# Something I would have told myself a year ago:



## Jurgen (Aug 3, 2013)

Stop avoiding reality.
Stop trying to constantly prob your feelings. 
Stop living in your head for a long period of time.
Stop neglecting your needs.

I've learned that when I disassociate it usually happens more often when I'm not doing anything and I analyze the details of things that have no relevance to my real life. I've understood that is accompanied by feeling hopeless to change my external situation. But this isn't true. Conditions of life can be changed.

Escapism is a destructive habit. We do it without realizing it sometimes. When we're putting our headphones to listen to music or on google searching our symptoms, we are engaging in an escapist habit which leads us to focus inward.

But I think escapism has a cause.

Why are you constantly escaping from the present moment?

Put your electronics down for a week and see how much of a difference it makes to your mental state.

Put everything in a healthier, objective perspective.

Write down the things that bother you and try to understand how they come up in your life.


----------



## Guest (Jul 17, 2014)

A good list, i can say i relate to alot of these things. My biggest would be

Don't look at anything mental health related (mostly this site)

BE PATIENT


----------



## seafoamneon (Jul 16, 2014)

So you're saying the essence of DP is escapism? I would seriously never listen to music or get on my computer for the next few weeks if it would get rid of my DP lol


----------



## seafoamneon (Jul 16, 2014)

To be honest, the last time I felt close to normal was in 2011, and guess what? I landed a new job and didn't listen to music, game, or get on my computer... This can't be a coinky-dink


----------



## Jurgen (Aug 3, 2013)

seafoamneon said:


> So you're saying the essence of DP is escapism? I would seriously never listen to music or get on my computer for the next few weeks if it would get rid of my DP lol


To be honest - I think if I stopped using my phone for a week my life would probably take a turn for the better.

I listen to music on it all the time.

There is perhaps a very brief moment I don't have head phones in.

No matter how awesome music is, I feel like it it influences your mood too much. It becomes very debilitating.
Not just music though.

- Researching irrelevant things on your phone 
- Not engaging with your surroundings more attentively than you should be
- Distraction

That usually forms into an unhealthy habit of escapism, IMO.

Things that you do are very subtle but these little things can cause an array of other problems if they are not recognized.


----------



## seafoamneon (Jul 16, 2014)

It does seem that alot of people with DP or that have had DP have these habits in common...


----------



## Pyrite (Mar 25, 2014)

We do need to escape reality, because reality can be very dull and grinding, so we need to get away from it to recharge, other wise people become miserable at the least.

That being said, moderation is important, any thing can be healthy or unhealthy depending on how much you use it. Being able to recognize when your escaping just because you don't want to deal with life is also important.


----------



## Jurgen (Aug 3, 2013)

Pyrite said:


> We do need to escape reality, because reality can be very dull and grinding, so we need to get away from it to recharge, other wise people become miserable at the least.
> 
> That being said, moderation is important, any thing can be healthy or unhealthy depending on how much you use it. Being able to recognize when your escaping just because you don't want to deal with life is also important.


Agreed. Couldn't have said it any better.


----------



## Jurgen (Aug 3, 2013)

seafoamneon said:


> It does seem that alot of people with DP or that have had DP have these habits in common...


Like Pyrite said, it's good to have a balanced moderation.

To clarify though, I was merely suggesting that music sometimes causes people's moods to go haywire. This can do more harm than good because if your problem is your mood this would be counterproductive.

It's good to stay in a consistent state of mind if you are still trying to ground yourself.


----------

