I am not formally diagnosed with this disorder but have come believe I have had it for years. I began to notice intense feelings of derealization and depersonalization starting around age 13. I’m in my late 20’s now. The intensity comes and goes, but I think I operate with a low level of both most of the time. In particular, when I’m in a new environment or going through stress, my surroundings stop feeling real. I have some visual distortion and feel very disconnected from my body and reality. I have a hard time accessing my emotions and body sensations. I can’t tell if I’m hungry or tired. I try to assess whether I’m sad or stressed and can’t really tell. My sense of self feels almost “third-person”, like I am puppeting a body that isn’t mine. It also happens when I’m stuck somewhere with my family or around a lot of people, like at a ball game or concert. It was very disruptive to my college education and contributed to me dropping out before graduating. I find it very difficult to travel. I find it difficult to hold a job. I can’t focus on my future and have a hard time making goals, because I don’t feel real to myself. I lack motivation. I’m very empathetic and have many strong relationships but feel I let other peoples’ emotions and preferences control my behavior too much. To me it feels like other people’s emotions are more real than my own.
Depersonalization is a very real disorder which is caused by neurotransmitter disruption (likely those produced by the adrenal gland). That’s why it can be caused by stress, environmental toxins, as well as by substances. All of these things either affect the adrenal glands which in turn affect neurotransmitter production or they affect neurotransmitter production directly. (Most likely are Serotonin, Dopamine, Glutamate, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.) The body does this as a way to protect you from an overly stressful time, whether you consider it relatively stressful or not. So you may be more concerned with what your body has done to your perception of reality than why it did that. Most animals experience depersonalization too. It’s a switch in perception for when we experience severe trauma like getting eaten by a lion. But in human’s case the lion is either abuse or a poor diet. Your body cannot differentiate between them. This is also why it normally takes either one large traumatic experience or one time with a substance like alcohol or especially weed because these things HEAVILY impact your neurotransmitter levels. So how do you get better? Eat a diet with the correct amino acids (found in protein) for neurotransmitter production, eat more fish or take fish oil for better neurotransmitter reception, and try to remove yourself from any stressful environment (work less, or leave that toxic relationship, etc.) As time passes (it may take time to work because you’re trying to convince your body that it’s no longer in danger) you will fee symptoms melt away. Things which aggravate depersonalization: not sleeping enough, substances like coffee/alcohol/weed, and situations you don’t want to be in the moment for (like work).
It’s like you can’t ground yourself with the here and now you are looking around and seeing your home your pets your loved ones but questioning are they real or not.. I’ve suffered for years with this and now it’s back again 😞
I think this might stem from childhood when no one was able to emotionally relate to the child especially when the child had strong feelings of desperation and hopelessness. The psyche dies a little bit and wonders why the body is still alive. Imagine being depressed as a child and parents get angry with you for expressing the will to die instead of listening to you. When we are young we need someone that listens and emotionally carries us otherwise this part of oneself closes down and pops up every now and then like a time capsule. And the time capsule will haunt you in a negative and positive sense.
I have been diagnosed with DDD. I honestly don’t care if I live or die. It all feels the same. I went from to attached to completely detached. I actually seen my soul leave my body and I didn’t blame it. My boyfriend seen a video on RU-vid about a guy who cured himself and wants me to hurry up and get over it. I told him I don’t know how, I told him to leave me and I don’t care about him or anything but he just stays. I have no idea why. I am nothing and that’s not going to change so why he would want to be with me doesn’t make sense. I will do him the favour and leave I told him once I can figure out where to go and how to get there. He deserves so much more than someone who has given up.
3:04 Had to pause and comment. After years of therapy, I never had anyone explain this so well, and it fits. I had brief episodes, starting as a small child, but the worst/longest was right after divorce, (age 22), followed by a couple of super tough years, when all hell broke loose. Also accompanied by major depressive disorder, agoraphobia with panic attacks. Traumas at 2 and at 5.
It’s been going for me now for just over 9 years, my psychiatrist has said that it’s likely a result of my severe and repetitive childhood trauma. We used to try and treat it, however I’ve now come to terms with it, and have decided that it is something I can live with, because it still protects me from the stress of the outside world.
For anyone struggling with this... I strongly suggest 2 books: Complex PTSD; from surviving to thriving by Pete Walker & The stranger in the mirror by Marlene Steinberg
So true, i can only describe the sensation as when your in a dream and you suddenly get that feeling that everything isn't quite right and in that dream I usually I realise I'm dreaming and of course I wake up, but for derealisation you don't get the wake up in reality and just have to work through it. Ive only started experiencing it over the last few months and it's the weirdest thing I've ever experienced. it comes and goes and usually I have a few days or weeks between each episode but the last few weeks ive had it a lot. I'm usually okay at calming myself down when it happens but sometimes I feel on the verge of a panic attack which sucks. I'm sad it's something a lot of people experience but also glad I'm not the only one feeling it, anyone with any experiences of treatment for this I'd love to hear anything that helped
. What’s scaring me the most is the thinking that comes with. . Basically I feel like it’s strange to be my parents child like I feel so weird to know I was born and that I came after them and it makes me feel fake and like I don’t belong here or like I’m a cookie cut out from them it’s really hard to explain . And I have my own daughter . But I just wanna know why that terrifies me so much and what I can do to know that’s not real . I feel like I don’t belong here and feel like I can see all the steps it took for me to get here almost like I’ve seen the truth of my existence and now can’t go back . Do you understand what I mean how do I stop the sheer fear of this . Thank you
I think I developed this after another mental health issue caused me to lose the most important parts of myself and my life two years ago. I’ve just been floating through life waiting to wake up. Sometimes, I come to and realize I am awake. Then the anxiety attacks and suicidal thoughts pile on. Idk if I will ever get over this.
Hello guys ... im a BOXER and i'v been sufering from DDD since i was a child .. but now i cant handle it anymore .. i always used fighting sports to escape from it and when i win i feel alive again for a couple of days so i have to fight again ... and i was allways satisfied with this i believed it will make me a great champion .. but now the DDD efected even my passion i cant i fight anymore like when im in the ring gor ing the fight i feel cold like im watching a movie or somthing no adrenaline no motivation to do anything its like im not even in a fight ... iv always been renowned for being skilled and disiplined and the most Agresive fighter ever but this year i lost it its like im a zombie i dont enjoy fights anymore i just wait the time to pass ... in my last fight i was looking agressive and i won the 1st and 2nd round for sure my trainer was so happy but befor starting the 3rd round i quited ... i just quited ... i wasn't tired ... i wasnt hurt ... i just didnt felt like im in a fight that was so hard for me to accepte it i have never quited in my life .... and also i have never asked for help ... this is the first time so pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase if anyone knows a solution i wish he tells me because i lost my passion and without it i dont even deserve to stay alive
I have had this since age 5 or so. After CPS got involved with the csa I was going through. It helped me survive. I spent my 6th year completely disassociated. I ended up failing grade one. I did come out of it. I had lost skills though. Reading and swimming. I think the episode was me realising and possessing the trauma I became aware of. I do still have disassociation daily but only for a few minutes at a time. I have been diagnosed with ptsd since age 5. I have been in therapy since then.y ptsd is no longer as accute as it was. I am still baffled at why we are alive or the pint of being alive. But I assume that is from the trauma I survived. I have always remembered all of it. I can trace my awareness of memories to 18 months old. And was aware of the the abuse even then. So my brain really developed with disassociation baked in. And as an adult I am trying to understand the drive of being alive. Not in a suicidal way, but I've I don't understand the inate drive to do anything. Like it is a different language I can't grasp. I
i have a question for anyone suffering from dp if you guys wear glasses does it trip you out ? I have to wear glasses but I hate too because everything feels so 3D
Hi Doctor, is there anyway I could personally contact you about this? Short description: I am 23 years old, full time student at University, studying philosophy and psychology. I believe I have been suffering from depersonalization and derealization since I was around 16-17 years old. It has come on and gone, but for the most part, it is always there in some way. I notice that some key triggers are: lack of sleep(as you mentioned), anxiety of course, but when it is really bad is when I have a hangover. I am not depressed however, and live a very fun life. I'm a guitarist, have lots of friends, a girlfriend, and I am out always having fun. Basically, this is a nussicance, but at times it can be VERY scary. I'm not sure how to get rid of it; it just seems to never fully go away. Any thoughts? I'd appreciate it more than anything if you could reach out, thank you!
I have these experiences when I have high anxiety about an activity I'm engaging in that goes against my morals. Sex commonly triggers this for me for example. Being pressured to drink or go out with friends when I'm not in the mood for socializing is another example. A more specific example is when I found a sex tape my ex had made with another woman while we were together and shortly after our daughter had been born. That one lasted the longest, about 2 days. When I have these episodes it is scary for me as I do not know how to take back control and it has been scary for people in my surroundings because interacting with me in these times is like talking to someone while in a trance like state. I'm present, I'm aware, I respond but it isn't "me". Very zombie like auto-pilot, kind of robotic responses. I didn't know that this was not "normal" until I began therapy about a year ago.
I pass out every now and then and have a slight form of epilepsy. Before I pass out it feels exactly like what derealization sounds like. I’m 34 and it has happened for years and would always tell people how nothing felt real. Glad I know what it is now
In my counseling program, we have done a little research to answer this question from one of the homework assignments, which actually asked that question. From the research I have looked up, it seems that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulaiton have seemed to help - the latter mostly with those who have exhibited depressive symptoms as well. I can give you the research article citation if you'd like for either of those treatments. Also, I have read that with dissociative disorders, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy has proven effective as well, and also EMDR may be helpful, just from a personal standpoint have having done EMDR by my counselor for some issues I have had, but it is not based on psychological research.
Look into enlightenment and don't fear it. Only by realizing what you are really and letting go of the ego do you begin to free yourself from those negative feelings, the ego is fighting the process and wants to avoid the truth of what "you" really are.
RealGaming I read a book on this by a lady called Claire weekes she said not to fear it go through it know what’s happening to you and only than you’ll get better only trouble is with me I do fear having this thing but it’s a thought process nothing more. I haven’t had it for years and it’s come back through stress and anxiety I think.
I’ve learned from trying to tackle similar issues like this by at least in my own mind constantly making the effort and having the mindset of I’m going to change and get better. I’m going to not ignore this and continue limiting myself. I’ve tried making efforts to understand myself more as well by writing in my own journals of thoughts and constantly reminding myself of my goals and my worth. I feel like at least for me it’s a sense of self esteem I need to build for myself also
I just got used to it and was very careful with drug use or substance use from an early age. It’s probably delayed my success by a few years, however I’m doing pretty well. I found being absorbed in technical literature, programming, or very logic based work has helped me control it. But I don’t believe there is any cure or permanent solution.
Thank you for this. I've been stressed out for years with some dv, PTSD and alcohol abuse. Sober 2 yrs now. Dv gone 2 yrs as well. I always feel like I'm walking around in a dream. Not really feeling anything. Then there are times that I feel like something terrible is going on and I don't know what it is. I'm going to seek mental health help and I can go in talking about this On another note I was diagnosed with reoccurring major depression with manic episodes
I have this pretty bad.... It would never do any good to me or my life to ever describe the feeling to anyone .... Wouldn't do any good at all .... They would look at you like you are crazy.... and at work you would probably get sent for a drug test because they think you are crazy ... Pretty sad
To share some of my experience with what I believe Is DDD, what triggers it is still what I'm trying to figure out. It usually occurs 5-20 minutes after I wake up, and its like I'll have a thought of a dream or a memory from a dream and this overwhelming feeling runs through my body, a numb feeling, and as I'm going through it I feel as if whatever I'm doing, I've done a million times before. Like my life is being played out and I'm seeing it from another point of view. The rest of the day I usually I have sort of a weird feeling, really sucks and I dont want pills. Maybe that's the only answer
I have derealization I feel it's not really happening in the moment. And I'm zoning out at that time but I'm aware what's going on. But feel confused about what is happening and wonder if it is real or am I dreaming. But it usually goes away quickly even though I feel anxious and scared.
How does the psychiatrist really know what disorders you have when the symptoms of dozens of disorders seem to be the same? Half your videos are ones where I can identify with every symptom that you list.
It's called comorbidity, you can have multiple disorders. Figuring out what affects you the worst is the key and having someone who knows you that can describe your behavior to a doctor for an accurate diagnosis.
It feels like it's my first time in this world , i even forgot how the normal condition feels like ....... Yesterday is like a month ago for me . Idk if this is psychological or there is an issue in my brain Ps; it gets worse when i have nothing to do or when i'm so stressed
Alright, I seem to have an intuitive variety of derealization. As in, the things I look at and hear are cosmetically mundane, but there's something about them that is unusual or even horrifying. It's like I'm getting a sort of "phobia" of common objects. It usually happens when I'm sleep deprived.
Hello guys my name is likhit I had anxiety most of the time since my childhood first it started with a heart pain I felt so fearful and my heart was painting and then one day my mom said it's all ur thinking and then I tried not to think about it and it has disappeared and after that I was playing a computer game and I had a fear of things that won't stop which means I had fear of my heart beat and fear of infinite and in game infinite money etc. I coped myself telling that it doesn't exist everything has a stop and left it. Then after some years I think 6 or 7 years I had breathing anxiety which continued for 2 or 3 months and after that I accepted it was a thought and it has gone away and after that it came back again and it stayed for 1 month and gone away after that for 2 years I was fine but after that I had an anxiety that if I will think negative and do a thing then it will become real I mean I was working in a store as a typist I thought if I will type some word with negative thinking that my mom and dad will die then it would become real so I cut the word and type it correctly without negative thinking this anxiety continued for 7 months after that covid 19 was started and then i had done lots of exercises and after that I had a mild headache due to excessive exercising which was little but once the lockdown started I didn't meet my friends and everyone then my headache got worse and it stayed 24/7 with me after struggling one month with this anxiety I and my family members shifted to vizag then also my headache was there and one day I was thinking something that wt if another anxiety hit me and I will be free from this headache anxiety suddenly a thought came wt if poop anxiety came and then the poop anxiety literally came it was like I will go to poop and then In my mind I will think that some one are watching me and they are laughing and I can't poop and i just can't remove the thought I had irregular bowel movements with this it continued till 9 or 10 months and I suddenly got relief and I was doing great for 1 month and then suddenly one night a fight happened between my mom and me that night I slept well but woke up with a fever and I was not able to eat anything so after 1 or 2 days the fever was gone but the feeling of vomit hadn't gone it continued I had strange feelings like I was in a spinning wheel or having wt if the universe is infinite it scared me and why my heart beats 24/7 it also scared me then I had earbugs means music stuck in my mind and some scary things stuck in my mind I have struggled with this for 1 or 2 months and after that it was gone and I became stronger now I dont have fear of moving things and heart beat and no earbugs no vomit feeling one day I had a strange feeling that why silence is there why sound is there I thought if I can't stay in silent can I stay in sound the answer was no I struggled with it for 5 or 6 days and it was gone upto 3 days before everything was fine I had coped with all my anxieties and I was doing great but suddenly my colleges were declared holidays and now I'm.having a feeling that what is happiness and what is pain or torture and my mind is telling to stay in torture or stay in fear don't stay in happiness I'm not able to decide what to do I'm struggling please someone understand me and save me even saying save is opposing me my mind is kinda don't be saved be in pain and torture I'm writing this very clearly please someone help me
The Q key on my lap top keyboard being used here was not working up until now after the key got a bit damaged which would have before then let more light through it which after that key automatic got shut down along with the light under my keyboard. Because all of the malls and stores were closed for 3 months it disordered my typing routine and my typing speed. Not enough to cause me any depersonaliztion derealization upset in me while recovery from a serious car accident however because over a life time up until age 63 now I have learned to be resilient too by humbly accepting whatever grace is being offered to me. Like not having any deadlne right now while not being able to use that key. I have noticed some other things too besides me not feeling like myself these days and recovery taking too long for my liking.
today they both happened on and off but i knew i was still real and just feeling off. i don’t think this has happened enough or been severe enough to be a disorder, so is it normal to depersonalize and derealize without the disorder
It could possibly advance to something more , so probably best to see a therapist or Dr. No need to feel embarrassed, they are there to help get you started on the right medication.
Yes, happens to me sometimes... Just breathe and don't worry about it, it'll pass after a couple minutes.maybe have a snack, to get your blood sugar up
For me, I just feel like things don't seem as real as they are supposed to be. People feel like robots. I have headaches, head pressure and vision problems.
so these "moments" have a name and are disorders ._. question other thing that happened to me from time to time is like "having a feeling" that doesn't feel like mine like feeling excited without feeling that way, if that makes sense
dp/dr can be triggered by anxiety, panic attacks, trauma, depression, etc. It's a symptom because anything that helps relieve the anxiety or trauma will help relieve dp/dr as well.
Why is everything vivid and enhanced like my vision is bright and colors look too contrasted but my eyes are not dilated and they look glossy, I got tremors in my thumbs and get muscle jerks and paresthesia in my head. Idk what is happening and my memory is so shot off I can’t remember old tv shows unless I watch them. I feel nauseous all the time and I eat a lot more like my stomach had a empty space.
There are certain events in my life. People randomly coming and going... And I think that's really effected how I connect with others.. My family...I can't seem to care....idk I'll keep trying but
Is it possible for a person in an emergency ward with an undiagnosed mild concussion in a domestic violence situation when being brought into the emergency ward by the perpetrator of the violence which caused the mild concussion to develop DDD by taking sleeping pills that were prescribed in the emergency ward because of the lies told by the perpetrator in the emergency ward?
I have this since i Have inhaled empty deoderant no deodorant just that gas which i tought was oxygen so i inhaled it then i was fainting out and i tought i was poisoned so i had a panic attack and i started breathing like crazy and i didn't pass out. Then i did not feel like real human.
Dr. Grande, Many armchair true crime people have been following the Chris Watts case. He is so detached when he talks, contradictory, and leaving us no way to understand how such rage rose within him. Can you help us understand his way of expressing himself? To me, it sounds like guilt and shame, so he hides details, sparing us the gruesomeness. Is he disassociating? Thank you.
Are you saying that people can be functioning, and still be derealized for weeks, months or years at a time? People who aren’t loaded on something? My meta-cognition about this is overwhelming. I do not mean to be insensitive but I think more than one of my professors was consistently like this. I mean over their total school year.
I have DDD but never been diagnosed I had it since my childhood I’m currently pregnant now and but I don’t feel like its real wondering if having a baby will snap me out of it our not
I have GAD since i was 16 years old, i'm 21 now, and i have depersonalization as a result of extrem anxiety, and when i start to search about depersonalization i read about schizophrenia and this make me develop a phobia os become schizophrenic, i had a appoinment with a psychiatrist and he told me that i'm unlike to develop this illness, he told me that if i had any chance of have it i already would be in a hospital because i already lived aloot of stressful moments in my life because of anxiety, but every time i read or I hear that DP can be a symptom of schizophrenia i get scary about ir, so can you explaine this? like, is there any difference between depersonalization caused by the anxiety of depersonalization caused by schizophrenia?
Hi i have gad for 10 yers upp and dons anxyety/panicattaks . I haven se somewhan here on youtub going on brintellex . Have you triad that medicin? W from sweden.
GAD can lead to DDD but that doesn´t mean that you have schizophrenia. You may have DDD symptoms that are common in schizophrenia but that doesn't mean that you meet the full criteria. So, to find a cure that is adequate for you, you need to ask a professional. The quicker you know what´s the real problem, the faster to look for a solution!! I had GAD, DDD and MDD
I have Panic Disorder and DDD, and also a phobia of schizophrenia which is really hard considering during a panic attack I feel like I am going crazy and the DDD makes things not seem real and whatnot. When I am feeling normal I realize it is irrational to think I am going to develop schizophrenia just because I am afraid of it. I really feel for you and I know its scary but you shouldn’t be afraid of developing it. I hope you are doing better than when you posted this.
DDD isn't associated with stress. It can happen in any situation vs stress induced psychosis or DID where the altered personalities take over in stressful situations.
Am I the only person that is obsessed at the fact that I can’t see my own face without a mirror or taking a picture. I feel like I’m going insane & I haven’t heard of this symptom . Please let me know . & use my comment to talk about your strange symptoms that nobody talks about to spread awareness on symptoms nobody talks about
I'm in my 40's and was treated with anxiety meds for many years and I only recently went to seek therapy and the Dr. said I have CPTSD and DDD and that is what has been causing the anxiety all of these years. Please I don't know what to do next and my Therapist is retiring, I have only been seeing him for about 6 months but I know it is recommended to see someone that specializes in this field.
