derealization?

[MM]

Earlier today I had a panic attack.. and it wasn't the actual attack that was bothering me for once. I felt like the room was so fake like it wasn't right.. like it wasn't supposed to look like that even though I knew thats how its supposed to look. I was so foggy and most of all I felt like I was about to die, and I really believed it. I don't really know how to describe it. It was extremely bad and I had a panic attack as a result of these feelings.

It's been a few hours.. but I still feel like the world around me just isn't quite right. Something feels really off. I feel like I'm not well (even though numerous tests say otherwise). I really don't like this feeling.

I've heard of derealization before.. is this it?
Thanks in advance for any replies!

[Stormsky]

Sounds like dealrealization , I've been there, it's scary, but its a symptom, not an illness itself thank god. Keep yourself grounded and distract by doing something, don't dwell on the feelings

[MM]

Thanks for replying :) It's hard to distract myself from this because it's so uncomfortable and scary, but I'm trying my best.

[fozzy is crying]

Hello my friend. Mental illness problems can so often make one question reality. I do that all the time. PANIC attacks can also leave you confused for a while and again confusion can be a type of reality check.

Try an chill and if it happens again like this see your Doctor.

Gordon

[Stormsky]

Now for the Brain , the limbic system in the brain instigates this whole response and is responsible too for our emotions and behaviour One of the body symptoms that people hate most is the one when you feel all foggy, surreal, woozy or spacey. You may either feel that you are not real or that the earth is not real and you're a time warp away. These are often the hardest symptoms to understand and its very common to deduce that you must be going mad which makes you panic even more. This is completely untrue and you are very safe.
You feel like you are not a part of what is going on, or that you feel like you are in a dream state or 'out of touch with things'. Also, things around you may seem like they are shimmering, foggy, hazy or too bright.
What causes this:

As we learned in Understanding, the body and mind are tightly integrated. What affects one affects the other. This symptom is another example of how an over stimulated nervous system can cause us to experience odd and impaired feelings, emotions and perceptions. Much like how a psychoactive or recreational drug can alter one's mental state, an over active nervous system can affect certain body chemistries thereby producing mind altering effects. The feeling of unreality or disassociation is one type of altered mental state that high levels of stress biology can produce.
It is not completely understood what goes here but it is generally thought that the limbic system in the brain decides there is too much going on and goes into a self protection mode and shuts out excess stimuli. As the adrenaline levels decrease and you calm down it clears. This can be several hours days or weeks.

[loopylu86]

I have had this all day and when it got particularly severe earlier tonight,,,I had a panic attack.

[MM]

Thank you all for responding. I feel better knowing it's associated with my anxiety/depression, and that it's something I can get over. It's just hard to think that this can be caused from stress considering it's so disturbing and scary. At the time I wasn't thinking so, but looking back I did have a stressful day and this upcoming weekend is going to be stressful too. I'll take it easy.
Thanks everyone!