# What's working for me -- without a doubt.



## miabella (Jun 19, 2013)

Ok, so I know I posted this as a reply to someone else like 10 minutes ago, but I figured there might be several other people who could use this.

Also - I understand I might get a lot of feedback like "its NOT that EASY", but I'm just telling you what has worked for me.

***It might be kind of hard to read this and fully grasp it if you're feeling like you're completely without hope... or if you feel like life is pointless because it all feels SO unreal, so before reading, TRY to think of just ONE purpose of living if you're having trouble. It could be someone you love, an activity that you used to find fun that you want to enjoy again, just the sheer idea of eventually getting better and enjoying things again, or at the very least, just living...period.***

Today, 02:01 PM

Basically to get rid of the condition you need to get your body and mind back into it's normal way of functioning. Eat right, sleep right, take your vitamins. Go to a doctor to get a physical, or heck, to see if you're deficient in any vitamins or minerals if you want to take it that far. You might find something that really helps.

Think about what you'd do if you DIDN'T have DP/DR, or what you did when you didn't have it, and push yourself to do it. Don't let it take over your life. Go out with friends, listen to music that makes you happy or brings back good memories, go shopping... *live your life*. If DP/DR tries to knock you down, just keep going. It's going to be hard at first, but I promise you it's going to be the fastest thing to bring you back to your normal self.

Any thoughts you have that have to do with DP/DR, label them as DP/DR/obsessive/intrusive...whatever you want, and leave them as that and nothing more.

Distract yourself. Read a book (this happens to work well for me). Watch an ENGAGING movie that you've never seen before. Exercise. Download games like solitaire or candy crush on your phone (this also works WONDERS for me). I have my phone with me wherever I go. If I notice the thoughts coming back up because I'm not in any sort of engaging/distracting activity, I whip out a game and start playing -- and boom, I'm back to being fine.

Go to concerts or places with loud music and lots of people. I noticed that these helped a LOT because not only was I having fun, but it was SO loud, that even my noisy mind couldn't cut through everything that was going on around me.

Do something that involves physical feelings... swim in a pool or go in a hot tub. Stick your hand out the window of a car and feel the air in your fingers. Go on a roller coaster.

Do something to help yourself or others. Don't like something about yourself? Get a hair cut you like, work towards getting your body in shape, learn something new. Help a friend with an issue he or she is struggling with.

Do you have any fears? Take some of the small ones, like spiders or fear of the dark, and try to tackle them. It will shift your fear of DP/DR to something else, AND it will help you knock down your list of fears, which in the end could diminish some of the anxiety that's causing your DP/DR.

If your DP/DR affects your eating, like it did for me, find some comfort foods. Something that you really like that's quick to make. If you can, eat while you do something to distract yourself like reading or watching TV. Keep little light snacks handy so you can eat as soon as you notice you're hungry. This will get back to normal.

Get social and have conversations. Yes, this is sometimes the hardest part of DP/DR, but that's what should make you push yourself to do it more. Plus, seeing the complexity of emotion and thought patterns in others will bring you back to reality.

Look at DP/DR as a table, and all the things its NOT allowing you to do as legs. Knock each of those down one by one, and the table can no longer stand.

Or, look at it as a disobedient child -- the more attention you give him, the more the disobedient behavior persists. When you start to ignore him, the behavior stops. Anxious thoughts and DP/DR are exactly the same.

The bottom line is, push yourself to live the life you had when you did not have DP/DR. Do not limit yourself because of DP/DR. Do not let it affect you no matter HOW hard it is.

Expect relapses, but think nothing of it. It's a process, like anything else. If you have a great week, two weeks, month, etc, and suddenly you're back, it's normal. Label it as DP/DR, and keep pushing yourself.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2013)

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## miabella (Jun 19, 2013)

I know someone on this forum before said that distracting does NOT work, but seriously... it does. The first time I had this three years ago, distracting myself was what got me better for 2-2.5 years. The reason all of this came back, was because stress piled up and I had NO hobbies. I worked, and work stressed me out, and I went home and stressed about the fact that I had NO friends around because of all the drama that had split us all up. I sat there doing nothing while stress completely gobbled me up. Distraction isn't unhealthy, it's key. Find something you like doing, and get to it. You might need it a BUNCH right now, but that's because your mind is in this habit of being on overdrive all the time. The distracting is going to slow it down to it's normal rate. Try to keep your hobbies alive after that (which is where I failed). Happy people have hobbies... it keeps their minds busy and helps them deal with stress... and that's why they don't end up with DP/DR


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## dancintrulife (Jun 18, 2009)

I agree with miabella. Dp started for me when I gave up my hobbies (singing, acting and dancing) and lost touch ith my friends, instead I sat around obsessing over how much I missed both the hobbies and friends. I ended up in a job I hated, yet another negative thing to obsess over. I know it's not easy, but taking life by the horns and living it instead of observing it. Really does make all the difference.


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## lautje (Mar 4, 2011)

You are totally right , this all help me the first time so it has ti help me again right . I still go One with my life and do everything . I feel a little bit better then 3 weeks ago . 
But THE most difficult for me are the mornings do you reconized that ?


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## lautje (Mar 4, 2011)

And One more thing , How long did you have dp now ?


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