Any tips for Depersonalisation?

[mlondon]

Recently I have had a few episodes of depersonalisation in which I feel light headed, not connected to my surrounded and tired. It really scares me when I am away from home as I think 'I can't cope' or 'I can't get myself home'. The only way I can usually get rid of it is to sleep... but can't always do this when out!

Does anyone have any tips..perhaps breathing or something to help with this?

Thanks

M

[Littlehelper123]

I get this, its awful! I find distraction really helps. Try staying away from sugary foods and caffeine. Try reading a book or drawing or writing as it gets your mind focussed on something else. Watching tv or playing a game doesnt really work because it doesn't take much just to look at a tv and watch whereas something creative is engaging your mind in an activity and forcing itself to concentrate.

Its a normal thing with anxiety. It sucks but its normal :) xx

[busybee09]

I hate this !! I have it to and because all my focus is on depersonalisation it makes it 100 times worse :(
I found when i was working full time i was fine because of the distractions, now im unemployed and my health paranoyer is getting worse.
Definitely distract yourself :)

[Meewah]

I'll go against the flow on this one.

Don't distract yourself as this will work short term but will make things much much worse in the long term. Imagine as a child been told not to look in the cupboard because some nasty demons live there and if you look at the cupboard on a night they would try to come out and get you? While ever you are afraid of what may be in the cupboard and never look in it the worse it gets. Yes, sometimes you can read a book and sometimes you leave the house and play with your friends, On a night or when you are alone the mind will do what it is good at and that is to try and save you by trying to read the future. Our minds have done this since the start of time and that is why we are such a successful race. The problems come from 21st century living which has no real threat, Our minds have evolved to try to read the future and prepare for impending doom.

Now return back to the cupboard, If as a child we can take the brave move to question what we are been told by our mind and may be on a bright sunny day take a look in the cupboard we may find that nothing lives in the cupboard, yes. So for the time being you feel reassured, until the night time when the quiet time allows your mind to talk and tell you that the demons are only in the cupboard at night as they sleep in the day!! So now you are as afraid as ever....Now you need to look in the cupboard at night to reassure you of what you discovered in the day. So you turn on the light put on some happy music. Reassure your mind and take another look....NO DEMONS!! So now you leave the cupboard door open and slowly you convince yourself that the demons only live in your head. Your mind now says how silly you were and it continues with its stream of nonsense saying you are silly and scared and worthless.

As you can see by this picture I have created in your mind what we need to do is to challange the thinking mind by not agreeing with all its stories. We have to try the total opposite because if you always go with what your mind tells you you will never know.

In your case try to bring on the depersonalisation as you know it is a symptom of anxiety, then sit with it for some time and feel how it makes your body feel, the dizziness, the tension, the unusual but quite surreal feeling of not actually been there. Sit calmly and breathe deeply and slowly. Feel all the sensations this feeling brings on and start taking the feeling apart. Realise when the feeling came on and what you had to do to start it, think scary thoughts?? What thoughts? With time you can learn to sit with any awful feelings and examine them like a therapist would. You become your own therapist. Give them the fear that your thinking mind thinks wants them to have and you will still be the little child afraid of what is in the cupboad and you will never live life to the full.

Good Luck.

Mee

[AngelHeart]

Wow thats fantastic Mee! I came on here looking for some answers to this myself and your post is spot on. Thanks for taking the time to write all that xx