Please help with depersonalisation

[bounceback11]

Hey I have been suffering from anxiety for around 2 months. I started taking escitalopram a week ago and have been feeling a bit better recently. However I still constantly feel spacey and a bit detached from reality. My big fear is that I have vcjd so of course I tell myself that this spacey feeling is the beginning of dementia and that is the start of my slide into vcjd.
I constantly check my memory to test whether I can remember what I have done today and the past few days and if I cant remember a single TV show I watched then I panic.
I also feel weirdly detached from what time of day it is. When I speak I constantly wonder if that is how I normally talk and I feel as if I'm not as concentrated and as bright as I used to be.
I mentioned this fear to my doctor but she said it was such a rare disease and that all I was suffering from is anxiety.
Is this just depersonalisation and if so how can I relax and forget about it?

[ginger1]

Hi,

I suffer with depersonalisation and derealism, not sure there's that much difference. It's very scary and sometimes everything seems a bit greyish and it sounds a bit hollow when people speak to me and I feel I'm just staring back at them...! I usually try my best to just accept it as being part of anxiety and if you're able to relax a bit it goes away, until you get stressed again anyway!!

Debbie.

[qualia]

I get this for a few days each week, especially for the first few hours after I wake up. All of these symptoms are fed by your anxiety and I've found ignoring the symptoms makes them less prominent. As far as I know, depersonalisation is an incredibly common symptom of anxiety...

[anthrokid]

Depersonalisation is VERY common with anxiety. I get it most days, not as bad as I used to, but still to the point that often my limbs don't feel like mine and it just feels like nothing is real or there's no reason for anything. It's quite horrible, but I've found that the less I focus my thoughts on it the better it is :) I wouldn't stress too much over not remembering things. Anxiety has an effect on your memory, the more stressed you are the more likely you are to forget something. Sometimes I don't even remember what I've said to a person a minute before and have to ask them. This is just because of the depersonalisation and derealisation and me not being very much in focus.

[lavender]

Hello,

Been a while since ive been on here infact over 18 months.

Depersonalization will go in time because mine has, although at the time it scared the hell out of me and i thought there would be no way out. A few things can trigger it, shock, using drugs like anphetamines or cannabis, or anxiety for example, you will get better it just takes time. Mine was brought on by witnessing the death of my mother i had it for about 12 months but now its gone thank god! It is your brains coping mechanism and it happens automatically, i was in and out of A&E all the time wondering whats happening to me and i tell you what it really scares you.

The most common symptoms of anxiety neurosis are:

Depersonalization, sweating, disturbing thoughts, insomnia, panic attacks and mood swings. Please believe me when i say you will get better because i promise you will just like i did, unreality is the most feared out of all the symptoms because it makes you feel like youre going mad, but trust me you aint, this is all down to stress, nothing more. As debilitating and upsetting as it is i can promise you wil get better and get back to the same person you used to be before anxiety set in.

My best advice is get on a good ssri anti-anxiety drug like citalopram if you cant take any more, these have no side effects after 3 weeks. Infact i didnt have any side effects at all on citalopram, theyre regarded as the best anti-anxiety drug you can take. Please be patient you will get better but it wont happen overnight, I can tell you stress is evil but you will get there.

Take care all.

[bounceback11]

Hey thanks so much. Ive been taking escitalopram for a week now so hopefully it might start to take a bit more of an effect soon. Your replies really help Im going to stop focusing on the feeling and see how it goes. I had two really good days at the weekend but woke up yesterday and felt that I couldnt cope so thanks for the support.