Aa
dissociation, introspection, depersonalisation, hypervigilence driving me mad!
all of these symptoms are driving me insane. my councillor told me there normal symptoms for anxiety, but half the time i feel like its as if i haven't woke up yet and I'm still stuck in my mind!
it makes me forgetful, it doesn't let me think rationally and its as if im always stuck in my subconsciousness. I worry about worrying when i feel all of these, i become way too aware of my mental pattern and what i'm doing, even down to biting my nails or the way i'm walking i worry if i look weird, or i feel like a cringe after saying a sentence and think 'did that sound right? am i acting different?' etc which leads to more worry.
it also makes your mood change very quickly! like you can wake up really hyper, and feel like your out of it, or you can suddenly feel like you cant put words together in your head and you can't act like a human and your just in some bubble.
i just want to know if anyone has any really good ways of getting rid of these feelings? i'm sick of feeling like i've completely lost it!
it makes me forgetful, it doesn't let me think rationally and its as if im always stuck in my subconsciousness. I worry about worrying when i feel all of these, i become way too aware of my mental pattern and what i'm doing, even down to biting my nails or the way i'm walking i worry if i look weird, or i feel like a cringe after saying a sentence and think 'did that sound right? am i acting different?' etc which leads to more worry.
it also makes your mood change very quickly! like you can wake up really hyper, and feel like your out of it, or you can suddenly feel like you cant put words together in your head and you can't act like a human and your just in some bubble.
i just want to know if anyone has any really good ways of getting rid of these feelings? i'm sick of feeling like i've completely lost it!
Until you start feeling better, put notes up for yourself to remind you to do the things you like, like drawing. The notes don't have to be specific....just a reminder, something to jog your memory about getting out there and doing "normal" things.
Hang up a few, in different rooms, in highly visible locations. You could write something like "Remember!", and that will be enough to jog your memory.
Hang in there!
Hang up a few, in different rooms, in highly visible locations. You could write something like "Remember!", and that will be enough to jog your memory.
Hang in there!
thankyou all of you, your comments have comforted me to know im not going crazy!
the problem is it sort of blocks my motivation and normal thoughts to get on with things i need to do, or want to do! like i forget to go and read a book, draw etc, its like my rational thoughts are none existant when this feeling happens, like i'm not even human :| just a bubble.
i think i need to get back into drawing, i am more creative then practical (which seems most anxiety sufferers are) but when i get these symptoms i forget to do such things! i think colouring and drawing will benefit me, just like squeezing an ice cube and i usually do splash my face or get a shower/bath to get the feel back of reality. it helps temporarily.
i deffinatly get it more when i leave my home or from being inside, i remember being at a friends and we went to take his dog for a walk (i wrote a post about this) and as soon as we went outside i felt dizzy and i couldn't talk that much or let myself think of things to say, it was as if my brain just stopped working. it was so bizarre!
it is honestly so uncomfortable when you get sucked into your mind and you genuinally feel like you've forgotten how to be normal :| yet you haven't at the same time!
but thankyou for the advise, knowing other people out there are sufferers of the same problem that isn't even nessercarily a mental illness, just a symptom of anxiety, has really made me feel hope!
the problem is it sort of blocks my motivation and normal thoughts to get on with things i need to do, or want to do! like i forget to go and read a book, draw etc, its like my rational thoughts are none existant when this feeling happens, like i'm not even human :| just a bubble.
i think i need to get back into drawing, i am more creative then practical (which seems most anxiety sufferers are) but when i get these symptoms i forget to do such things! i think colouring and drawing will benefit me, just like squeezing an ice cube and i usually do splash my face or get a shower/bath to get the feel back of reality. it helps temporarily.
i deffinatly get it more when i leave my home or from being inside, i remember being at a friends and we went to take his dog for a walk (i wrote a post about this) and as soon as we went outside i felt dizzy and i couldn't talk that much or let myself think of things to say, it was as if my brain just stopped working. it was so bizarre!
it is honestly so uncomfortable when you get sucked into your mind and you genuinally feel like you've forgotten how to be normal :| yet you haven't at the same time!
but thankyou for the advise, knowing other people out there are sufferers of the same problem that isn't even nessercarily a mental illness, just a symptom of anxiety, has really made me feel hope!
Your therapist is right, these ARE all very normal symptoms of anxiety, and there isn't really anything that is a quick fix. Addressing anxiety takes time and professional help. It may take you months before you start noticing improvements in these symptoms. Patience is a must.
Start asking your therapist for things YOU can at home to start chipping away at the anxiety. Books to read, exercises you can do. The very best thing you can do is be kind to yourself during this process. The sooner you accept that this doesn't happen overnight, and that progress takes time, the better off you'll be. I've lived it, I know how it feels to just want to feel "normal" again, but I also know that once I started pushing myself to get back into a normal routine (even if it was uncomfy for a while), and distracting myself, and being patient with myself I started noticing subtle changes for the better. Distractions are a GREAT way to stop the overthinking and ruminating. Start getting busy with something, try to preoccupy your mind with anything but thoughts of anxiety.
Hon, there just IS NOT a "quick fix". Why do you think this is such a busy forum? Anxiety affects so many people...and everyone is faced with the same dilemmas. Hang in there.
Start asking your therapist for things YOU can at home to start chipping away at the anxiety. Books to read, exercises you can do. The very best thing you can do is be kind to yourself during this process. The sooner you accept that this doesn't happen overnight, and that progress takes time, the better off you'll be. I've lived it, I know how it feels to just want to feel "normal" again, but I also know that once I started pushing myself to get back into a normal routine (even if it was uncomfy for a while), and distracting myself, and being patient with myself I started noticing subtle changes for the better. Distractions are a GREAT way to stop the overthinking and ruminating. Start getting busy with something, try to preoccupy your mind with anything but thoughts of anxiety.
Hon, there just IS NOT a "quick fix". Why do you think this is such a busy forum? Anxiety affects so many people...and everyone is faced with the same dilemmas. Hang in there.
Ive had this for a very long time, i feel in my head constantly and sometimes people will talk to me or say something and i don't hear what they say because I'm so involved in my thoughts. I don't know why this happens, its scary and uncomfortable , I've read an anti anxiety book and they compare it to a fish it says " A FISH JUST SWIMS NATURALLY , WITHOUT THINKING OR NOTICING THAT'S JUST WHAT IT DOES, BUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF A FISH NOTICED THEY WERE SWIMMING"? That's kind of like us we just think, so when we notice we think that gives us anxiety and depression and just basically scares the **** out of us. I take klonopin and that rarely helps. I agree with above, sometimes getting deep into your mind you find very artistic sides of yourself, whatever you feel or see or think, draw it , even if its just frustration and scribbles. It helps to just get it out of you. Put an ice cube in your hand and squeeze, this helps wake you up. Go by balloons blow all the anxiety , stress, and anything else you feel into it, and then pop it. I zone out a lot too and so far havent really figured out anything that helps with that. Maybe just putting water on your face, taking a really warm bath, washing your hair, feeling your skin washing your face, just some things that make it so you FEEL REAL.
Lily,
I feel your pain! I also suffer from dissociation and depersonalization. Fortunately, the dissociation hasn't happened much recently, but when it does, it's so debilitating that the only thing that makes me feel better is to take a Xanax and to hope to fall asleep. I've found no cure for this in the past eight years, and have also found that it happens to me more outdoors than indoors. Even when my anxiety was well-controlled, episodes would come out of nowhere. If I was at work, I usually could take a Xanax and it would calm me enough so that I could step away from my desk, walk outside, get a drink of water, and usually distract my mind enough with my work to eventually feel better.
I have had depersonalization since I was a child, but never knew what it was until recently. The really bad episodes generally only last a few minutes. I have found that calling a friend helps, looking something up on the Internet, or even reading the back of a shampoo bottle. I try to focus on something else, until the self-aware feelings go away.
My biggest problem right now is my overactive imagination. I think about anxiety 24/7. I had a good 10-day streak going a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm back to barely living my life. You said you feel like you are stuck in your sub-concscious, which is exactly how I feel. It's like I'm stuck inside my own brain with thoughts of nothing but my health. I know that I'm not dying, I'm perfectly fine, that everything is just anxiety and ultimately in my head, but I feel like there is no escaping myself! I almost feel like this is what hell must be like. If I'm not anxious, I worry about future anxiety, which ultimately leads to me feeling anxious.
I wish I had some advice for you. Even when I do things where I'm busy, I'm still thinking about my health. The one thing that my therapist recommended is that I do deep relaxation for 30 minutes three times a day. She said to use guided imagery, listen to music, sit outside and stare at nature, or to color. I actually felt kind of odd buying a coloring book and crayons, as I'm 30 years old, but coloring has been somewhat therapeutic for me. I'd love to hear of anything that has worked, even a little bit, for you.
I feel your pain! I also suffer from dissociation and depersonalization. Fortunately, the dissociation hasn't happened much recently, but when it does, it's so debilitating that the only thing that makes me feel better is to take a Xanax and to hope to fall asleep. I've found no cure for this in the past eight years, and have also found that it happens to me more outdoors than indoors. Even when my anxiety was well-controlled, episodes would come out of nowhere. If I was at work, I usually could take a Xanax and it would calm me enough so that I could step away from my desk, walk outside, get a drink of water, and usually distract my mind enough with my work to eventually feel better.
I have had depersonalization since I was a child, but never knew what it was until recently. The really bad episodes generally only last a few minutes. I have found that calling a friend helps, looking something up on the Internet, or even reading the back of a shampoo bottle. I try to focus on something else, until the self-aware feelings go away.
My biggest problem right now is my overactive imagination. I think about anxiety 24/7. I had a good 10-day streak going a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm back to barely living my life. You said you feel like you are stuck in your sub-concscious, which is exactly how I feel. It's like I'm stuck inside my own brain with thoughts of nothing but my health. I know that I'm not dying, I'm perfectly fine, that everything is just anxiety and ultimately in my head, but I feel like there is no escaping myself! I almost feel like this is what hell must be like. If I'm not anxious, I worry about future anxiety, which ultimately leads to me feeling anxious.
I wish I had some advice for you. Even when I do things where I'm busy, I'm still thinking about my health. The one thing that my therapist recommended is that I do deep relaxation for 30 minutes three times a day. She said to use guided imagery, listen to music, sit outside and stare at nature, or to color. I actually felt kind of odd buying a coloring book and crayons, as I'm 30 years old, but coloring has been somewhat therapeutic for me. I'd love to hear of anything that has worked, even a little bit, for you.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Anxiety Community
Find out what can trigger a panic attack – and what to do if you have one.
A guide to 10 common phobias.
Take control of tension today.
These simple pick-me-ups squash stress.
Don’t let the winter chill send your smile into deep hibernation. Try these 10 mood-boosting tips to get your happy back
Want to wake up rested and refreshed?
