I have just read an old post about derealisation and depersonalisation it is amazing.

[TheBlackdog]

I have been searching for an answer for years and this old post sums it up. All of my symptoms about feeling weirded out and spaced out over several weeks is what I am having. Anyone else have this x

[Kathush]

I believe i have had that since my momma passed away 2 and a half years ago. I feel like i am living in a dreamlike state, not a good or bad feeling but it is quite scary not feeling like myself anymore. Everything is just "different" and the days seem to go by fast.

[Hidden in reply to Kathush]

What does it actually feel like, is it like stepping outside of yourself?

[Kathush in reply to Hidden]

Yes!! Everything feels different and even looks different on most days. It is a strange feeling, kind of like being hollow. The emotions are still there, for the most part, but i just want to feel "real" again.

[Hidden in reply to Kathush]

Have you tried to do anything to make you feel real again?

[Kathush in reply to Hidden]

No, i don't know what to try.

[Hidden in reply to Kathush]

It's a tricky one there has to be a way.... 🤔

Old memeories,, photos, videos of good times don't help?

[Kathush in reply to Hidden]

No no, i am unable to look at pictures of times gone by because i miss those times so much it actual hurts and makes me feel physically ill.

[Hidden in reply to Kathush]

Ok, understandable.

[Kathush in reply to Hidden]

I am going to read on it tomorrow evening. And see if anything can help. I just was thinking that it all had to do with losing my momma.

[Hidden in reply to Kathush]

Yes I'd say that's the cause of it.

You have to get those good happy feelings back again.

[Kathush in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. I am promising to make it a personal goal now. ❤

[Hidden in reply to Kathush]

Yes, keep going, you will get there.

[Jeff1943]

Derealisation/depersonalisation is a normal symptom of anxiety disorder: it is your mind's unhelpful attempt to distance you from what it senses is an anxious/dangerous situation. It is a feeling of "not being here" or like watching everything happen on a TV.

It is unpleasant but it will resolve when you recover from the anxiety disorder.

I had it back in the 1970s but I was more concerned with other symptoms of anxiety so I neglected the derealisation/depersonalisation and it eventually went: it 'died' of neglect.

I still feel it if I am in an area brightly lit by fluorescent lighting such as a supermarket. I believe tinted sun glasses take the edge off the feeling and are worth trying.

My suggestion would be not to concentrate on this symptom of anxiety, which will resolve nothing, but to concentrate on resolving the cause: the anxiety disorder. Once we eventually free our ourselves of the over-sensitisation of our nervous system all the symptoms including dp/dr will disappear.

[TheBlackdog in reply to Jeff1943]

I see it's a symptom. I am not sure I'm totally convinced it is ongoing anxiety lasting several weeks but maybe it is. I don't know. I was thinking perhaps it's depression or bipolar but I don't know if I have bipolar. I've not been diagnosed with that. I am diagnosed with major depression disorder though. I keep wondering if I am on enough medication as I keep getting blips with these symptoms described above. Any thoughts?

[Jeff1943 in reply to TheBlackdog]

Blackdog, I am not a mental health professional but dp/dr can last for as long as the anxiety disorder continues, just like any other symptom. You say you have not been diagnosed with bipolar but with depression. So stick with the depression diagnosis though raise the question of bipolar with your doctor/psychiatrist/therapist if you think it's an issue or for reassurance. But it's not reliable to diagnose yourself, we all get it wrong more times than we get it right.

Depression and anxiety often overlap hence the dp/dr which is a symptom of anxiety. We can get anxious about being depressed and depressed about being anxious.

Depression is the depletion of nervous energy by too much fear, worry, stress and anxiety. With rest and professional help the depletion can be over come. As to whether to increase your medication only your doctor can decide that but from what you say I think it is definitely worth asking the question. I hope that given time the world once more becomes the brighter place for you that it once was.

[Calm_mama]

Hi Blackdog, I am so happy you have reached out! I will say that Jeff1943 seems very knowledgeable and I would take his advice to heart. He "talks the talk". He has clearly learned the path. It too have had symptoms of DP/DR in highly anxious times and for some reason my anxiety didn't latch on to it as a specific problem in and of itself. It seemed normal to be feeling so odd when I was so tied up in knots. This intense set of feelings/sensations hang around when one focuses on them as another "new thing" to fear. It's just part/parcel for anxiety. DP/DR is quite common with anxiety. The best resources I have found for understanding and reducing fear of this particular symptom AND for recovering from anxiety/panic in general are:

Claire Weekes- her books (hope and help for your nerves is the best known) and her audio- the audio is available online for free. Her best audio IMO is: youtube.com/watch?v=REOdAWC...(Not working as expected?)

Hugo Rock's website

David Carbonell's website

Paul David's book: At last a life

Swamy G's website (acoachcalledlife.com)- (*note, I love this website just be aware that there is a lackadaisical perspective on marijuana use on this site and I personally don't support that viewpoint)

Lastly, an incredible online essay called "Nothing Works": nothingworks.weebly.com/

These resources offer the beginning of CBT for anxiety and all the accompanying symptoms. CBT involves changing your beliefs, your attitude, the way you perceive and think about something. It is absolutely amazing. When you start to view your symptoms as benign (not harmful), meaningless, unimportant, just part of anxiety...when you start to view anxiety as a great, big bluff, when you start to accept, accept, accept all the symptoms- including DP/DR, as just an interesting but harmless part of you, when you no longer fear anxiety and panic themselves, and stop avoiding all the things that bring it about, when you go INTO things deliberately that you know will bring about panic/anxiety and practice seeing the symptoms as fascinating, interesting, but totally harmless....when you start to look FORWARD to tomorrow and all its possibilities and promise, when you start to look OUT instead of IN, when you start to be mindful of all that is around you- what people are saying, what the temperature is, what the sky looks like today, what the birds sound like today... then you are on the path to total recovery. Recovery does not mean that your anxiety is quiet forever- but it means you have a whole new way of thinking about it, with utter acceptance, and it is there sometimes but you don't think, "Oh no! not again!" any longer- you say, "hello old friend, and what kind of bluff did you bring for me to ignore today?" And you learn to say, "So be it" to all the "What-if"s that anxiety generates. And suddenly you find yourself smiling often, and feeling joy, and feeling peaceful and quiet....with so much room in your mind for lots of lovely, hopeful, creative thoughts. Now your post does not give a lot of detail, so I assume this is DP/DR you are feeling, just as you do. And assuming it is, do not pay your spaced out feeling any mind. You can function just fine despite this feeling. Absolutely no one knows you feel this way unless you tell them. As Jeff1943 said- your nervous system is a bit sensitized right now. This won't harm your nervous system AT ALL. It is temporary, and you will become desensitized in time by simply accepting how you feel as absolutely NOTHING. This is how "Nothing Works"- as in the title of the essay I listed above.

Start with Dr. Weekes' video (audio only). You bring up depression and she explains how anxiety/depression and DP/DR are all intertwined and are all a very natural progression of things once anxiety has woken up with a roar and started to take you for a ride.... All the best!

[TheBlackdog]

Wow thanks for reply it was amazing to read. I have been on a long journey with these anxiety and depression symptoms for the past 12 years plus and still looking for explanations because my symptoms change nearly every time I have it. Approx every 6-8 months for some reason so about once or twice a year. I never really took much notice of Dp/Dr until more recently because it has not been overpowering. But it is now. I can get distracted and get on with my job as a professional in healthcare. I find it fascinating at the same time as not really liking it as I have not had control but as soon as I staeted thinking of it as an object getting in the way of my day/life it started to reduce and has now gone. I feel back to my normal happy self with more confidence. I agree I am too sensitised.I have just bought the Hopes and fears book and have started it. It describes me down to a T. I am looking forward to getting past page 2 during the busy school holidays. I will let you know how I get on. Thank you for taking the time to write. It is much appreciated.

[Calm_mama]

Absolutely! You are so on the way!! Yes we can get bogged down in the symptoms and what they might mean- they change so often! One day, nausea, the next day, dizziness, the next day, headaches and blurry vision. Anxiety can do such a number on our bodies! And maybe this time it IS some major health problem, right? But 99% of the time it's just our friend Anxiety Yes, one day we will have health issues to deal with but not now. BTW I am in healthcare too. I think it has helped me tremendously with health anxiety (we face our fears every day) and I hope it does the same for you. All the best!