Derealization is the problem
Monday July 18, 2005
On the Panic/Anxiety Disorders Forum, a community member writes, "I feel derealization every day. I can go about my day and try not to think about it. But if I think about 'reality' and do I feel 'real' right now, I get so overwhelmed I panic. I just don't understand this part of the anxiety symptoms. It really makes me feel like I'm going crazy and I can't focus. It scares me so bad - like if I'm driving, it feels like a dream and I'm scared I'm going to crash. Does anyone have any suggestions?" Please stop by the Forum and share your thoughts and tips.
Comments
hello yes i have sam simptoms as you manetion its really hard but you most konw something this is caused from chemical imbalance in brain but there are lots of way to cope with them for excemple doing sport medeitating and the most important thing is to bilive in GOD and to bilive that we are his creatures so this is not serious disorder i am in this situation for 4 years now the best thing what is helping me is to stop traying to beat it right now coz it will cause more panic so find what is working out what is making you more streesed aviod it and take care for sleep if you have good sleep you will have a good health in general thats can make under controle anxiety
hope this will help you
i have been fighting derealization for 4 years right now and i am still trying to find answers, meditation has helped a lil bit but still have problems, if you have any answers please contact me at:sgt_barnes55@hotmail.com
i have tried almost every drug out there and no results. i am very knowledgeable on this topic too.
you are not alone. i have been dealing with panic attacks for some times now. they appear mostly when i am stressed. a few months ago i was in a car accident and lost my car. a few weeks after that i lost my job. things got exremely stressful for me and one day i was babysitting a friends son along with my 3 year old daughter. my nerves got extremely bad and i started to have a panic attack. after the panic attack ended i started to experience derealization. its been about 2 months now. this is the 2nd time in my life it has happened. the last time i just snapped out of it one day but this time i havent. b/c my situation is the same (w/out a car or job and i have no fam or friends here) its hard to deal with. i’m constantly looking for answers w/out having to turn to meds. i’m now pretty much home bound and depressed. keep in touch and if you find a helpful solution please share…good luck and stay positive.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get medication and professional help. There is no reason for you to suffer so. This derealization is an underlying symptom of an anxiety disorder. It is a NORMAL symptom of anxiety and many, many people have it. Once you resolve the anxiety disorder, the symptoms will stop. It happened to me 12 years ago and it just recently happened again because I wasn’t paying attention to my own needs. It is TERRIFYING and horrible but the truth of the matter is, these feelings are transient and harmless. They are just symptoms of anxiety - think of it as a runny nose is a symptom of a cold. Once you are cured of the cold, the runny nose goes away. I know it doesn’t feel good but please seek help. There are doctors and medications that can help get you back on your feet again. Good luck and know that it can be cured - I was without it for 12 years and will be without it again.
I am 18 years old and am a sufferer of Crohns and IBS. when i was 12 years old i woke up and the world was a haze.
I was really scared because I didnt know what i was experiencing or if anyone else had this disorder. Shortly after, my IBS troubles began. Psycologists didnt help. I dont think ive ever had a panic attack, and this derealization has been 24/7 for 6 YEARS even when i wasnt feeling stressed.
Advice would be appreciated.
I can’t believe I’ve gone seventeen years of thinking I was losing my mind, only to read that it’s a normal symptom of anxiety. I almost feel cheated!.
Jodi, your post has made me feel like I’m not going to go utterly insane, and that is half the battle with this derealization (now that I finally have a name for it).
hi ive experienced anxiety disorder and panic attacks on a regular basis,im 19 and i used to have them 3 or 4 times a week. the sense of being out of reality and the fear of not knowing who i am is something ive lived with and am also dealing with. YES it is horrible YES it is scary BUT dont give up. It will stop, it will go away, please please please just try and get off medication if your on it and try and deal with it yourself. i would have laughed if someone had said that to me 3 weeks ago. YOU have to take control. when it comes on,GET BUSY. i cant tell you how important this is, start a project, make cards, clean the house from top to toe, do what ever it takes to distract yourself. Try listening to classical music, i know it sounds funny but its saved me. avoid films about death or anything to do with why we are when you are feeling ‘out of touch’ dont worry if you dont feel love for loved ones. YOU ARE NORMAL. YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ILLNESS. You are not ill, it is not a disorder, its just a part of you, as much as a spot on your face when u were a teenager. but remember the spots go. so will the anxiety. you can do this bacause i have and we are all born the same. your not alone and you just are here, dont ask why, i know its hard, just accept you are alive, one day you will die, not yet godwilling, but make the most of your life, dont waste it on a ’spot’!
Thankyou this helped alot. I have been dealing with this as well… it is so scary i feel like im loosing my mind and i will loose my friends and family.. but im trusting in God and i know he will carry me through. be strong
Actually, Laura.. it is a disorder. Saying it isn’t can cause people to lose hope. People suffering from this WANT to find a name for it. They WANT to know it is something that is treatable, common (as in they are not alone), and that it’ll go away.
I had no idea what these feelings were. I thought I was going crazy. After reading Jodi’s post, I feel much better. Thankfully I stumbled upon this information, and now know what to actually call what I’m feeling when I see my doctor. Instead of just saying, “I don’t feel the same.. I can’t describe it.
I have been dealing with derealization everyday for the past 2 years and off and on over the past 10 years. I don’t feel anxious but my psychiatrist said that its a symptom of anxiety. I have tried Lexapro, Prozac, Effexor XR, Cymbalta, Zoloft and Wellbutrin. I am tired of this!!!!!! I want to wake up and say to myself “Wow the world doesn’t look strange today” What can I do? Does anyone have an answer????????
i HAD THE SAME DISORDER 16 YEARS AGO. I woke up one morning and felt so fuzzy, as if I needed to go back to sleep and wake back up on the other side of the bed.Everyday for 4 months I prayed that someone could help me. I thought I was going crazy, to me it was the worse feeling in the world… I went to phychiatrist and they tryed giving antidepressants, but I was so afraid to take them. I did not want anything messing with my brain, as I already felt as thoough I had been drugged.. A couple of months went by no change .. I could not take it antmore so I went back to the psychiatrist and decided to take Zoloft… I swear within 4 days I felt as if a light went back on… It was so weird..They told me it would take at least 4-6 weeks to show any improvement.. Since than I tryed to come off the medication numerous times, but started to get the same feelings. I would run back to the zoloft, and the light keeps coming on while on the zoloft. So Zoloft seems to be my drug of choice. I do not care if I have to take it forever, It beats feeling as though I am going crazy…I wish when I was going through that terrible time in my life, I could have read this message board. not even the doctors gave me a name for it, they just looked at me like I was crazy. Love you all. Things do get better..
I have had this disorder on and off for 15 years. Last 2 years are the worst. I still believe this is treatable if not curable. Reducing stress and anxiety, having a good psychotherapist, supporting family and taking proper meds (antidepressants) should take care of it. Im just 1 of those people who fear medications.
im so glad to find that what i have is actually something and there are other people out there who know the feeling. its such a disturbing feeling and ruins your life. im so happy i found this website and actually cried when i figured out i had this. i feel so stupid everytime i try to explain the feeling to someone. now i know what to say to my doctor instead of just saying “i feel different or weird like im just sitting in this world and everything is just an image and i feel like im going to lose control of my actions or i cant feel myself when i shower or it feels weird to touch my foot or hand like someone else is touching me.” i have severe anxiety and its so hard to even just leave my house and go foodshopping. i get scared around people like something is going to happen to me. i just started medication and i think everyone else shouldnt fear to try it too. if celexa doesnt work for me i will try prozac. has anyone tried celexa?
It is interesting to hear so many others talk about this same weird sensation. It is called derealization disorder, it can stam from depression, anxiety or trauma. derealization is a form of dissociation, in which we wall off upsetting information in our minds. One good book on the subject is The Strnager in the Mirror, which helps readers to understand more about dissociation. if you think about how you would respond in a traumatic situation; a car crash a hold up, a tornado you can imagine that you would feel like things were suddenly surreal and dreamlike. That is what we are feeling, only the signal has gotten stuck in the on position. It is a fairly common disorder that I am just now begining to understand after battling it for 9 years.
Don’t give up! Although I still have it,
I am finding more and more info on it. Like the woman on here who was helped by zoloft, so will the rest of us be helped in some manner. When I have it, I just try to push through it, get myself around friends, anything that will ground me more. Try to just observe the sensation. And realize that for as long as you have had it and as disconcerting as it is, nothing horrible has come from it. It is just a sensation, like a leg that has fallen asleep. Try meds, try therapy, try acupuncture, try reiki, try yoga, try mediation. Something will work for each of you. And when you find that thing, post on here again to give the rest of us hope and a clue as to how to beat it.
There is lots on the web about it. Look under derealization disorder. Knowledge is power. beat this thing. And, for those of you who dont get enough sleep, begin there. Get good solid sleep and plenty of it. lack of sleep can cause derealization.
John, Nov 26, 2007
I feel all of your pain, as I have suffered from derealization for the past ten years or so. I wish I could say I have a magical cure but I don’t…one thing that has helped me is dialectical behavior therapy. If they have programs that offer this in your area, try them out! Also, I read a book called “Feeling Unreal” by Simeon and Abugel that is full of helpful information and really makes you realize that you are not alone, which can sometimes be the most comforting thought. Hang in there everyone! We’re in this together, as much as it sucks!
It is really comforting to know that other people out there are going through the same thing.It has taken me three years to learn that I had derealization. At first it was really terrifying. Feeling so detached. not being able to concentrate, feeling as if I am in a dreamlike state 24/7. After two years of being afraid that I was dying and that something was horribly wrong with me, I just started to block most of it out. Yeah I thought about it when I was alone, but Ihave never told anyone how I really felt. I tried to explain it to my mother and my husband who of course do not understand. I needed to find an answer and so I started doing research on the internet and came across an article on an anxiety webpage. As I read the article I started to feel as if a heavy weight had been lifted up, The article described my symptoms and that it has affected many people.And so I found this site and to you all, Thank you all for your posts, everyone keep your head up and be strong, WE ARE OK!!!!!
I’ve had these symtoms since i was 14 im 28 now .a few things that i learned are 1 i think too much and i’m sure everyone else agrees on that.I feel sometimes like I worry about worring and causes this huge snowball effect.Then that cause a panic attack where I feel im going crazy then I worry im gonna end up in a hospital all druged up and crazy which causes more anxiety lol the mind is a powerfull thing.So now I pretty much just ignore it.Easier said than done but i force myself to think of something else.Sleep is awesome but I lay there and panic so its hard to fall asleep and as soon as i wake up its the first thing on my mind.When I feel good I wonder why i feel good and worry.A doctor told me once he asked how long have you been this way and i said a few years so he said you cant expect it to go right away it might take a few years to reverse the effects so it sucks but find something to occupy t your mind
Ulrike! This is it. This is so comforting to read all of these stories soooo similar to mine.
Mine starts about 3.5 or 4 years ago. I was on a date, was at a major mall that I wasn’t used to. We were having a nice time when all of a sudden I started having a neck spasm or something… we got to the food court and my neck was still twitching to my shoulder. I freaked out and he went to get me a drink. When he came back, I was on the floor supposedly having a seizure. I’m not epileptic or anything else. All that was said was i had low potassiuim and a high white blood cell count. Doc said there is no understandalbe reason to why i had a seizure, but that it could have happened from the low potassium. It could have been a million diff. reasons, maybe i fell and hit my head on the floor, who knows. So… from that day forward, I started being terrified i was going to have another. Still to this day if I get to hot, uh oh, I might have a seizure. If i get an eye twitch, uh oh… seizure. If I’m feeling good, uh oh, why am I feeling good, is something gonna happen. So annoying. But its been 4 years and no seizure. Just anxiety. I am on lexapro… it does help some, but not completely. I have what I call anxiety attacks where Im just worried and freaked out (depersonalization) and then I have full blown panic attacks where I get the physical aspects of it (my heart races, hands and feet tingle, some times I tremble all over, and i sweat… sometimes even get sick). The panic attacks are fewer and farther between now, but still dealing with anxiety. I am able to deal with it much better now than when it first started. I try to distract myself, stay busy, practice deep breathing exercises, drink water, exercise, even try to name as many states as I can… anything to take my mind off of my anxiety. I’m such a happy go lucky person tho, that most would not know I suffer from it… just my closest friends and family. Truly, finding this website has seemed to help out tremendously. I welcome any of you to stay in touch with me and lets help each other thru it. I normally don’t ‘leave my email, but please, feel free to contact me at wiggyhoo@gmail.com. I think it is beneficial to know I’m not alone! Thank you all for your info, and please keep posting!
I must have this too, I had a severe panic attack a few weeks ago which I thought was a blood clot or heart attack about to happen and I freaked out, made my husband take me to the hospital but instead he got me to calm down and relax enough to get me home. He kept saying you are stressed but you will be ok. After that attack I have had this derealization feeling every day. It is so scary, I thought I was going blind or something was very seriously wronge with me. It has affected my balance and makes me feel like I am losing my mind. I finally made an appointment to see the doc again and talk about anxiety, I just cant handle this detached feeling anymore. I hate the idea of meds but i have two little boys that depend on me and I want to feel like I am there with them and enjoy them rather then like I am in a dream.
Sounds familiar all right! I’ve been battling with derealization for the past 8 months. It started for me with a bad trip while smoking cannabis (yeah drugs.. i know, but i’ve come to terms with the mistake i made and you are free to judge me if you want). After the trip and rather unwelcome hallucinations i woke up the next day seeing and feeling the world different. First I thought nothing of it since I had just woken up, but then the feeling kept intensifying more and more and i started to feel really bad. I kept my wits for that day and decided to sleep a night and then be done with it. The Next day i woke up and felt exactly the same way, now this freaked me out. After 12 hours of freaking out I finally told my parents about it. Luckily for me they understood and provided me with the support I needed (not that they were very fond of me smoking pot..) It took me some time to get over the worst part but after it was gone (like 4 months) I started to recover. It still creeps back to me sometimes when im tired/hungry etc. or just reading stuff that reminds me of the feeling I had back then (like this thread ;
I would like to corespond with others who have this “illness”. Please write me at angeliz8385@yahoo.com and in the subject use “DR”
Thank you!!
i don’t know if i have derealization or depersonalization, but i want to know if anyone is feeing like they are living in a constant panic attack, like your life isn’t real and that you don’t exist?
I do not know if i am suffering dp or dr but i feel like i am trapped. Liek i am goign crazy and i feel like i’m living a constant panic attack and that its not real and that i must not exist, has anyone else felt like this?
Hi Katelyn, I am going through the same thing and it is called derealization when you feel like everything is a never ending dream. I also feel like I do not exist and I have been in and out of this state for 8 years now with no medication but now that I know there is a name to this I want to get out of this state.
thank-you Isabel. It makes me feel better knowing that someone else is feelign some of the same things that i am feeling because its frightening feeling like you are in a dream that won’t end. Do you have any suggestions about what to do? how have u been living with this for 8 years?
any suggestions would help,
thanks
I feel the same way! Does any one also feel like it is hard to critically think, spell, or read? I feel forgetful too.
It is so nice to finally shed some light on this bizarre symptom. I started taking wellbutrin about one year ago, and this is the only thing that has worked. Ironically, my anxiety has gotten worse. It has even turned into specific phobias (right now I am absolutely terrified of flying and death, due to a horrific flight). I just wish there was another way to cure anxiety and its symptoms!!! without taking drugs. I didn’t want to take them but, nothing else was working. Has anyone found anything else helpful???? The wellbutrin aids the derealization and depersonalization but not really much else.
Thanks soooo much
Nicole
Thank you all for posting! I’ve been suffering from DR for over 7 years, at times it’s worse than others. I’ve been in therapy and have done hypnosis, but little help. My therapist tells me it is most likely chronic. Anyone else dealt with this for many years? Does it ever get better? I don’t have it all the time, but stress and lack of sleep can bring it on more. Anyone recommend any other therapies?
I am on Lexapro and still feel derealization. It has been worse the past week and a half. Does anyone on meds still feel this way? Im going to the doctor tomorrow because I am pissed off, no one should have to go through life this way!!! God bless all.
hi Katelyn,
I am currently doing acupuncture weekly and with this I sleep better and I am less stressed. I am still working my way through my derealization and I will start seeing a therapist next month because this is my last resort. The thing about my derealization is that it has been on and off for 8 years. I know the difference and it usually returns when I am at the climax of my stress/anxiety. I just got back to this stage six months ago and I am trying to get out of this so bad.
I need to feel alive and I am tired of explaining my situation to people and wondering if they believe me or not. Do you know the reason why you are in your state?
Hi, Ive been suffering with De-realization for 9yrs now each time I get it seems to last about 2months.
In the past I have been perscribed Citalapram and told the symptoms are been caused by anxiety/depression. After a few months everything goes back to normal, then say after about a year or so it comes back. Just recently I decided to ask my doctor to do a full blood test on me, as this has never been done before. The results came back and I had low levels of folate acid ,b12 and ferritin everything else was OK. I now have to have a retest to make sure the results are right. I have done a little bit of research on the internet since and there seems to be some kind of link between folate levels and anxiety maybe this is what has been causing the problem? Anyway will wait to see my blood results, but please anyone who is suffering from de-realization please ask your Dr for a blood test for Folate/B12 it might just be adding to the problem
Read what Kristian said and it’s weird. The first time I had a panic attack was from smoking weed. Since then, every other day for a few hours I’ll experience this derealization or whatever. It only seems to happen, though, when I’m not around people. Like it’s happening right now, which is what prompted me to search for what was going on. When I feel fine I feel like I’m going to be ok and this won’t happen again, but then it does. And honestly I’m afraid to tell people around me, I’ve told a few close friends and they try and talk me through it when it gets bad, but I don’t want to have to experience it. I want to tell my mom, anyone have any ideas on how I would tell her? We’re not too close, and I’m afraid she won’t even understand.