Have you felt this way and how do/did you cope?

Hello, I've been suffering with DP/DR the past few weeks and have been experiencing the following;

- my normal surroundings feel strange
- I feel like I'm in another world to everyone else, really distant and detached
- I think maybe I am dead but my spirit doesn't realise it
- feel like life isn't real
- thinking existential thoughts like "life doesn't make sense" thinking human life is strange
- feeling like my whole perception on life has changed and that I'll never feel normal again
- feeling like I'm not human (but not that I'm anything else)
- feeling hopeless and depressed because of how I'm feeling

Please can you tell me if you have experienced any of the above and how you coped with it? If you have recovered please can you tell me how long it lasted for you and what you think helped you recover?

Did you avoid going out? I'm not really leaving my house because everything feels so strange and I just can't handle it.

Would really appreciate hearing from you if you have been through this

Hi

I have been feeling the symptoms of DP for the last 3 months however they are now starting to lessen and slowly I am feeling more normal again! I had to push myself to go out and build up gradually. Are you on any medication? I still feel like I am floating through the day and can't feeling my emotions however I'm hoping this will slowly fade!

Hello Caz, thanks for your reply , did you have any of the same symptoms as me? That's really good news that it's starting to lessen for you, I'm really pleased for you as I know how awful it feels!
Did you feel awful and strange when you first started going out?
I'm on escitalopram, Mirtazapine, and quetiapine (also take lorazepam sometimes), The doctor has told me today to come off the quetiapine as she thinks it might be contributing to the feelings of unreality. Are you on any meds?
Did you work whilst having DP? I've been signed off xx

I had where everything felt unreal and nothing made sense. I still feel unreal and at times even wonder how I can see through my eyes! very bizzare. Such a strange feeling. I still have days where I feel funny about going out and I am currently still signed off. It feels like I am gere but not really like I am floating. such a bizzare feeling I hope it goes. I had lots of strange thoughts

It's really weird when it feels like nothing makes sense, for me I felt like some where in my mind things made sense - so for example if someone asked me what a toothbrush is used for I would be able to answer the question, but everything feels like it doesn't make sense and I'm always thinking "life doesn't make sense". It's really hard to explain. I know what you mean re wondering how you can see out your eyes, I've had that thought before too and it's so bizarre when you think of it. All things to do with human life seem bizarre when you actually think and analyse it too much (which is what I've been doing but not intentionally). I don't know why my mind makes me think of these things when I really really don't want to. I kind of think ok life doesn't make much sense but that doesn't bother me and I'll just get on with it - BUT another part of my mind doesn't seem to be under my control and just keeps constantly nagging at me that life doesn't make sense, it's beyond annoying!!
I also have soo many strange thoughts recently.
How do you make yourself go out when it feels so strange?
How long have you been signed off for so far?
Are you on any meds? (Sorry lots of questions!)
X

Yes on Meds and this seemed to be when the feelings of depersonalisation worsened. Have been on them for about 7/8 weeks now. Having a bad day today where the feeling is getting to me so no easy way to cope to be honest. I have been trying to push myself but is exhausting. I have been signed off work for past 2 months. I hope the feeling goes soon. Do you have it all the time?

I feel like my DP/DR has also worsened since they changed me to different meds. Sorry you're having a bad day with it today, I know what you mean with it being exhausting. I have it most the time, normally quite strong during the day and gets to me a lot, then usually by around 8pm I feel more normal, still get strange thoughts but can dismiss them more easily or they just don't bother me as much. Do you have it all the time at the moment? Do you have those moments where you realise you haven't thought of DP/DR for a few seconds and it's really good? I hope those moments last longer and longer until it's totally gone! X

Hey guys,

Just wanted to join in and tell you that I've got this going on right now aswell. It's really annoying and the thoughts themselves feel very obsessive (don't have any OCD history whatsoever). I try to carry on with normal life as much as possible but its very difficult. I'm still a student and everytime I try to read something my mind goes like "Why is this like it is, who tought of this, what is the meaning of life, why are we here anyway". It feels like a constant battle, I' trying to ignore it but the intensity of the thoughts is still severe. I must mention I in week 6 of 20mg citalopram. The citalopram has lifted my mood slightly (became very depressed because of this) and has taken some anxiety away. Tomorrow I will have an apointment with my psychiater and I'm thinking of increasing the dose to 30mg. Also starting therapy for this next week.

In the end I believe this is just another symptom of anxiety. My anxiety was probably due to too much stress from studying, the irony. But also major changes in my environment, such as moving in with my girlfriend, might have added to the equation.

I really believe everyone that says this will also fade in time but I have a hard time imagining it. It feels like "what has been seen can not be unseen" if you see where I'm coming from.

But we will return to normal, I promise.

Stay strong!

Hello mrose,
I agree it makes carrying on with normal life difficult, it's so annoying because one part of my mind thinks "ok life doesn't make sense but let's just get on with it anyway" and that's how I want to feel, but then there's another part of my mind which constantly says "life doesn't make sense , human life is strange etc" and it's as though it's really bullying the rest of my mind! I have literally said out loud "I don't care that life doesn't make sense just leave me alone!" Which may sound a bit crazy but I get so frustrated with the intrusive thoughts.
It's good that you are seeing some improvements with the medication, maybe it's only a matter of time before it helps reduce your intrusive thoughts too.
I can TOTALLY relate to worrying/thinking it might be a case of what has been seen can't be unseen, I can remember what it feels like when I was normal but I can't imagine being able to get back to that now I've felt this way, but I have read a few people that have suffered with DP and had these thoughts and they said that once they recovered they felt completely back to their selves and some said they couldn't even then properly remember what DP felt like.
Do you have any feelings of DP/DR or is it purely the thoughts that you are suffering with? X

hi jenijar i no exactly how you are feeling i am going through it right now and it is a horrible thing. i haven't been able to see any of my friends for around 4 months now. i was going to put myself into a mental hospital but they have advised me that it would probably make me worse and i have just got to ride it out. i am on quetiapine 200mg morning 100mg afternoon 100mg before bed and just increased my venlafaxfine to 150mg. i spend most of my day crying and want to kill myself. i have just done a post. do you relate to any of that.
my pdoc thinks the venlafaxine will do the trick and i just have to wait for it to start working :(