# Important realizations I've been experiencing about DP!...



## appleseed24 (Oct 9, 2013)

Important realization I've had and have been experiencing about DP!...

I am in the middle of recovering (I haven't recovered yet) but while DP is clearing away it's allowing me to SEE it in a more logical light.

The feeling of anxiety comes FIRST...the thoughts are a byproduct OF the anxiety, the obsessive thoughts are a result of your anxious FEELING. PLEASE understand this...none of those outlandish existential thoughts are valid it is because you are feeling a type of anxiety that you've never felt before. I used to feel anxiety in my chest it would get tight or my stomach would hurt. This is a more extreme form you're experiencing.

What's going on when you are DP'ing is a lot of suppression...suppression of the feeling of FEAR/ANXIETY...THUS creating SCARIER thoughts and perception than normal. This continues to cycle and cycle and with the help of worry and obsession.

SUPPRESSING anxiety is making your perception of reality scarier than it actually is. Your mind is just a little more jumpy than it usually is but really your extreme feeling of anxiety isn't giving your mind a chance to step back, take a breath and realize everything is the same as it ever was and to merrily go about your life.

The main thing is to STOP what is making your DP persist. WORRY, here is a quote I found to help me drop the worry:

Ninety-five % of worries never come true. And the remaining 5%? People tend to cope much better than they had anticipated. Fears and anxieties are NOT cognitive puzzles to solve. So give the hamster in your mind a break from the wheel and focus on something else.

Don't worry about how your perception of reality is looking don't worry about your thoughts. Instead think: Hmm..what if I stopped worrying about myself. Hmm... I don't remember worrying about myself this much before. What if I was one of those people who don't worry so much. Hmm, interesting. And just see what happens.

I realized the reason why I had obsessive thoughts and worry was because I couldn't feel my emotions (being a very emotional person). My mind didn't have any direction in my life so it chose meaningless things to obsess over. Well with DP your emotions are often not there for you to feel which sucks, but if you tackle you worrying about yourself that will free up a lot so you can potentially start feeling your authentic emotions again...your emotions will start making more sense because your mind won't be taking centre stage all of the time.

You can sort of see how it's all connected in one cycle that is manifesting itself as a disorder, and rightly so...it's disorderly! But you can put things back in ORDER.

After you're able to feel some kind of emotion-

You have to stop suppressing your anxiety. Let it out, and you know how I know when I'm feeling anxious? When I'm getting DP thoughts. (I have to say though I currently am in recovery mode so my DP is very mild but because it's mild it's easier to see the workings of it). This is the process that happens: have a weird thought (usual reaction: what is that? why am I thinking that? omg i'm going crazy, omg I have a mental disorder.) etc. Ok Instead of focussing on the thoughts.....notice how you're feeling, most likely you're feeling anxious. There's no need to focus on the feeling, allow yourself to feel that feeling, you could be feeling numb, tingling, anxiety all over your body, you be feeling light headed, a pit in your stomach, just feel the anxiety and let it express itself through your body. Realize that you've been feeling anxiety this whole time, and it has been the cause of your DP thoughts.

DP is not as complex as it seems, it is the result of a feeling (anxiety) you don't realize you're feeling. But if you're patient with yourself you can teach yourself to feel your anxiety, use it to your advantage, and channel it into your life! It's all about allowing yourself to feel, and trust me! It's way less scary to feel anxiety than what DP is serving up.

It's been a while for me to navigate through this disorder and I'm still learning how to deal with it, but hopefully this will help someone,..


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## Loveisthekey (Nov 18, 2013)

I can so much relate! That's what I decided to try three days ago. I just thought what can I loose and tried not to worry about these feelings. I kept talking to people and doing my usual stuff even though I didn't feel like myself. And after one day, I started to feel my emotions. I felt love, I could laugh about things. I still felt wierd and I still do, but I just keep going. I can now distract myself from these thoughts except situations when I'm tired at school or after sports. But I just tell myself that it's because I'm tired and when I have some sleep I feel so much better. I still feel quite a lot out of reality and wierd, but my mind is now working clearer and I can feel emotions.


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