Derealization.

[AlexShenker]

Since I had a huge panic attack on sunday I have felt very strange like i'm in a bubble and the outside world just seems unreal. This is very distressing to me and is making me depressed as well as anxious as I don't know how to cope with it. I'm just really worried that this feeling might never go away and I might never get better. Does anyone know of any ways to help with this? I'm on beta blockers for the anxiety and am starting CBT on Monday but i'm worried this derealization might not go away :weep:

[danman]

Hi Alex,

Sorry to hear it got that bad for you. Derealization was a biiig problem for me but I managed to overcome it. It's good that you recognise it as a symptom of panic disorder first of all. Treat it the same way you would any other (sweaty palms, fast heart rate) - tell yourself that this IS real and don't get into too much philosophising then ask for MORE - stare it in the face and see that it won't harm you.

Poor sleep and lack of exercise are big factors in this in my opinion - work on those definitely. Good luck with the CBT though, sure to help.

A quick fix when you're feeling unreal is to click your fingers or pinch your earlobe.

[Stormsky]

Depersonalisation and Derealization are only symptons of anxiety, not an illness themselves, and whilst scary, they will go away when your anxiety calms down... when you get the feelings, go do something to distract yourself, to keep yourself in the 'real world'... ive had them both, horrible i know... but they do fade eventually...the more you panic the more you will experience them

[missbelle]

i am so glad other people experience this , trying to explain this to my friends and family ... they look at me like "UGH?"

It really is scary and am convinced i have a brain tumour because of it :(