing, for others it can induce severe panic and anxiety symptoms. That traumatic experience made it extremely easy to trigger a relapse of those unreality symptoms, and I think a degree of OCD (which seems to be comorbid with anxiety) caused me to constantly think about or "test for" the symptoms, which triggered further anxiety, which caused the symptoms. It took a long time (the symptoms recurred on an almost daily basis for most of a year), but the symptoms finally dissipated when I became more socially involved in high school and began regularly exercising. It was only in the past couple of years that I even learned the power of anxiety and that I (and many others in my family) have chronic anxiety symptoms. I began to notice that after smoking weed (only tried it once again), drinking too much caffeine, or during a hangover, I experience severe anxiety symptoms, but knowing that they were just feelings prevented the fear cycle that caused my year-long episode in the past. Then just this week I became aware of depersonalization and derealization as discrete symptoms of anxious response, so this has been a lot to take in, but has been extremely comforting to know about.
As someone who has gone through it, I whole-heartedly agree that the most important steps in recovery are 1) understanding that you aren't going crazy, but that your brain is just trying to protect itself, 2) that anxiety or trauma is the original source of DR/DP, and 3) that the symptoms will subside gradually when you practice effective anti-anxiety strategies or deal with the fear you felt during the trauma. For those who may have had the symptoms for a long time and think they will never go away, I think that it may be harder to break the cycle of fear that kept the DP/DR symptoms around for so long, which may have led to your brain "learning" to constantly feel them, but there is hope!! If the problem is a chemical imbalance, then medicine to treat that imbalance should help. If the problem is a learned response or expectation of the symptoms, then it will just take cognitive practice to learn to react differently, as Jim has alluded to here. Stick with it, and believe that you can get better, because you can.
Thank you again, Jim, for providing this forum!! Hopefully the medical community will continue to research this and educate the public about this scary, but common and treatable experience. Good luck to everyone!!
Will,
A sensationally written comment, that's as good as any I have read on this subject! This comment in itself would make an excellent article!Thank you also for sharing your personal experience which was an inspiration to read! Others who come by here to read these comments will get a great benefit from them!
Thanks so much for adding this.
hi i was under alot of stress and had a panic attack and then have been in this depersonlization state for about 7 months now i am going to therapy and tryin every med out there my anxiety has gotten somewhat better and i am panic attack free does this mean i have depersonalization disorder
Tina,
Thanks for commenting.Unreality type symptoms happen commonly with chronic anxiety, panic attacks and anxiety disorders and as you know they are extremely unpleasant. Anxiety sufferers experience the symptoms to varied degrees. Some only rarely feel unreal or that their surroundings seem unreal, while others have these symptoms frequently. I'm not sure how often you would have to experience them before it would be called a "disorder" of itself. Usually DP symptoms are simply recognized as a symptom manifestation of anxiety disorder, so the anxiety is the disorder, while DP and DR (depersonalization & derealization) is a resulting symptom.I send my positive hopes your way, that you'll see progress in symptom relief soon!
Jill Morgyn says:
17 months ago
Helpful article, I'm sure! It's nice to read something written with so much sensitivity and kindness to your audience. I learned about something I had not known before.