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2065348 tn?1331075207

does derealization go away?

im a 20 yr old female and iv had derealization for 4 months now. it has not gone away not once. i feel spaced out, but werid all the time like these are not my eyes im seeing out of . i have no idea why i got it (which makes me not understand how i got it)  i never thought i had anxiety either or was very stressed? its the worst feeling in the world and im just scared to death it will not go away. does it? what are things would help me recover? i would really appreciate anyones help!  for the first 3 months thought i was stuck and that i had to have hurt something in my body but iv had a mri, cat scan, spinal tap and tons of blood work that come back normal. i was so depressed and scared but now im just trying hard to beat this thing if its possble. my emotions are up and down all day long. one min im like ill be ok i have hope an the next im scared again and just want it to be done or think it wont go away. hope i get some answers, thank you.
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Avatar universal
I've had it for almost three years now. I totally understand what you are going through. The only way it would'nt go away is if you'd have any other sort of disorder that could interfere. (not all disorders can cause derealization to be irreversible).
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Sorry, my answer got a little bit messed up, my phone gliched.
Avatar universal
I’m currently suffering from anxiety. It’s something new to me which makes it harder to cope with. I’m a strong believer in things will get better! It’s hard yes, it makes you sad yes and makes you feel worthless at times, but you need to remember you will be okay. Go with it instead of against it, learn to cope as much as you can and you’ll find it slowly disappear. A positive mindset can do us wonders and it’s so important to stay happy mentally and physically. Anyone with this disorder is truly a hero, it can be exhausting and isn’t the easiest thing to live with but YOU WILL GET BETTER! I hope anyone reading this with the same situation as me is able to find the happiness they deserve and beat this! Stay positive everyone, you are brave!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
For they past 2 weeks I have been felling like I’m high all the time and feeling weird I don’t no what it is I have only smoked 4 times in my whole life I don’t no if it’s flash backs or what but I’m really scared it’s never going to go away
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Avatar universal
Can i ask ? how much of u all have or had tmj
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Avatar universal
Stars March 2017 .I ad bad back day b4(dint think it be related as get bad bk 2x a mtg.woke up  next day feel  like s zombie all spaced out. 1st think I say wen I talk bout it is..I can see wat I'm doin but it dint feel.like I'm i  reality.wen I was bout 13 it all started were I dint feel normal  but it some how eased off as I felt ok.a yr ago it happend again a I just slept it off.i wanna speak to a Dr to c if I an suffering with anxiety or maybe summery diff but the Dr i went too just basically gave me antidepressants.snd said I got s form of anxiety but too be .she dint really kno.plus h gotta c Dr a couple times b4 they give antidepressants out.dont u
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Avatar universal
All ik is that I have it and it is annoying. It goes away after a while but I got anxiety from doin drugs and every time my anxiety kinda goes away and gets better I do drugs again. Guess we just gotta fight through it.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Also, this disorder isn't that easy to recover from.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Listen I'm telling you it will go away. You need to cutout drugs alcohol caffeine or anything that makes your receptors go crazy. Don't be afraid of it just keep thinking to yourself those aren't your thoughts. Workout get a job work long hours, talk to somebody but realize those aren't your thoughts. Suicide is never the answer for real I had my dark moments and bad thoughts but there are things around you that aren't worth losing just because your brain is going crazy. You know what's real there is nothing wrong with you, believe you will get better and you will. Play loud music, hangout with friends just get your happiness up, accept that you are having these thoughts don't be afraid of them. Try and remember things to ground you like your mom yelling at you or being embarrassed. Also remember that there are questions you don't know the answers too. We are not all scientists we don't know every answer don't let the unknown freak you out. Get sleep and try meditating. If you are feeling detatched from your feelings go on youtube and type in "guided meditation" and find the video that helps with repetitive thinking and thoughts (it should be the first video) IT DOES GO AWAY. Be mentally tough. Write things down either in a diary or in your notepad on your phone, get the emotions out you gotta work, it"ll take time but you have to work on it trust me. Never give up !
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
It does go away!!!! I am a 34 year old male who has had this disorder on and off since I was 17 and had about 7 prolonged periods of derealization. Here is some REAL ADVICE.

1. Don't listen to the people on here who say they have had it constantly for 21 plus years without any reprieve blablabla! They just don't want to recover or just get a kick out of bringing total misserry to people looking for help.I have had really bad, prolonged episodes of constant 24/7 derealization and of which the longest was over 4 months but every time I convinced myself "it's different this time". Especially my most recent one and guess what.......I recovered. You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

2. Just ride it out. The more you fight it the more you feed it. It gourges itself on negative thoughts and just get along swimmingly with anxiety and depression. The more you feed it the longer it lingers. You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

3. Avoid recreational drugs and alcohol and eat healthy. I self medicated for years with alchohol to battle my horrific anxiety instead of seeking help. The hangovers lead to worsened anxiety attacks and boom I'm back in it again. You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

4. Back to point one. Don't read negative "I never recovered" stories. These increase anxiety and fuel the vicious cycle. When you have amassed the relevant information about the condition don't come back to these forums. Yes I know what your thinking, what a hypocrite but I'm doing this now feeling welll and I'm not looking for the "holy You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

5. Don't be scared that it's going to happen again. ****, it might well do. Just remember that it will pass and don't convince yourself otherwise. You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

6. Seek out the reason why you dissociate it the first place. Get some professional counselling/CBT. In professional I mean not the parasites who troll these boards and self help pages claiming they have a 21 day program or I have found the cure bull ****. (yes, you if your one of them, please go and live in a hole). They are just financially capataliising on our fear that we will be stuck in this living hell forever. You most certainly won't be! You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

7. The penultimate and most important one is try and interact with people and submerge yourself in activities. Yes it's **** at the time and easier said that done but not living your life empowers it, it feeds of you constant withdrawal from your normal life. The more you compound the fact that it has robbed you of your life it will. The mother ****** feels good about its self when you do and sticks its chest out in pride! DONT LET IT WIN! You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW.

8. And the last. The recurring theme in all previous 7 points. Please remember that this is a FACT! You will recover, I AM BETTER NOW and I am living proof of a person without belief, hope, no sight of the light at the end of the tunnel and so self consumed by it they couldn't function at all. And guess what? I did so **** this ****** disorder, you WILL beat it and get your life back I promise.

David x
Avatar universal
Listen I'm telling you it will go away. You need to cutout drugs alcohol caffeine or anything that makes your receptors go crazy. Don't be afraid of it just keep thinking to yourself those aren't your thoughts. Workout get a job work long hours, talk to somebody but realize those aren't your thoughts. Suicide is never the answer for real I had my dark moments and bad thoughts but there are things around you that aren't worth losing just because your brain is going crazy. You know what's real there is nothing wrong with you, believe you will get better and you will. Play loud music, hangout with friends just get your happiness up, accept that you are having these thoughts don't be afraid of them. Try and remember things to ground you like your mom yelling at you or being embarrassed. Also remember that there are questions you don't know the answers too. We are not all scientists we don't know every answer don't let the unknown freak you out. Get sleep and try meditating. If you are feeling detatched from your feelings go on youtube and type in "guided meditation" and find the video that helps with repetitive thinking and thoughts (it should be the first video) IT DOES GO AWAY. Be mentally tough. Write things down either in a diary or in your notepad on your phone, get the emotions out you gotta work, it"ll take time but you have to work on it trust me. Never give up !
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Hey can u text me . I need someone to talk to
Avatar universal
I would just like to add in this post.  Not all cases does the feeling go away.  The derealization feeling is constant, not episodes in my case.  I've tried a lot of different meds to get this fixed, non of them ever worked.  I've jade this feeling for 21 years now, constant, from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed.  I've learned to accept it and just try to live the best I can.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Dear ivaninter.....God, if i find an answer I will let you know. Will not forget you. Know exactly how you feel. Have to catch plane to Spain day after tomorrow and not feeling great about it. It's like people say - one foot in this world and one foot in another. So hard. Can't feel love but 'love' you and feel for you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thats never the answer! Please don't say that! You can get thru this! Its scary, for sure but you know what if you've dealt w it for this long, you're already an incredbly strong person and u csn continue to be! Lots of love, ur amazing and u deserve the best, ur such a beautiful person stay strong love
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
2L8
I have had DR for 30 years and it has never gone away. Weed triggered it. My DP comes and goes but the DR is constant and no amount of alchohol or pills or even the sexy addiction it created has ever given any relief. I just keep digging a bigger hole as it destroys my life.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Me too..
Avatar universal
I had this but meditation helped me alot ... my mediation would involve saying the same word again and again on concentrating on that. I hope this willl help you or anyone in need cause it helped me a great deal. You can look up other mediation techniques as well.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had derealization all of my life that I can remember.  If I get really involved with talking with someone, I won't feel the world is not real for this period of time, but later it comes right back.
In the past when I got really nervous such as having to make a speech, or explains something to a group of people, I would get nervous and start shaking.  It was very embarrassing.  However, through the years, I have gotten over this most of the time, but I still feel like I am living in a dream and that nothing is real.  If I am in pain, I forget it for a while, but that is about the only time.  I feel I am not real and the world is not real.  I have never told anyone but I would like to get help now if there is any.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
i have the same problem i feel like im just here and i wonder alot about anything and the feeling of if I'm real or if everything else is real its a very scary feeling but i do know for a fact it goes away because i had it when i was   a teen and i was crazy worried but eventually i jus snapped out of it and it was like the derealization never even happened and as for now i went to  doctor cuz i was stressed and the doc put me on welbutrin it actually made my stress worse and i started having panic attacks which scared the hell out of me and i guess led to the derealization returning and now i jus stay busy doing happy things and also setting goals like laundry dishes cleaning working on things iv always wanted to finish but never did these things will help relax me knowing my day was useful i feel for everyone that has this it can be hell to deal with at first but makes you understand life a little better once you relax  jus do things that help others and fight that feeling of i don't wanna do anything i jus wanna sit here because that just sitting there isn't helping anything i hope you are feeling better now i can't see when u posted the comment so this might be a response 2 years later lol
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm so glad i found this and know i'm not the only and that i haven't completely lost my mind. I started getting it last Summer whenever i started smoking marijuana more often. I don't think that's what caused it but it may have helped make it worse. Recently i've come to a realization that i have always been like this. It started as a coping mechanism for my social anxiety. i'd just detach myself from the situation and stay in my mind but now i can't make it stop. I feel like everyone thinks i'm strange and out of it. I feel like i can't keep a conversation going. Worst of all I can't remember anything that happens/happened (even in my childhood) because i wasnt truly there in the first place. All i do constantly is fear death and stare out of a window. I try to be more social and participate but sometimes that makes it even worse and i just stress more. I no longer feel like myself. But i know we can all get through this and i will beat it! Much love to you all xx
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Avatar universal
I've been feeling strange for the past few months, when I go outside everything seems in real. I've have stopped going out and not even able to fetch or take my kids school. I've not spoke to anyone about how I feel as I thought I was on my own. I thought it could be a side affect of my medication as I am on olanzipine and pregabalin? Help I don't no wot to do its making my life hell I am a prison in my own home
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Avatar universal
I've had derealization continuously since 5th grade; I'm about to graduate highschool now. In the beginning, I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me. I didn't have a name for the empty, out-of-it feeling I had continuously. Looking back, I realize it was stress induced. I would try to detach myself from reality when things would get pretty bad at my house, I'd try to block everything out. What I did was to lock myself into this dream-like state. I've smoked for the past few years, but I know my derealization didn't stem from my high, because I've had it since I was 11. Smoking has actually made DR a little bit more bearable because when I'm with my friends, I know they feel like I do all the time. I don't even remember ever feeling "normal". I can't look back at a time in my childhood and think "oh wow, I was actually 'there'". My life has formed around DR. I've accepted that fact. I hope you all can do that, too.
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Avatar universal
i fell like everything is a dream.  it's hard to focus on stuff and i daze off sometimes and forget im in reality.  i was wondering though if this disorder causes your brain to malfunction though.  because im very slow now and cant focus.  plus all the sounds i hear sound louder than normal and i fell weird as hell! idk what to do either.
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Avatar universal
Yes I feel that constantly. I’m scared and disoriented, everything is bleak, dark, and flat. I feel completely detached from my family and friends, like they are strangers. It is one of the loneliest and most disturbing things I have ever experienced and I am so sorry all of you have to go through this. I would not wish it on my worst enemy and it’s so hard to ignore it when it’s present 24/7. I try to talk to my parents, sister, and fiancé about it but unless you have felt it you cannot comprehend how scary it is. I feel like I’m acting weird all of the time or that people must be able to tell something is wrong because how can I possibly feel this spaced out and negative on the inside and seem normal on the outside. I guess I’ve gotten really good at acting.
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Avatar universal
Hi guys, i had derealization episodes throughout my 20s. I had my last  episode about 4 years ago. (I am 32 now).

My episodes almost always followed nights out drinking and would last 10 to 14 days each time.  I would like to share my experiences and thoughts in case it can help anyone else.

My thoughts on what triggers it: While alcohol may have played a part in the onset of symptoms, I don't feel that it was the true cause.  What I think triggered it was intense worry and anxiety following a drinking session that derealisation was soon going to follow. I believe this stress and worrying was what caused it to occur, not the alcohol itself.  Kind of like a self fulfilling prophecy.

Having not had an episode in four years, I think the biggest cure in my case was just learning to relax and not stress so much. Once you understand what triggers it (anxiety, stress, worry) you can develop your own strategies and relaxation techniques to reduce the likelihood of it occurring.

Coping strategies if it does occur:
-stressing and worrying about it will only worsen the symptoms... Go with the flow, if you keep positive and reduce self induced stress, you can likely pull yourself out of it.
- I had never been an artistic person, but I found drawing really  helped take my mind away from the dark place it was in, giving me something to focus on.
- Music that you are familiar with playing in the background helped keep me in touch with reality and was also therapeutic.

Questions for others?
- does any one else get severe fatigue the first few days? I found myself sleeping a good 18-20 hours a day.
- I also had really vivid dreams throughout each episode and night sweats. Anyone else?

Wishing fellow sufferers all the best.

J

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Avatar universal
Has anyone experience derealization that is more like a constant feeling of darkness? Almost like you have just woken up from a nightmare but the creepy feeling never goes away?
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h
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