Feel detached from reality help!!!

[kamalas151]

Hi there i have had on and off bouts of severe anxiety for last 5 months...,as soon as I feel I am recovering boom I slip into a feeling where I feel detatched from reality!

My surroundings Dnt seem the way they used to be and i feel very numb! I try and remember how I once was a happy person who enjoyed life but now i just wanna cry

Will this unreality feeling ever go away? Am I trapped I'n my own mind? Please help

[weaveme]

Hey Anthony,

Sorry it took so long to respond.  I need to figure out how to get emails when someone responds! I am currently on 20mg of lexapro and 300mg of Effexor.  Before this I was on only 10mg of lexapro for 8 years!  But then I was upped to 20mg and then thought I was cured so went off and then had the worse episode I ever had!  So now I am on the meds I just mentioned.  What I am finding out about effexor are the sexual side effects.  I am dealing with much lower sensitivity and delayed ejaculation (sorry to be so detailed).  It is taking too much work and my wife and i always connected really well that way so I will probably talk to my psych about changing it up.  I've only been on Effexor for 1 month and only at the 300mg for 2 weeks.  

How are you doing this week?  Any better?

[ajg33]

thanks mike! like i said its all pretty new to me and i hear from alot of people that there is light at the end of the tunnel, even my therapist said "i know it hard for u to see but there is light at the end of the tunnel". zI am doing everything i can so thats the best WE ALL could do! May I ask what meds u are on and how long Mike?
Thanks again for the support
Keep in touch
Anthony

[weaveme]

Kamalas151 - Glad you are feeling better and are seeking some help.  I am finally getting back to normal but it took some time so hang in there.

Anthony - You are welcome and you will get your old self back but takes time for sure.  I think I am out of the derealization stuff for the most part but I am still "healing" from this latest episode so not 100%.  I think I have to "trust" back into the normal if that makes any sense.  Therapy and meds are key and I am still adjusting to increased meds and starting some Cognitive Behavior Therapy at the advice of my phsych that I just saw for the 1st time last week.  While I have fought some of this before, this past time was the worst ever.  There has been plenty good that has come from it but I don't want to go through it again which is why I went to a phychiatrist, back to therapy etc.  It really stinks but if you try to get help like you are, your old self will come back.  It doesn't feel like you ever will, trust me I know, but you have to believe you will get back to old self and keep fighting by talking, reading, trying to be positive, seek dr's help etc.  

Mike

[ajg33]

hey guys just wanted to comment on your posts here. I am a 50 yr old man and spun into a dep/anxiety state of being about 2 months ago after having chronic migraines. It took me awhile to "surrender" to meds and i also see  a therapist who I really like our connection! (which is important) Im on celexa 40 mg a day along with small dose of klonopin which really helps cut the edge. The derealization thing is what really gets me although I know its all part of anxiety. I keep hopeing i just wake up one day and have my old self back! Like i said im new to this and Weaveme u gave me some hope! thanks men
Anthony

[kamalas151]

Hey man thanks so much for Ur kind advice! I do feel slightly better and I'm going to make an app to see docs maybe I do need some medication it may help

I've been told anxiety can mimic any disease or illness but it doesn't mean u have it

[weaveme]

There is definitely a way out of this but you are going to have to be willing to see a dr and try some meds and possibly therapy again.   You can't be afraid of that.  I was very apprehensive at first but it has helped.  

I've never been trained in positive thinking but when I've tried it based on what I have red at least, it doesn't seem to help because I can't seem to turn my brain off or focus on it.  The negative really takes over.  

The reason I asked if you were analytical was because I think that it can make it worse because you try to analyze everything which puts you deeper in a hole.  At least thats what I do.  I am a double major in Accounting and Finance, CPA, successful etc and while being analytical has been a blessing, it also seems it can be a curse.  Not telling you this to brag at all...just showing how analytical I am as this is my career.  

If you are on meds then you may need to change to something else.  Do not be afraid to reach out to your family dr at first and then maybe a psych.  Its ok.  For me the detached from reality is lifting which means my depression is getting better.  I've felt the best I have in weeks.  So there is hope!!  Go to the dr and if they don't understand or prescribe you something, find another dr that will listen.  The meds do not make you feel any differently, just better.   They might give you side effects at first but give it some time and it will help.  It could take 6 weeks though which stinks.  

Keep me posted of your progress and know you are not alone even though it feels like it!  

[kamalas151]

Hello thanks for fast reply i have all sorts of feelings, happy sad, detached from reality feeling as if something bad I's about to happen etc!

Ive been to docs and therapist I'n past only teaching me how to replace negative thoughts with positive ones at the time it helped great but now seems like I am going back to square one!

And yes I am very tired all the time and want to sleep lots I constantly think about stuff alot wen  feeling this derealisation symptom! I keep thinking if it will ever go away or will I stay like this forever it's very scary it feels exactly like u describe everything seems so different and life seems strange

And I believe yes I am a very analytical
person! Very good at maths yes!


Do u think there I's a way out of this?

I didn't realise my profile said "female" lol I've just changed it now to male

[dianamac]

Have you ever seen a doctor for this? or been treated?  I think it is a good idea to see a doctor. That would be the first step in finding out what is going on.

Does the axiety occur for a specific reason?

[weaveme]

I thought you were female (per your profile) but I read your other posts and it looks like you are male!  Doesn't matter either way really but after ready your others posts I want you to know I have been married 10 years and due to my recent bout with this mental unesettledness (depression) I started doubting if my marriage was the right thing for me!  I have 3 kids and before this hit I was the happiest man and loved my wife so much etc.  The dumb thing is I told her I was doubting us because I was having anxiety attacks where my mind got focused on my relationship in a negative way and I couldn't take it any longer!  So my point is I can relate.  However, you MUST get help.  It is ok.  I'm 38 and been on meds since I was 29 and should have been on them sooner looking back now as when I was younger I would break up with my now wife, get back together, question her, us, breakup, go back etc.  If it wasn't for her willingness to see our "potential" she would have been gone long ago.  Luckily for me, she understand this stuff even though she is worried about us.  We have some healing to do as a couple once I am healthy.  Again, I just wanted to say I can totally relate.  I am not sure how old you are but I am guessing much younger than me.  But thats ok because I can relate to you which actually helps me even feel better that you have similar issues so we are not alone (even though you can feel like it)!!  Are you analytical by nature?  Good at math, finance, accounting?  

[weaveme]

I have been going through similar things with anxiety as well as depression.  I have been on meds (again) for about 10 weeks and finally I feel like I am coming out of it.  I have been doing therapy as well as have my first ever appt with a psychiatrist.  My family dr has been doing the drugs for me and I am finally ready to see someone that specializes in this stuff.  

Anxiety can be a symptom of depression. The detached feeling I have gotten on a few occasions (including recently) and I believe it is called derealization.  It feels like you are in a movie or always looking through like a glass pane or feel like you are in a fog.  Hard to explain but I know exactly what you are saying!!  

I highly suggest with you having 5 months of anxiety, and you are not going to at least your family dr, you are really missing some good help.  There are meds out there that can help with the symptoms.  They don't help overnight and can take 4 - 6 weeks but well worth it!   They say therapy and meds together is the best way to take care of yourself.  I am doing both as well.  

I bet you also are thinking negative about everything and maybe even yourself.  I bet your thoughts race at times and you either want to sleep a lot or can't sleep.  I would also bet you question your purpose in life and where things are heading.  If any of this is true, you need to go seek help as soon as possible.  These are common symptoms when you are out of balance.  There are millions of people out there like this and most get better if you seek help.  God Bless,

Mike