do i have depersonalization disorder???

[wigglywoo12]

hi folks

i know i have previously posted on here that i suffer with anxiety but i have slowly come to some sort of conclusion that i may have depersonalization disorder the reason for me asking this is that when i first went bad with what i thought was anxiety at the age of 14 the only main symptom i have really ever had is a distant feeling like everything has changed somehow like im trapped inside a glass bottle,like everything is there in front of me but i dont feel part of it,people seem different in some way i know deep down nothing has changed but it dosent stop the fear that i feel like im losing it or gone mad.it is at times very frightening and i only feel really safe at home i still go out when im suffering because i force myself to because i dont want to become agrophobic.i dont really suffer any other symptoms of anxiety i get the hot sweats but that is when i am really scared of how i feel and that i may never shake of the feeling.but to my knowledge i dont suffer any other anxiety symptoms i sleep like a baby,i eat well,nothing else seems to happen just the depersonalization feeling i am currently taking 40mg of citalopram which in the past have been great but over the past few weeks have stopped working. i am just wondering whether to go to my gp and discuss my feelings about this with him because when he signs me off work he just thinks i have general anxiety.depersonalization is all that i seem to suffer from when i have a bad period.

thankyou sorry its so long needed to get that off my chest

[popsy]

I would think you should go back and discuss this with your GP. I suffer from depersonalization as an anxiety symptom but i have heard of Depersonalization as an actual disorder on its own. Probably though you will find its actually more of an anxiety trait, and now the more you think about it the more you will feel it and become anxious about it. I think it sounds like you are doing all the right things. But defo go back to your GP. Sorry im not much more help, but i really hope you can find some relief from it. I know through time it is meant to dissapear, being unafraid of it being the biggest help.
Good Luck :)
xxx

[wigglywoo12]

thankyou popsy

but can i have anxiety just with depersonalization and no other symptoms because i am very confused wether or not its anxiety with an offshoot of depersonalization or depersonalization with added anxiety because it freaks me out

thankyou

[PanchoGoz]

In my experience anxiety causes depersonalisation as a main symptom. I have never heard of it as a "disorder". Have you been googling it? If you have then stop. This is one of the harder facts of anxiety to deal with as its so brainy/mindy/psychological. You need to start tackling the anxiety and this will disapear as you focus on it less.
I don't think there are any causes for it apart from anxiety and prolonged stress, causing your mind to block out unnecessary information to help it heal.
Good luck.

[wigglywoo12]

thats the trouble pancho i dont know what causes my anxiety all i know is that when it goes off the first thing i get is depersonalization stomach doing cartwheels and dread feeling. i sleep superb (touch wood) i look forward to going to bed to give my mind a rest i eat fine i dont seem to lose my appetite at all apart from when im dwelling.i can still remember the very first time it happened 13 years ago i was sat watching tv thinking how a person is and what they look like and instantly bang it started from out absolutely nowhere its been ok for 6 months every now and again due to me taking citalopram but ive never escaped it.like i said before i feel scared frightened im losing my mind or already lost it thats when it gets worse and i get this horrible feeling all inside me.i just want to be reasurred that it is anxiety with dp as a symptom because i dont know what comes first anxiety or dp.

[DavidJ85]

You sound EXACTLY like me Wigglywoo.

I don't have the racing heart, the real health symptoms everyone else seems to worry about just the thought that I'm not right in the head. I think into EVERYTHING and when I do I get scared and feel the anxiety kicking in.

I fight it just like you and go out and push myself, sometimes it works other times I get it even worse when I'm out.

I've accepted I have anxiety but it still won't go.

What do we do?

[wigglywoo12]

is it just me or does anyone else feel better at night time when its dark as opposed to daytime?

[DavidJ85]

I sent you a private msg matey. I can feel the same at any time. I feel better when it's sunny and beautiful out!

[wendy28]

Hi i can relate night times are better mornings awfull feel unreal and like ive lost the plot....just want it to stop..

[daydreamer]

Im having a bad spell of DR/DP at the moment, it started last week. I feel better at night times too, its also worse on a sunny day when the sky is clear! Its all very strange and has really heightened my anxiety because I just feel so weird/spacey.

I think anxiety is a process. First it was the panic attacks, acute anxiety/stress, then when that calmed I was left feeling down and depressed, now Im going through the DR/DP phase! I went through the exact same process ten yrs ago, so I know how you feel. Lets hope it passes soon x

[DavidJ85]

I agree with it being a process daydreamer. Mine all started with panic attacks, they've subsided and now I'm left in this weird state questioning the world, fearing everything.

Sound familiar?

[daydreamer]

yep VERY familiar! Its almost like when the acute phase is happening your mind is totally somewhere else, so many thoughts no understanding. Then when that eases, its so hard to try and comprehend whats happened and why....... all very weird & quite scary too!

[DavidJ85]

I've found when I finally get a little break from being totally anxious I think to myself "I must be mad for that to have affected me like that. This is nuts"

But then when it's in full swing it's awful!

[daydreamer]

Yep its just really hard to make sense of, soo strange where your mind can take you!

[Daat]

I've found when I finally get a little break from being totally anxious I think to myself "I must be mad for that to have affected me like that. This is nuts"

But then when it's in full swing it's awful!

Yeah, it's really up and down for me. When I'm levelled out and up I can rationalise everything and realise the whole thing is really stupid, but the lows come back around and when you're in the middle of it it's heavy.

I also started with random panic attacks, then moved onto depression and health anxiety, then general anxiety and now onto DP/DR. It's a ball.

[daydreamer]

I wonder how many other people have been through the same kinda thing, you know with the phases of anxiety? I think it could well be quite common for people to have a DP/DR phase after a while of having anxiety? hmm weird!

[Alicat]

I had a very bad time with DP/DR last year. The only way it would subside was if my brain was completely focused on something else. The more you think about it, the worse it gets. Your brain is tired, so it's partly shut itself down. Thinking and becoming anxious about the symptoms of anxiety just fuels it. It's such a viscious cycle!

It's horrible, I know so I hope it goes away soon.

[daydreamer]

yes your right, it definitely gets worse when you pay it more attention, the tough thing is to stop it though because for me its there whenever I go outside, so when I do I have a constant worry about it. I am trying my very best to give it less attention. I hope that for everyone who is suffering with it at the moment, that it passes soon which Im sure it will x

[ZMan]

I don't have the racing heart, the real health symptoms everyone else seems to worry about just the thought that I'm not right in the head. I think into EVERYTHING and when I do I get scared and feel the anxiety kicking in.

I've accepted I have anxiety but it still won't go.
?


Wow, that sounds a lot like myself as well.

[JillyH]

I know what you mean - I feel better in autumn and spring. Summer is the worst time, the light is too bright and its too hot. Get a bit fed up in winter though as I can't go out as much and potter round the garden which helps.

[daydreamer]

How long have you had DP for JillyH or do you just mean that your anxiety gets worse in summer?