depersonalization

[bosnianworrier]

Has anyone who suffered from derealization and/or depersonalization recovered and if yes, how?

I have this problem for years.

[WarrenG]

THis is my first time posting here, but I wanted to extend my empathy toward the both of you.  It appears that I am not alone, and that in and of itself is comforting.  I have been dealing with "d and d" since about age 19 or so.  The dissociative feelings make me feel as though I am no longer looking through my own eyes, but somewhere deep inside my head looking at my vision as though it were a movie screen.  It is easy to get freaked out, I still suffer from panic attacks to this day usually brought upon when I feel as though my reality is not as concrete as the science books would have me believe.  I am glad I found a place where people understand/experience these problems.  I usually don't talk about them for fear of sounding like I'm losing my mind.  My wife helps a lot, I have trouble opening up to her for the same reason I don't open up to anyone else, but she knows when I'm not all there even if I don't come out with it.  One thing she said to me really hit the nail on the head and comforted me. She said: what you are feeling/perceiving is just that: what you are feeling and perceiving.  There is no "normal" way to perceive anything, only what you believe to be normal until you experience something different.  I don't know if this helps.  I know your question, bosnian, was about recovery.  If I ever recover, I'll let you know...I'm still in the coping stage, and have been for the last eight years.  

[Norwest14]

I've suffered from "d and d" since I was 10 or 12 years old. I'm 45 now.
When it first started I had no way of explaining it, so I simply told my parents "I feel dizzy".  After awhile they didn't believe me and they never understood until years later when I could finally find the words to explain what was happening to me.

It was very scary at first.  And it would seem to happen at the worst times.  In summer camp, at school, in the dentist chair...each time I ran from the room, freaking out.  One of the worst times was when I was flying with my friend (a pilot) in a small Cessna aircraft, I swear I almost jumped out of the plane I was so scared.

Over the years I kind of got used to it. (as much as possible)  When it happens now, I no longer freak out, at least not on the outside, but I still have some panic inside me.

I can also make myself have it.  Just thinking and typing about it right now is causing me to have derealization.  It's very uncomfortable but I try not to let it take me under and overwhelm me.  

The bad news is that I've been on many anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications (more than I can remember) and nothing has prevented these episodes from happening.  If it gets really bad, I'll just take a Xanax and within 10-15 minutes I'm calm again.  But usually by that time the attack is over with by itself.

Good luck with this, I know how scary it can be and how difficult it can be to explain to someone who's never experienced it.

[eiansgirl]

i'm no veteran however i do suffer both depersonalization and derealization, and BADLY. some of the best tools you can use to at last mildly alleviate it are mental images (just one thing you can always go to), and PEOPLE. having someone you love and trust talk you down is very helpful. also, a doctor told me these are partially caused by hyperventilation. one easy way to tell if you're hyperventilating is to gently flick your nose with one finger. if it feels tingly, chances are you're hyperventilating. i hope this somewhat helps.

[JSGeare]

You need to talk to Mumbler about this (that's his actual name on the forum). Put the name Mumbler in the seacrh box at upper right -then just follow the path to his stuff, which will include the comments of others.

Then, become a member so we can talk at you better. One of the BEST ways to get the most out of this forum to work is to JOIN it - become a part of it. Its easy -just click the Join Link -enter some profile information about yourself -even a picture if you care to- and anything you think would help us get to know you faster and better, and you can change this material whenever you like. You will also be accessible to receive private messages when other members click the name you've given yourself -sort of a "push to talk" feature. After you've done that, spend some time just using various features of the forum. For example, to see all the posts or responses that someone has made, just click their handle, go to their profile, click Posts, and read to your heart's content. You may also enter search terms -including member names- in the search box at the upper right of your screen and the system will retrun everything matching the term(s) you entered. This INCLUDES a drug database that will give you both user posts about drugs as well as the medical information about the drug. A great way to get quick answers about therapeutic effect, side effects, interactions, etc.

One of the profile categories is your mood, which you may change anytime you like.

Along the right side of your screen is a section of Recent Activity, which not only alerts you to new posts, but new ANYTHING, including journal entries and mood. This is a way to telegraph the community at large without actually creating a separate post. Thus, if you see a friend's mood has changed while you are working on a response or post, it can alert you to send them a private message to learn more or simply let them know you're thinking of them. Likewise, if you are going to be "out," you could enter something like "off line for the night" as your mood, and people would know you're away from the forum for awhile.

If you do this kind of exploring and experimenting right away, you'll be up-to-speed quickly. If you see the message you are reading now as part of a direct response I (or anyone) has made to one of your posts, it was probably copied and pasted from this journal. I hate form letters and auto-responses as much as anyone -but I also hate forgetting to tell people what they need to know, so this is my safety-net. Consider it as part of your "Welcome" kit. So -please join and try things out.

You might also want to read my entries for the "Right Click Trick" and "When in Haste, Use Copy 'n Paste" for some other convenient time-savers.

We're glad you are here!