Stressing out over directions/memory

[WillCR]

I've had depersonalisation on and off for a few months now, and I keep getting anxious about it being something serious. Lately, it's been very bad, to the stage where I keep forgetting (momentarily) where I am, and worrying that I am lost. I am becoming absolutely obsessed with this, as I heard a few weeks ago that forgetting directions can be a symptom of a brain tumour (yes, back to the illness again!), and so this has prayed on my mind (understatement!) ever since. I never really have any problem getting anywhere, and I've always been pretty bad with directions (I don't drive, so never pay attention). But lately it just seems so much worse (admittedly my anxiety level is currently very high), like I'll see a road and think 'I've completely forgotten when that leads', where I'm sure that I used to know in the past. When I'm out and about I'll get concerned that I can't remember the way home, and that will set my anxiety off really bad. Is this just part of the depersonalisation and disorientation? I've never actually had any problems getting anywhere, but when the depersonalisation is so bad, everything looks alien, and it's REALLY scary. Can anyone relate to this?

[debs71]

Hi,

Yes, I can relate, and this is a symptom of both anxiety and the awful DP/DR.

Our brains get so overloaded with the high anxiety, that we simply cannot think straight. It is the same as the average anxiety that people feel, where they get in a tizz and can't think straight or remember basic stuff, only a thousand times worse. Forgetting things, inability to think rationally, cannot make a decision.....these are just some of the side effects of high anxiety, and totally par for the course....nothing sinister, just very unnerving and intrusive.

DP/DR is incredibly frightening, I know. It is only the mind's way of trying to cushion us from the high anxiety, by removing us from it, which causes the spaced out/alien feelings. I have experienced it several times, and when it comes again, it is no less scary than the first time I had it, but I reassure myself with the fact that I have had it before, and it has gone. That is the only benefit of long-standing anxiety!

You can get through this bad patch. Your feelings are totally normal in the context of high anxiety.

[WillCR]

Hi there,

Thanks so much for your reply, it really is comforting to find others who can relate to these symptoms! You are, of course, completely correct - when I'm feeling less anxious I don't usually get these feelings. It's just scary to walk along the street and completely lose track of where you are - or where you're going - you know? And of course the health anxiety doesn't help, because thoughts of horrible illnesses come in their hundreds. Any tips on how to reduce these feelings of depersonalisation? I've heard others say about running your hands under cold water, etc, but none of these seem to work.

Thanks again, and take care

[debs71]

Hi again,

It's a tough one....fighting the DP feelings, but not impossible to do, I assure you. The way I tackle it is by remaining as grounded in reality and what is familiar as possible, that being staying around friends and family, maintaining as normal a routine as possible, and most crucially, spending as much time both occupied mentally with tasks or suchlike, and NOT ALONE!!! That is a big, big factor in driving that spaced out feeling, as the more we are alone, the more we have time to think about how weird we feel, and this just adds fuel to the anxious fire, and the more anxious we get, the worse the DP gets.

If we try to keep busy - this doesn't have to be work - this can be going for a walk, watching a movie/tv, doing a crossword or playing a game on the PC.....it doesn't matter what it is - it diverts the mind from the anxiety, and the mind fuels all of it. If we are occupied with one thing, our brains are less likely to focus on the anxiety symptoms.

I know this sounds stupid....and pretty unachievable when in the storm of DP/DR, but I promise you it helps a lot and can be done. DP/DR is just a trick of the anxious mind, nothing more, and it just needs to be broken down.

Another thing that is important when you have these feelings and weird sensations is to think positive stuff - 'this is just anxiety causing this'.....'this won't beat me and will pass soon'.....anything that reinforces that this is nothing bad, you are not going crazy or physically sick, etc.

Again, it sounds airy-fairy, but it does help.