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Has anyone got any success stories of battling derealization/depersoalization?

Posted , 7 users are following.

beth04406
beth04406

currently suffering with both, would like some people to say maybe what triggered it, how long they had it and how they managed to conquer it! smile

Thanks guys xx

1 like, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest beth04406

    Posted

    currently going thru it right now the stress of my dogs nail breaking and my grandpa being in the hospital triggered it for me;( it makes my anxiety worse ugh I try to just accept it but it's hard
  • jmcg2014
    jmcg2014 beth04406

    Posted

    Hi

    I dont know if you could call my story a sucess or not. I first started getting dp/dr about 20 years ago. at the time i was a young man and had no idea what was happening. it took a lot of years to be able to talk about it in therapy and realise it is "just" a symptom of anxiety. a sign of a tired mind that needs some rest.  I learned over the years to be less afaid of it - which is not easy at all.  now its just part of my anxiety, sometimes its terrible, sometimes less so - but all in all its totally harmless and will stop when the anxiety is better controlled

    • gill16647
      gill16647 Guest

      Posted

      I totally agree I was young when I first got it too. I was so scared it got worse and worse. But now thirty years in I have learnt Aswel to accept it as a anxiety symptom It comes and goes but won't harm me I just see it as prompt to say ok your brain is overloading and now it's time to step back and chill a bit.I have done most things. Meds counselling cbt but you learn to accept this is just how it it.Thoughts are thoughts not facts ! So thoughts can't hurt you and I push em away. It's really not easy but I think you have to say I have two choices i can let this consume me and take over my life or I can try ignor it.What I do is when it's building up I go for a massage or spa treatment. I enjoy doing that so instead of getting stressed about a counselling session I look forward to something for me. I guess it's taking control I have some that with meds. I don't take em only herbal stuff now.I found going on and changing and stopping meds so anxiety provoking I stopped which is scary too but no side effects to contend with. Don't forget thou I have had this thirty plus years but I can honestly say I am controlling rather than the other way around. This forum helps too.You pick up so many tips and can try different things you will find what works for you. At end of the day we are all different it takes time but yes you will find a way to a happier life. Xx
    • Lavender_Blue
      Lavender_Blue gill16647

      Posted

      I don't like meds either so I've also started using herbs. What herbs do you take ? 
    • gill16647
      gill16647 Lavender_Blue

      Posted

      I use st Johns wort. It takes a good 6 weeks to make a difference but I feel good for taking it Now and wouldn't stop taking it. I have stopped trying to make people understand cos as you say they just can't unless they suffer with it I think I will always have a level of it but I know I will be okay cos I got this far !Wish I didn't have it but people with diabetes wish they hadn't got that
    • gill16647
      gill16647

      Posted

      So i see it as just the card i have been dealt.I didnt have the best of childhoods and think the trauma made me develop anxiety and it's horrid symtoms.Xxx. Onwards and upwards. What do you take ? X
    • Lavender_Blue
      Lavender_Blue gill16647

      Posted

      I've heard a lot of good things about st Johns wort but I never tried it. I've also heard of another plant that acts as an antidepressant with little to no side effects, it's called Griffonia but I only used it once.

      When I'm having trouble sleeping I use Eschscholtzia and for anxiety I'm about to start using Passionflower. 

    • jmcg2014
      jmcg2014 Lavender_Blue

      Posted

      The problem with taking substances which may well be harmless, is that there has been no studies to know how they work - if they even do work at all. They may actually make things worse,or may do nothing at all. They also may interact badly with medications,or make the medications work in a way which hasn't been considered. St Johns wort I believe has been linked to success and also failures, these things really do need more research
    • gill16647
      gill16647 jmcg2014

      Posted

      I agree with you and wouldn't mix with meds.I feel better for taking them.it's what works for for each individual. X
    • gill16647
      gill16647 Lavender_Blue

      Posted

      Well just see how you go. !! Anything is worth a go ! I just think years gone by herbs was all that was available. I have done meds and not saying I never will again but at the moment I am in a far better place than I ever have been on my St. John's wort but I wouldn't mix with meds.Each to their own I guess x
  • Lavender_Blue
    Lavender_Blue beth04406

    Posted

    Hi! 

    I finally meet someone that suffers from the same thing as me! I started suffering from depersonalization a year ago after going through a difficult and stressful moment in my life. I've heard people say that it is how your brain tries to protect itself from stress and traumatic events. I don't know if it is possible to get rid of it once and for all but I have found that trying to live normally and focusing on other things helps a lot.

    I was scared that it was a sign of mental illness and I kept thinking that I was going to become crazy. It's extremely hard to make the people around you understand how you feel because only someone who went through it could understand. 

    What are your symptoms and are they always present ? Do you know what triggered them ? Do they keep you from living normally ? 

    Good luck!

    • beth04406
      beth04406 Lavender_Blue

      Posted

      I feel exactly the same way, thought i was going crazy!! 

      I mostly feel like im in a dream and not completely present, like on autopilot or something, and like I'm concentrating on whats going on in my head more than whats going on around me... and trigger wise I'm not sure, quite stressed over my time at uni (coming to an end soon thank god) but suppose its been there a while just got worse more recently.

      I won't lie I have taken recreational drugs before (never again, they make it so much worse) mainly because I thought they would make me more in touch with what was going on but nope! And I cope, I don't think other people notice it when im feeling weird, I think it just disrupts me from thinking like I want to really

      Thank you and good luck to you to! xxx

    • gill16647
      gill16647 beth04406

      Posted

      Spot on.Feel exactly the same.I say to my partner could you tell I was feeling anxious when do and do was here !!! He says not but I feel like it stands out but I am pre/ occupied in my head ! Change often makes mine worse so uni ending will make it flare up.Think core of anxiety is uncertainty and life is full of uncertainty.Not heard anyone yet say weed or anything is a good thing do steer clear of that.We try all sorts if sum body said eating grass cured it I would be tucking in now !! Guess after thirty years I realise I still have far better life than slit of people and I am a very caring person I guess cos if it as this is a type of pain so I have so much empathy with other people's pain ! Stay strong Hun. X don't let it stop you follow your dreams x
  • bob76392
    bob76392 beth04406

    Posted

    Hey,

    I got what I would call severe derealization back in 2002 following the one and only time I've ever used drugs and also having a CT scan of the brain to try and figure out what was going on.

    I had it for about 2 years (it was really bad, I was literaly cut of from the world around me, my brain just really cut me off from the world around me like there was a filter between me and the world) it slowly faded away though and I was then absolutely fine for about 10 years.

    Unfortunately I had another CT Scan about a month ago and that has somehow retriggered it. I kind of now wonder if what I got has somehow been caused by radiation damage.

    I think though that it went away the first time by the brain chemistry just naturally getting right again. I would really recommend not taking any drugs unless you suffer from depression etc already, I think that they would just make it more difficult to recover. 

    • gill16647
      gill16647 bob76392

      Posted

      So you mean drugs meds or herbals. ?Sorry it's returned I think anything can trigger it really but it s a symtom of anxiety. Could you ha e got worked up about the scan. What triggered you to get the scan done ? It will go again but i know it's not easy when it's there x
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