Struggling with feeling detached

[Lissa101]

Well its been 6 months since my anxiety hit bad and brought with it bad DP/DR. While I've been able to get a grip of my anxiety (I have it under control but its still there) and the DP/DR has lessened I still can't help obsessing over how detached I feel. This was without doubt my worst symptom and I have a tremendous fear that it'll always be with me. I know that unless I stop thinking about it I'm still feeding it but it's so difficult to pretend its not there. I've had 6 months off and now I need to go back to normal life and work as my finances are dire. It'll be my first time in 6 months having to spend 8 hours a day around other people which is very scary.

Also, I think the 6 month mark is a bit of a milestone. I find myself evaluating how well I've done in recovery and I'm rather disappointed that I'm still struggling with this.

Anyone have any tips on how to distract yourself from becoming obsessed with DP/DR?

Thanks xxx

[katexxxx]

hey im totally the same as you,this is my worst symptom,.its bloody horrible i know!are u on any medication cos it can help a bit with that feeling i found

[rainfairy]

Yeah that's the worst thing for me. Tbh it can be a lot worse at home and I don't know why. When I am at work I do get anxious but I have things to focus on - things I have to do so I can keep myself busy and I can forget this symptom if only for a short time. Good luck :)

[Lissa101]

Thanks for your replies. I was on Sertraline which helped my anxiety a lot but made me feel a bit numb which then made the detached feelings worse. I'm slowly coming off meds now (only 25mg sertraline per day) and feel much better. I just can't stop analyzing myself which is what makes me feel withdrawn. My GP told me that he can't offer any psychological therapies as they're just not available these days. I might save up and get CBT if I can afford it.

[Sparkle1984]

You can ask your doctor to be referred for CBT on the NHS. You shouldn't have to pay for it. (It always annoys me when I see people being expected to pay for CBT, as sometimes it feels as if anxiety and depression aren't treated as seriously by the NHS as physical illnesses are). You may have to wait a while, but if it would take you time to save up for private CBT anyway, it might be worth it.

[Mark13]

I had CBT in 2007 on the NHS, I certainly wouldn't pay for it.

It was no better for me than the cBT books I read, it's just more focussed - it's easy to put a book aside and forget about it, so one-to-one sessions are good.

I think though, if you're determined and willing to put the work in CBT books can be a good alternative, especially while waiting for an NHS session.

I found "Change Your Thinking" by Sarah Edelman to be helpful.

[Lissa101]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, an NHS referral isn't an option - my GP says it's just not available in anything like a sensible time frame. I've had these problems for around 6 mths now and have basically had to try ad self-diagnose because of the little help there is available. I'll definitely put the work in with CBT, I want to try and get out of this thinking process before it becomes a life-time habit thats even harder to break. I can't help thinking that, even though resources are tight, the NHS would save themselves a packet if there were more early intervention treatment so people could recover before they deteriorate and develop bigger problems. xx