# DP with no anxiety



## Relaxation (Aug 23, 2010)

well ive been on the forum a while, and i read of so many people who say DP is anxiety related, and once anxietys gone so will DP. yet i havnt had one anxiety insident for months yet my DP doesnt not changed AT ALL. it just gets a little worst if i have an attack.its cronic 24/7 and i never feel real ever! not even a tiny bit.


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## MrSpock2 (Mar 16, 2011)

Relaxation said:


> well ive been on the forum a while, and i read of so many people who say DP is anxiety related, and once anxietys gone so will DP. yet i havnt had one anxiety insident for months yet my DP doesnt not changed AT ALL. it just gets a little worst if i have an attack.its cronic 24/7 and i never feel real ever! not even a tiny bit.


You said you haven't had anxiety in months, but then you go on to say that it gets worse (?) when you have an attack. I think you have to get rid of all stress for DP to go away. Don't think about how you feel.


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## ValleyGirl (Nov 10, 2017)

That is a mistake that people make. They think dp is caused by anxiety and it's not. Depersonalization Disorder is a dissociative disorder. If anything the sensations from it CAUSE ANXIETY. I also can go months at a time without anxiety and depression and still have dp.


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2011)

ValleyGirl83 said:


> That is a mistake that people make. They think dp is caused by anxiety and it's not. Depersonalization Disorder is a dissociative disorder. If anything the sensations from it CAUSE ANXIETY. I also can go months at a time without anxiety and depression and still have dp.


ValleyGirl speaketh the truth. And per the DSM-5, whenever they get that out, there has been a VERY significant change in the description of Depersonalization Disorder ...

*300.6 Depersonalization Disorder*
Revision:

D and E: Changes allow comorbid diagnoses to be made when warranted.

A. Persistent or recurrent experiences of feeling detached from, and as if one is an outside observer of, one's mental processes or body (e.g., feeling like one is in a dream).

B. During the depersonalization experience, reality testing remains intact.

C. The depersonalization causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

D. The depersonalization experience is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., temporal lobe epilepsy).

*E. The depersonalization symptoms are not restricted to the symptoms of another mental disorder* (e.g., depersonalization symptoms in Schizophrenia, Panic Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder, or another Dissociative Disorder)."

Please visit, comment, and make your voice heard at the DSM Revision Site:

http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx

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As I type this, I am neither depressed nor anxious. BUT I am 24/7 DP/DR. It is bearable now especially at night and though I recall reality it is beyond my grasp. A very specific DP symptom is right now my arms feel connected from my body as I type this. I don't even care anymore it has been so long. My DR is things are flat, distorted, unreal, I feel sometimes so insubstantial I am like a ghost. Sometimes I get terrified by THAT, other times not. I would say I have comorbid anxiety, but to be honest, I have no clue anymore about any of this! But one CAN have DP/DR ALONE.


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## birdiehead (Apr 19, 2010)

Dreamer* said:


> ValleyGirl speaketh the truth. And per the DSM-5, whenever they get that out, there has been a VERY significant change in the description of Depersonalization Disorder ...
> 
> *300.6 Depersonalization Disorder*
> Revision:
> ...


may i ask if your dp/dr got worse as you got older? mine started when i was 18 and it was pretty highly treatable with medication. actually i didn't even know i had dpd until a few years ago. i guess i don't know myself very well. not i'm 35 and stuck in bed. can't function at all. no medication is taking away "the madness" and body pains. no emotions. just feel like a dead person living in an out of body experience. i have no comorbid conditions. i used to have major anxiety and some depression but both are gone. i just feel like i'm going crazy 24/7. i guess this condition is different for everyone huh?


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2011)

birdiehead said:


> may i ask if your dp/dr got worse as you got older? mine started when i was 18 and it was pretty highly treatable with medication. actually i didn't even know i had dpd until a few years ago. i guess i don't know myself very well. not i'm 35 and stuck in bed. can't function at all. no medication is taking away "the madness" and body pains. no emotions. just feel like a dead person living in an out of body experience. i have no comorbid conditions. i used to have major anxiety and some depression but both are gone. i just feel like i'm going crazy 24/7. i guess this condition is different for everyone huh?


Hi birdiehead,

No, actually the overall daily DP/DR is improved to a degree. Or perhaps I am not as frightened by it. But I really have no joy in my life, but I do things every day that give me a sense of purpose. But I am tired, and I am afraid of being older w/DP/DR.

Meds saved my life actually when I was pushing 30 and quite prepared to exit. Therapy has helped to a degree, but really with coping ... no "remission" or "cure" ...

Yes, it is different for everyone. What is interesting for me, is my background, I believe, reinforced a tendency in me to dissociate. Lack of family support and love my whole life left me without many coping skills.

I wish I could tell you all will be alright. My only thought ... and I am not a doctor ... is what has helped me the most is Klonopin and Lamictal. Before I had those meds (later in my life), I was alone, but I pushed through so much. Accomplished so much. Now I am tired. Very tired. I wish I could connect with the beauty of life, with others.

Oh, meant to say, my big DP symptom is my arms DON'T feel like mine. That has been around forever. Most disturbing is the DR outdoors.

I wish you the best. And I wish I had a magic wand for all of us.
D


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## gill (Jul 1, 2010)

Yeah, I've had this same frustration. I used to ride my bike to the point of total exhaustion. Then I'd think, okay, I'm not stressed anymore, why am I still spaced out!? And so I asked my doctor this and he basically said that the DP is an after effect of excessive stresses among some other things. So unfortunately it can take a lot of time to fade, if ever.

You know of course it could be a symptom of anxiety, just like sweaty palms, but then after the adrenaline fades out, so should the DP. If it doesn't then it's DPD, which still can fade, it has somewhat for me, but takes time. It just takes a lot of patience and of course treating yourself well.


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