Depersonalization/derealization?

[Jessie-lee06 1]

I'm scared, so scared.

I feel like i'm not real, like I'm living in a dream world except it's more like a nightmare because i feel invisible. I feel nauseous and dizzy and like there is a constant fog over my eyes. Logically I know i'm real, after all i'm typing this but my head can't comprehend that. It's constantly making me feel like the world is a figment of my imagination and that its all meaningless and pointless. everyday blends into the last one and I'm just waiting to wake up, even though I am awake it doesn't feel like it. I stopped taking lexapro 5 weeks ago and this all started about 5 days ago. Its so so terrifying I feel like I'm just going to disappear I feel constantly sick because i'm so scared andI just don't know what to do. Is this common to feel after stopping an SSRI? Are there ways I can make it less severe? is this derealisation or am i just going mad? I know im me and I know this is my house and my pets and partner but it just feels so weird. I honestly can hardly explain it. please help, any advice or reassurance would be great!

[jonathan123 2367]

Oh, Jessie, no, THIS IS NOT ABNORMAL. Honest, it's not. I have been there and I know. Depersonalisation and unreal feelings are all part of the arrows our dear friend anxiety shoots at us. He has some real frighteners in his armoury and your symptoms are typical. YOU ARE NOT GOING MAD. Got it!!! NOT!! This is a tired mind in a tired body. You need time to replenish your reserves, to recharge your batteries that have run low. Give it time and with as much patience and acceptance as you can manage. I doubt it's coming off drugs. It's mostly memory and, in a strange way, could be a good sign. You may be feeling better but have to get used to 'feeling better'. Now that may sound odd, but we can get so used to anxiety that it becomes a way of life so that 'normal' living seems strange at first. Give it time, Jessie, it does pass but it requires patience and that is difficult I know when anxious, but it can be done.   Best wishes.    Jon.

[Gilly 1086]

Hi jessie lee, I know you are scared but I promise you this will pass. It does sound like DP/DR, I've had it so many times I know just how you feel, you are most definitely NOT going mad,  it may be from coming off meds but like Jon said because you feel 'different' I used to get DR with the smallest change in life... The more I got to know about it, the less I worried and it started to happen less often and would pass quicker. Just try and get along with your every day life, try ginger ale for the nausea but reassure yourself it is not because of something badly wrong, and you will start to feel better soon. It's key to let it be and not react to it, it will pass sooner.

[Poke 7]

Jessie you are not alone. I have this and reading you describe it is just like me reading a description of some of what I go through and am currently going through as I type this. It has struck a chord. I know you will be fine. 

[CaseyTally 11]

Hi Jessie,

    When I first began to experience my anxiety, this was my #1 symptom and it scared me so much. I was only 14. I used to feel like the world was fake and a dream and I did not feel real! It's such a scary sensation! But I promise it will go away. I have gone through it so many times and eventually it subsides! I know that logically you know that everything is real but the mind is a funny thing and it's hard to ACTUALLY  convince yourself that when you're feeling so strange. I think derealization/depersonalization is one of the worst symptoms of anxiety! So I give you a lot of credit for pushing through this. Even though I expereince anxiety now the feelings of unreality and depersonalization have lessened SO MUCH!! It takes practice but with time you will learn how to manage it and little by little it will subside...The way to get rid of or LESSEN it is just going with it and not fighting it. I know i know, so much easier than done. But every day you will get a little better at it. A very teensy bit better but when time passes you will look back and say WOW I barely feel like that anymore!

As for the withdrawing from the meds...I think that can add to your unreal feelings...because I'm on similar meds and if I miss a dose I am sick to my stomach and I am in a fog all day...why did you decide to come off these meds at this time...any particular reason? If you don't mind me asking...i don't want to be rude

 

I'm sending you my strength and encouragement at this time because I know what it's like to deal with this BS! Don't give up, it will get better.

 

-Casey

 

[Chronis 0]

Hello guys i m with depersonalization 3 months now.The first 2 months i was nearly cured.Now the latest month it takes me back and back and back,i didn t change anything.why is it doing this?is the recovery cycle as they say?is it going again up?Give me and advice i need hope

[jonathan123 2367]

Hi. Chronis. Welcome to AC. .

Depersonalisation is very common in anxiety The feeling often manifests as if you are outside yourself looking in. Or a detachment from what's going on around you as in a dream  It sounds as if you have had medical advice, if not do so. But this symptom is one of the most difficult to cope with. It frightens you into believing you are going crazy. YOU ARE NOT OK?

But it's because it frightens you that it goes on. Do you see that? Being frightened is being fearful which triggers more adrenaline and so more symptoms. The real answer is to accept how you feel without adding 'second fear'. All the OMG's and' What if's'. I suffered with this for some time. It's all about being self centred; turning in on yourself until your life becomes one long question mark. This is not being selfish but being subject to emotions over which we have little control.

So if we can't totally control them let them be. They feed on your emotional responses, especially if you fight and struggle with 'IT'. You won't win that battle! Let it all be. Accept, for the moment, that it's how you are. Let it happen, but see it for what it is, the reaction of a tired mind. Take care and good to have you on board.

[Chronis 0]

Thank you jonathan good to be around you.One think as i mentioned the previous months i was nearly i was not afraid of it you know i have found the way of thinking of it and one day i return from work just went back and then back again.I dont know what to say.You say that if i cope with it will go away?But i think i was coping with it.You can t make 2 months progress without coping with it.

[Dpdrguy 0]

I’ve had this for 5 years does it ever go away?

[rapososamira 0]

Hi guys, I’m not sure if this is still open, but my name is Samira, and I’ve been suffering from derealization since last September after I had a massive panic attack caused by my panic disorder. I began to recover and got help dealing with both the derealization and agoraphobia that the panic attack caused, and I was doing really well with exposing myself back to being along outside up, that’s was until last week when I had another massive panic attack where my derealization made everything around me feel unreal. Again. It wasn’t as bad as my first panic attack, but it wasn’t nice either. I feel as if, since then, my thoughts have been solely about my derealization. I find myself wondering if this is all in my head or if I’m unreal and if I’m going crazy and I’ll never recover. I know I’m not crazy, but I’ve also never had the chance to talk to others who suffer from this. As an 18 year old girl who has so much left to do, I can’t help but feel trapped at home and terrified that maybe my derealization is trying to tell me something, and I get so frickin scared. It’s so hard to ignore the intrusive thoughts!! The only times I really feel better are when I’m distracted by my boyfriend, video games, or just being with my family, but when I’m alone or in my head—where I seem to fins myself all of the time now—the thoughts race and then my heart starts beating faster, and then more thoughts come, and my heart beats faster—it’s a vicious cycle. I feel so disconnected from my surroundings and foggy, and I miss the person I used to be before this happened. I should also note that I’ve been taking Fluoxetine since my first panic attack, and because of how bad my anxiety has gotten lately, my mom thinks it might be good to increase my medication, but I don’t want to be on meds for the rest of my life and was really hoping against this.
 

I’m not sure if anyone would be interested, but I was hoping to perhaps talk to people who suffer from derealization—like this site, but instead, it would be like a group chat on WhatsApp or something. Would anyone be interested in talking to me about what derealization/depersonalization is like for you? I would really appreciate talking to someone who feels what I feel and knows what it’s like to make me feel a bit more normal! Anything would help—I just feel kind of lost right now. 

[MARC 429]

Welcome to the forum. Many years ago my sister developed panic disorder and agoraphobia. She did not leave my parent's house for a whole year after graduating high school. She eventually gradually overcame the disorder and began functioning normally again. If she can do it, so can you. The key is to persevere and not give up. Do whatever it takes to get yourself back on track. Seek assistance from family, friends, clergy, mental health professionals, etc. 

[Ironman 190]

Hi @RaposoSamira,

Derealization/depersonalization occurs when the mind is running so fast that the body can't catch up.  We think a lot faster than we speak, for instance.  The body reacts a bit more slowly. 

Eventually the thinking slows down enough that the body "rejoins".  The key is to get the thinking not to reach that threshold.  Deflecting the thinking outward into activity is a way to do it.  If you can, break down what is causing thinking to go so fast and to break it up.

It takes some work and practice to do this - it's not easy, but you learn a bit about yourself.  How we think determines how we feel.

 

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