# My life changing story!



## Nader-H (Nov 17, 2014)

Hi Guys! This is my first time to ever mention to anyone that I had derealization/ depersonalization, but I guess as all of you have experienced it or are still experiencing it, that means that you are the best people who can understand how it feels. I'm writing to share with you my story, I hope it could help and inspire you all. Let me take you through how it all started. I almost had a perfect life, my father is my inspiration, role model and the best man I've ever met and will ever meet, and my mother is a tough lady but I am all she's got in this world. I had the a perfect life, I had everything I wanted, travelled everywhere, lived in the best house, had the best education. Then in December 2010, everything changed, my father passed away and from that second DP/DR attacked me, it was a shock for me and after exactly a month Egypt's 2011's revolution happened, it was the true meaning of insanity, chaos, and fear a person can live, imagine staying under you're building to protect you're family from any gangs trying to break in in you're house and who knows what could happen. We lived in that situation for months, and at that time anxiety attacked me and without any doubt my DP/DR skyrocketed. When things started to get a bit better, I kept on thinking and researching why am I feeling different and then I discovered it's all anxiety and the whole concept of the body's self defense mechanism. I decided to escape and give sometime to myself to understand myself. I went to the Red and lived with Bedouins (Tribes living in the red sea), lived in a hut, meditated, had to go fishing every single day to get my lunch, understood a new culture and knew how other people think, and knew how those people life the most basic and raw life, but still appreciate life and it all started to hit me, I started to understand what is wrong with me, I NEVER GAVE TIME TO MYSELF TO THINK OF MYSELF! Just realizing that I am doing what I always wanted to do made me feel life and emotions again, I always felt that I was stuck in a glass box where I am watching people and people are watching me but there is no connection or communication, I knew the reality of the unreality I was living in, it's all about me and only me. No one can get me out of what I'm in except me and no one feels my pain except me, so no one can cure me except me. It felt like a switch that was turned off and made me feel life again. From that time I appreciated life more than I did before I had my DP/DR, and noticed that life is too short to be depressed or anxious or sad about anything, just keeping up the positive energy takes you to places you will never even imagine and new doors keeps opening for you and takes you to different places you never even thought of going to and that exactly what happened to me, after staying in this place for 3 months I decided to organize road trips on the red sea and this started to grow and by time people from everywhere started to show up then from the red sea I ended up in Chiang Mai in Thailand, lived there for a year, then wanted to continue my education in advertising, so I attended postgrad in a school in Miami Beach and I lived there for a year and a half, and here I am in New York now working in one of the best advertising agencies in the city. So I thought of sharing my story with you and I hope that it could be an inspiration that detaches you from the awful feeling of DP/DR, and always remember it's you're brain that controls you're body, and you control you're brain, so at the end you are in control of yourself and you are the cure.


----------



## milpool (Nov 4, 2014)

What a story, congrats dude


----------



## Lucas10 (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you so much for posting this. I have more hope in recovery now.


----------



## sciphi (Dec 20, 2006)

great story. I was miserable for the first 5-6 years that I had it. I finally came to accept it as who I am now. The only symptom I've ever been able to "cure" has been my anxiety, and that was with clonazepam. Curing my anxiety brought me out of my shell and got me socializing, a good job, a wife, traveling all over the world for work (presenting in boardrooms to C-level executives, something I never could have done with my anxiety). While I still also have my DP/DR as strong as when I got it 18 years ago (@19 yrs old, smoking pot once), I live my life. I am very good at presenting a positive front, and a lot of the time I think I half-believe it as well. I am still looking for a cure, along with a ton of others, but I don't let it run my life any longer. Life is too short, especially with the DP/DR ruining my memories (most of my memories are only brought back by pictures - thank god for the digital camera age!!) When I got this at 19, I promised myself if it didn't go away by 25 I'd kill myself. I said it because it seemed crazy that it could last that long. Anyway, by the time that rolled around I had made a good life for myself, even with DP/DR symptoms. Yes it sucks, and is horrible, and I'd give up anything in my life (other than my son or wife) for it to go away, but lingering on that doesn't make it go away. Watching the forums on Reddit, DPSelfHelp, and Google, ...that's all I do every once in awhile, to see if there is anything new out to try, but then I go back to my life.

cheers!


----------

