# Is It DP?!



## zach Havard (Apr 28, 2010)

Hello, quite a quick question really, can children (Aged 14) get this disorder too?


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2010)

zach Havard said:


> Hello, quite a quick question really, can children (Aged 14) get this disorder too?


Yes,

Some people here have gotten it earlier than 14, even.


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2010)

My son has dp episodes and he is 5. I started having episodes when I was 8 but had no idea what it was until I got dpd 7 1/2 months ago.


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## zach Havard (Apr 28, 2010)

Thank You For The Answers, I am 14 and I have episodes some lasting a few hours where I cannot concentrate and it feels like everything I do is automatic. Also there is a strong sense of feeling Surreal and I am getting a lot more tired since this started. I'm really worried, what shall I do?


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2010)

zach Havard said:


> Thank You For The Answers, I am 14 and I have episodes some lasting a few hours where I cannot concentrate and it feels like everything I do is automatic. Also there is a strong sense of feeling Surreal and I am getting a lot more tired since this started. I'm really worried, what shall I do?


I understand how you feel. When I would have episodes, they were different than how dp feels for me. With my episodes it would always happen that everything suddenly changed. It felt like I was transported to another planet. My hearing would get weird. My son says that when it happens to him he feels like a ghost and like he is dead and people don't know him.

The BEST thing you can do is to not freak out when it happens. Stop and tell yourself that this is just a trick your mind is playing on you. These episodes usually happen because of some stress in your life or environment. Try to pin point the cause of it for you. You will be surprised at how much more control you feel when you understand what is causing it for you.

I am seeing a cognative behavioral therapist and she gave me a few ground exercises to do. One that you can do when these episodes come on is to close your eyes, breathe in through your nose counting to 4 slowly, hold it for 4 and exhale through your mouth slowly. Do this until you feel calm. (This actually kicks in the parasypmathetic nervous system and changes the chemical composition in the brain. Basically it will make you calmer) Then open your eyes, put your feet on the floor and look around the room. Name things using all 5 of your senses (i.e. I can hear the tv, I can smell the air freshener, I can see, I can feel, I can taste). Another exercise is to look around the room and rapidly name, in detail, your surroundings (i.e. The wall is painted blue with white trim, the light switch is silver and has 3 switches on it, the carpet is tan with speckles of green and blue,etc). ALl of these things are supposed to help draw you back into the present moment and focus on reality. One more good thing to repeat to yourself if you are feeling scared is "I will not die, faint, fall or lose control". I think when dp happen we get scared and feel like one of those things will happen. We think something major is wrong with us and it isn't. Dp is only a sensation caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. It CANNOT physically harm us or makes us sick. It can't hurt you so don't believe the lie that it can. *hugs*


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## zach Havard (Apr 28, 2010)

tinyfairypeople said:


> I understand how you feel. When I would have episodes, they were different than how dp feels for me. With my episodes it would always happen that everything suddenly changed. It felt like I was transported to another planet. My hearing would get weird. My son says that when it happens to him he feels like a ghost and like he is dead and people don't know him.
> 
> The BEST thing you can do is to not freak out when it happens. Stop and tell yourself that this is just a trick your mind is playing on you. These episodes usually happen because of some stress in your life or environment. Try to pin point the cause of it for you. You will be surprised at how much more control you feel when you understand what is causing it for you.
> 
> I am seeing a cognative behavioral therapist and she gave me a few ground exercises to do. One that you can do when these episodes come on is to close your eyes, breathe in through your nose counting to 4 slowly, hold it for 4 and exhale through your mouth slowly. Do this until you feel calm. (This actually kicks in the parasypmathetic nervous system and changes the chemical composition in the brain. Basically it will make you calmer) Then open your eyes, put your feet on the floor and look around the room. Name things using all 5 of your senses (i.e. I can hear the tv, I can smell the air freshener, I can see, I can feel, I can taste). Another exercise is to look around the room and rapidly name, in detail, your surroundings (i.e. The wall is painted blue with white trim, the light switch is silver and has 3 switches on it, the carpet is tan with speckles of green and blue,etc). ALl of these things are supposed to help draw you back into the present moment and focus on reality. One more good thing to repeat to yourself if you are feeling scared is "I will not die, faint, fall or lose control". I think when dp happen we get scared and feel like one of those things will happen. We think something major is wrong with us and it isn't. Dp is only a sensation caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. It CANNOT physically harm us or makes us sick. It can't hurt you so don't believe the lie that it can. *hugs*


Thank You for the advice, I will do this when it happens. Is DP permanent? Also when I am on my laptop I feel better and normal again.


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2010)

zach Havard said:


> Thank You for the advice, I will do this when it happens. Is DP permanent? Also when I am on my laptop I feel better and normal again.


No, dp isn't permanent, especially with the episodes that you have. You are basically having them because the fight or flight response in your brain is being kicked on. It senses something is a great threat to you and so your brain goes into this primative detached mode that enables you to be ready to fight for your life or flee. If you can pinpoint what it is that is causing these episodes to happen, work through those issues, and then learn coping techniques, you can eliminate or at the very least control the episodes.

It is normal to feel better after using the computer. It is because you are being distracted from whatever is happening inside of your mind and you relax. That in turn turns off the response and you feel better again. I used to lay in the dark in a quiet room and just consentrate on the color white. I didn't want any thoughts besides just white. That would makes my dp episodes go away. It usually took about an hour though.


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## zach Havard (Apr 28, 2010)

tinyfairypeople said:


> No, dp isn't permanent, especially with the episodes that you have. You are basically having them because the fight or flight response in your brain is being kicked on. It senses something is a great threat to you and so your brain goes into this primative detached mode that enables you to be ready to fight for your life or flee. If you can pinpoint what it is that is causing these episodes to happen, work through those issues, and then learn coping techniques, you can eliminate or at the very least control the episodes.
> 
> It is normal to feel better after using the computer. It is because you are being distracted from whatever is happening inside of your mind and you relax. That in turn turns off the response and you feel better again. I used to lay in the dark in a quiet room and just consentrate on the color white. I didn't want any thoughts besides just white. That would makes my dp episodes go away. It usually took about an hour though.


This has helped enormously, the only problem is that i don't know what is causing this, there hasnt been a change in my life or anything like that. Would it help seeing a doctor to confirm that I have this?


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2010)

zach Havard said:


> This has helped enormously, the only problem is that i don't know what is causing this, there hasnt been a change in my life or anything like that. Would it help seeing a doctor to confirm that I have this?


Honestly, no. Most doctors and even counselors don't know what dp is. If you start feeling depressed or having massive anxiety, going on some medication and seeing a counselor might help with that and help stop these episodes but there is no proven treatment for dp and really no point in getting diagnosed with it unless you have dpd, which I don't think you do.


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## Telepathic11 (Apr 23, 2010)

I got DP when I was 19, but that's just me.


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