by MojoPen » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:47 am
ShouldI,
Have you looked into Panic Disorder? I was having lots of out-of-the-blue Panic Attacks, and didn't understand them until I happened upon a webpage about Depersonalization, Derealization, and Dissociation. It shed so much light on what I was feeling right before the Panic Attacks. Sounds like what you may be experiencing, but I agree that you need to see a pdoc about it. Don't let your general practioner doctor blow it off as "hyperventiliation" like mine did. Sure you can hyperventilate, but there's a reason!
Now that I know why I'm having the attacks (spurred by being freaked out by the Derealization and Dissociation), I've quit having the Panic Attacks. I still feel the derealization feelings quite a bit, but they don't freak me out now, so there's no reason to go into a full-blown attack. I've educated myself about them, so I don't have to fear them. And, poof!, they're gone.
I have Bipolar Disorder, Panic Disorder, and OCD. The OCD part was only because of obsessive thoughts - usually sacreligious thoughts, and horrible thoughts of accidents and death. I could NOT get those thoughts out of my head for anything. I felt horrible all day, and would have to physically squint my eyes and shake my head to get a thought out of my head. Then at night, well, they'd never stop. It was very hard to sleep when you can't get the thought of your 3-yr-old being slammed in the van door over and over. Bluh!
Anyway - once I learned about the obsessive thoughts of OCD, and realized I wasn't an awful person or weird, then they went away, too! After 3 days of a few thoughts trying to sneak in - which I'd say, whatever, that's normal... - I was bad-thought free.
But, the racing thoughts of Bipolar are different, so I'm not sure what you're feeling. When I was in a major manic state, pre-meds, I'd have 25 layers of thoughts like on move-strips that would zoom back and forth in miliseconds, and I could see, feel, hear and taste every single "thought" as they were whizzing by all at once in miliseconds. Makes you realize how fascinating the brain is and what it's capable of. So I'd definitely see a pdoc.
I know how hard it is to put your finger on what's wrong, but you won't know until you go for help. And don't take "it's nothing" for an answer. Try, try again.