Depersonalization : help!

Okay. So I've been suffering from what I believe is depersonalization disorder. It all started happening about 4 months ago, but it wasn't as bad. I was able to do things like go out with friends and go to school and it wouldn't bother me. And I was good for about a month, but then about a week ago, I relapsed and my depersonalization came back 10 times worse. Ive basically dropped out of school, I'm scared to go out in the world, see my friends, or to even leave my room for a shower. No matter what, I always seem to have it, I feel like I'm going out of my mind! Nothing feels real anymore! I get to points where I literally feel like I'm going to die. I feel hopeless now, and I want to give up. I can't stand this anymore. If this is my way of living now, I don't want it. I wanna cry every second of the day. Can somebody PLEASE give me an answer or help to as what I should do. I have an appointment with a Pychiastrist, but not for another week. Im scared to go to sleep at night because I know in the morning I'm just going to feel unreal and scared. I'm starting to have nightmares and wake up through the night. I want to pull my hair out of my head!

Somebody please tell me, is there hope for me?! this is taking over my life, and the sad part is, I use to be normal. I pray to god everyday to be normal again.

The good news for you is you haven't had it for too long. I know that doesn't feel like much of a consolation. Just try to hang in there until the appointment. I had it ever since I could remember, although it definitely got worse in the past few years. I know people who haven't had it for too long recover easier. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having it 10+ years who recovered though. Which makes it harder for me to cope with it, but it's a good thing for you. Just do anything you can to ignore it for now. If you can, take some time off of school for the time being and just relax.

What things can I do to ignore it? I'm honestly too scared to leave my house in fear of having a panic attack. Nothing I do seems to help me feel real anymore. Is there anything that has helped you get through this, and is there any chance of me recovering?

I sent you a private message, but for me, personally: watching tv, playing video games, reading. Lately, I've been doing lots of crossword puzzles and cross-stitch. Really, things that keep your mind occupied help more. Some people say tv makes them feel less depersonalized, though. You need to find out what helps best for you. I'm sorry I can't be of any more help, but everyone's DP is different.

Okay, we'll Thankyou for your help. I recently moved and have no furniture or anything so it's going to be super hard to try and keep my mind of DP

Moving is one of those high stress things, so its no wonder you are feeling worse lately, especially seeing as you are having to also deal with living with no furniture and because you have stopped school and going out with friends, your social support would have decreased.... all these changes increase stress and increased stress means increased depersonalization, along with other symptoms of anxiety.

Is one of your friends or a family member understanding? Maybe spending time relaxing with someone who you can talk to and trust will help to bring your stress levels down while you get used to your recent change in lifestyle, then you will start to feel better and can get back to being who you used to be. Resting and relaxing and calming down is very important to helping to feel better, but we have to make an effort to do calming, relaxing things, for quite a long time. Meditation, relaxing music, getting a massage and long walks in nature can all be helpful if you enjoy those kinds of things.

I cut out sugars and refined carbs in my diet and that seems to bring some small relief. I personaly have a hard time talking to people close to me about how I feel because they cannot comprehend the true weight of this terrible condition. They try to be helpful and make suggestions that are so far off the mark I just nod politely and learn not to talk about it any more.

Getting less light to my eyes helps a little too. When there is a lot of light, I can see how distorted the world around me really is and it seems to make things worse.

It helps a little to have some kind of goal. Like going to work, or cleaning something up, or whatever. I notice that if I have no purpose for the day, my mind is free to dwell on how jacked-up I feel.

Talking to someone who truly understands is really nice. I would love to start a support group in my area where people actually physically meet and talk and support each other.

Hi, I have another disorder but this is something that helps me tremendously when I get too far out there where I can't function. I sit alone in a room. I take an object and I focus on it intently to the point where I am not thinking about anything else. I am only experiencing the object and thinking about its physical characteristics. If I am really wound up this is hard at first as I will get bombarded with thoughts. I just ignore them and keep focusing on the object maybe even saying out loud what I am seeing. I do this until I am just thinking about the object. Then I think about what I am experiencing in the room. Is it hot, cold? Pretty? messy? I make no judgments I am just observing. Like a fly on the wall. Then because I am calmer, I come into my body. How does my body feel physically? How are my feet positioned? Where are my hands and what am I doing with them? No judgements - just observation. How am I breathing. how does my butt feel in the chair? Is there tension in my body anywhere? I practice breathing feeling my breath and trying to make it smooth, and just experiencing being in my body without thinking. I close my eyes to do this. I just practice being in my body and experiencing the present moment. This is a grounding exercise. When I get too caught up in thinking I lose touch with the physical world and this is how I ground myself. The reason I am suggesting this is because I believe it can help you to feel yourself as a person being in a physical form.

Also, I know when I get really wound up its is very hard for me to do day to day routine but this makes it sooooooooooo much worse. Then I not only feel exhausted from being bombarded with my thoughts but angry and anxious that I haven't accomplished anything. Cleaning is something that really helps me - it is instant gratification and mindless work as well as a physical release of energy.

I don't know if these things will help you as I haven't had this disorder. I have a very vivid imagination though that can take me way out of my body and some times not so pleasantly. Reminding myself that I have a body (I am supposed to inhabit - lol) and feeling physical sensation like cleaning the dishes (another great excercise is to do a mundane chore and try to only think about that intently) helps me.

Blessings to you and yes you are a human - I felt your energy reading your post and wanted to answer.

Try the exercises and see if they work. If you are trapped in your house without a lot to do, it might relieve boredom if nothing else. Its a great skill to develop because once you know how to do it you have control and can enter your body and center at any time (like panic attacks)

Laura