Dp/dr and my biggest fear

[SickofIt]

I hope this doesn't sound dumb, and if reading about dp/dr triggers it, then stop reading now. I'm just posting this because I've had this fear for a long time and I'm sure it contributes to my anxiety in a vicious cycle kind of way. I also want to know if I am alone in this.





For some time, I have been concerned (scaring myself, really) into thinking that the dp/dr will get so bad that I will start having multiple personality problems or will just get amnesia. There is a soap opera on here in the US that I used to watch which featured a girl who had been through a lot of stresses and she eventually developed these problems. Ever since I saw that, I have been convinced it could happen. Mornings or any other time I don't feel "right" (like even after I've had a small glass of wine), I start thinking these things. My rational mind knows that the dp/dr is just part of anxiety disorder, but I always think it's something more and worse and that it's going to lead to other things.

I just wanted to get that off my chest.

[lotus]

Yeah I know, DP and DR suck. They're probably the worst and freakiest part of anxiety, but this is just what they are - symptoms of anxiety. You've probably read about people who have DP and DR and no anxiety - that's not true. There's always underlying anxiety, which is the core problem causing everything else. It's just that sometimes people are not aware of it.

Soap operas are full of cliches and just really dumb ignorant stuff which is very far away from the scientific truth. Do you think that people who write the scripts know anything about psychology? I think they don't, actually I'm sure they don't. I bet they think that schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are the same thing ! Just ignore what you saw/heard on TV, ok?

As far as dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder) is concerned, just take a look at that:


<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote"> The vast majority (as many as 98 to 99%) of individuals who develop Dissociative Disorders have documented histories of repetitive, overwhelming, and often life-threatening trauma at a sensitive developmental stage of childhood (usually before the age of nine), and they may possess an inherited biological predisposition for dissociation. In our culture the most frequent precursor to Dissociative Disorders is extreme physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in childhood, but survivors of other kinds of trauma in childhood (such as natural disasters, invasive medical procedures, war, kidnapping, and torture) have also reacted by developing Dissociative Disorders. </td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

You cannot develop DID just because you have DP and DR ok? Panic disorder doesn't lead to DID, it just doesn't happen. Not to mention that DID is curable. Besides, even if you had multiple personality problems, people around you would be the first to notice that something is wrong! I think you're just overwhelmed and scared by DP and DR, that's all.

[evenflow]

hey sadin
that is exactly what my fear is...i have episodes of dp/dr everyday...i am with cbt therapy and have been off work now for 5 weeks...tried cipralex it was a disaster...now on st johns wort...looking for the light at the end of the tunnel!

[ollie35]

Hi Sickofit,

Don't worry you wont develop any other conditions through d.p/d.r I suffered from it myself and it is the scariest aprt of anxiety at the time. But it can't harm you and there is no long term damage.
I did post a chapter from my book on here a few weeks ago explaining it, it really is a fear of this feeling that keeps it alive, if you did not read it then here it is again hope it helps.

Depersonalisation

In the process of writing this book I covered the feeling of detachment from oneself, otherwise known as depersonalisation: an emotional disorder in which there is loss of contact with your own personal reality accompanied by feelings of unreality and strangeness, also a sensation of ones environment looking or feeling ‘strange’ and unusual.

This one question kept coming up more and more as I was writing this book, so I decided to add an extra chapter on this annoying, yet harmless, symptom.

D.P., as I will refer to it, is a common and understandable offshoot of the anxiety condition. I can also tell you that it is in no way a mental illness. It is not serious or harmful in any way and has a totally logical explanation. It is temporary and, with patience and understanding, eventually passes like any other symptom.

The key to recovering from this feeling of detachment is to surrender to this strange feeling, to pay it no respect and realise it is just the product of an over-tired mind, fatigued by your constant worrying thoughts and the constant checking in to how you feel. This symptom relies on your fear of it to keep it alive.

When people are caught up in the worry cycle, they begin to think deeply and constantly. They study themselves from deep within, checking in and focusing on their symptoms. They may even wake in the morning only to continue this habit, “How do I feel this morning? “I wonder if I will be able to get through today”. What’s this new sensation I feel?” This may go on all day, exhausting their already tired mind further. This constant checking in and constant assessing of their symptoms then becomes a habit, but like all other habits this one can also be changed.

All this worry is bound to make your mind feel dull and unresponsive. Is it any wonder you have come to feel so distanced from your surroundings? Is it any wonder you find it so hard to concentrate? Some people, when studying for exams for hours on end, get to the point where they can no longer take information in, so they take a break and carry on the day after. For you, there are no breaks and no time outs.

As I have already mentioned earlier, your body has a safety mechanism that protects it from all this worry and slows the mind down to safeguard itself. It takes a step back from this onslaught, which can then produce your feelings of detachment and the world around you may become hazy or out of focus.

Once you understand this symptom as being caused by an over-tired mind, exhausted through worry, that you are not going mad and these feelings can’t harm you in any way, it makes sense. With the fear factor taken out of this symptom, it can start to hold less power over you and affect you less than it did before. Although still annoying, you now know why you feel these feelings. Once you learn to accept them and stop adding worrying thoughts to the mix, this is another symptom that you will be able to overcome in time. Taking a step back and giving up the worrying thoughts, gives your mind the chance to rest, rejuvenate and refresh.

When it happened to me, I recognised and understood what was causing it. I realised that I was checking in and worrying about it and I did fear this sensation, so I just stopped doing it. I also learnt to get busier and stop brooding on this and other symptoms. Being active gives you another focus. Having too much time on your hands can open the door to too much needless thinking. With less worry and fear of this harmless but upsetting symptom, I was eventually able to overcome it. It merely became a nuisance and because I knew the reason for its existence, it

[Barb]

Thanks for that Paul, I am going through a bad spell of it, getting it all day every day and its the most horrible symptom of all, makes going out a nightmare. I understand a bit more now and will try to not let it frighten me any more

Barb xx