Have you experienced Derealisation or DP?

[starlight78]

Hi all,

I was wondering if people would be willing to describe their experiences of D/R or D/P if its not too difficult?

I'm wondering if I'm struggling with this as the mo.

Many thanks x

[ritaroo81]

Hey hun, I suffer with derealisation..
I feel like i have a goldfish bowl on my head or that when im doing something im not actually doing it, im watching not doing, if that makes sense. Things can appear fuzzy, when looking or reading text can sort of look like tunnel vision almost?? Its a very strange feeling, but if i concentrate on doing he task at hand it seems to dissipate. xx

[starlight78]

Thanks for you reply Rita, that's really helpful. I do sometimes have a sensation that I'm watching myself.
Mainly I am struggling with strange freaky thoughts when in the middle if a panic. As if the world is too huge, too bright, overwhelmed with terror. I was wondering if this was part of DR.
Thank you again for your kind reply x x

[ritaroo81]

its ok hun. It is such a strange sensation isnt it.. im not a hundred percent but it probably is. Have you read the symptons pages?? xx

---------- Post added at 22:00 ---------- Previous post was at 21:59 ----------

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=23461

---------- Post added at 22:00 ---------- Previous post was at 22:00 ----------

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms/

[Lissa101]

Yep I had it really bad and still get it a little bit, but its fading. Symptoms:

-Feeling disonnected to the outside world
-Having a weird sense of being 'ME'
-Feeling disconnected to my reflection, my voice and sometimes my body
-Objects and sounds looking/sounding strange
-Feeling drunk and clumsy
-Existential angst, worries about the universe, the meaning of life and especially why I am 'me' and not someone else
-Feeling trapped in my own head

The list could be 10x that size but those are the main ones. Its a horrible feeling and I was sure I was losing my mind. People told me it was harmless and I didn't believe them but, guess what, it is! :) xxx

[starlight78]

Hi Lissa and Raindrops,

Thank you so much for your replys, that was so helpful to read.
I really struggle with the existential thoughts and its interesting to hear that this may be part of DR. I sometimes just feel so freaked out by life, earth, universe, people, everything!!! The other day I was out walking and I felt light as if my feet were not properl planted on the floor! It's so crazy and odd. X

[Lissa101]

Yeah, it's the weirdest thing ever. I've only ever been 100% honest about it on here as my GP didn't really get it. She told me I was confused. DP/DR led directly to me getting a fear of psychosis as it starts making you doubt your own mind. Very scary when you're experiencing it but amazingly common, you're not alone xxx

[aquitanian]

Derealisation is the scariest thing for me.

I feel like I am watching myself. My voice sounds weird, and it's like my limbs and body aren't mine, though I'm aware of moving them. It's almost like being in a dream. It's not that things are necessarily blurry or fuzzy, but somehow they don't look right and it feels like they are moving past you and around you but you aren't part of them. I expect to wake up or snap out of it. My head doesn't think clearly and I can't always immediately register everything around me and what it means.

I feel, ultimately, like I am not me. I am a different person, and I want to get back to my body and myself and to be in control again.

[starlight78]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I am so sorry that you're struggling.
I'm really not sure what is going on for me, it's so hard to explain. I don't know if it's D/R as much as the sense of foreboding and terror that can come with panic attacks. I know that I just want to close the curtains, even looking at the sky freaks me out! It all feels so huge and odd and alien! It's the last remaining anxiety symptom that is really troubling me. X

[littleme92]

I get derealisation on and off. When it is really bad it feels like I am looking at the rest of the world through a window and i'm on the outside, like I can't connect with anyone. Everything looks normal, but it doesn't look normal at the same time. (I know that makes no sense lol)

I was terrified when I first got it, I thought I was going to go mad, but I didn't and it started getting better when I was distracted by something because I wasn't thinking about the derealization.

[Kaato]

I often feel like the world around me "tenses up" and is ready to snap, and I always end up looking at my hand whilst making fists and then stretching my fingers out after - it's a strange habit but I always find it really weird because I don't feel like I'm doing it.

Everything just feels surreal, I took LSD a few times years back and it's a similar sensation, except it's not absolutely hilarious, unfortunately.

[Lissa101]

Everything just feels surreal, I took LSD a few times years back and it's a similar sensation, except it's not absolutely hilarious, unfortunately.

That made me laugh so much :roflmao:

[AnxiousMomTx]

I've had issues with this when I let my panic attacks and anxiety get carried away. I start to feel like I'm in the matrix or something and the things I'm seeing or sensing aren't real. If your body starts telling your mind to think those things, just refuse to participate in it. Your bodily symptoms can create these feelings, but you don't have to cognitively believe they are real. You can just say "Nice try amigdyla, but I'm not buyin it!" :o)

[Lissa101]

"Nice try amigdyla, but I'm not buyin it!" :o)

That's an awesome quote. I'll be using it :) x

[iweyc]

Mine feels similar to watching everything going on around me (well, including me I suppose) as if it was all on television. Which of course feels extra strange when it comes over me while watching television.

This symptom as decreased dramatically since I got glasses. Unsure why.

[Mark13]

I've had derealisation constantly for 35 years. It started after a life-saving brain operation and never went away. I just thought I was going mad and so I didn't tell anyone.

I've got used to it over the years, it's my version of reality. Earlier posters describe it perfectly - like walking around with a goldfish bowl on your head - seeing the world in 2D, being in it but not feeling as if you are.

I think if I got my original perception back that I had as a kid it would freak me out.

As for depersonalisation, I only get that when my anxiety is sky high, that sensation I find really disturbing, losing your sense of yourself, as if you're a passenger in your own body.

I've had depersonalisation this week for a couple of days as a side-effect of the drug I'm taking (duloxetine).