# STEPS TO RECOVERY



## anna97 (May 6, 2017)

I've read a few recovery stories on here, and while I am glad many have found solutions in religion or change of lifestyle/diet, I honestly believe the only proper way to recovery is changing how you cope with dp cognitively. Dp is something that still means so much to me as I feel we as sufferers and the condition itself are very misunderstood - it's one of the most life changing experiences I've been through and I will always be here to support those still in the worst of it, it truly is a horrific life consuming disorder but you CAN recover and it DOES take time and effort. I'm recovered now but still to this day I use techniques I used to recover from this as to me they are truly invaluable.

I first got dp when I smoked marijuana when I was 17. It was the first time I had properly, and about 5 minutes in the absolute worst sense of panic and dread hit me out of absolutely nowhere. I was crying on the floor and honestly could not move for an hour I was shaking so much. The following weeks were torture and I could not focus on my studies whatsoever, I would have terrifying existential thoughts 24/7 and anxiety as I'm sure most of you have unfortunately experienced. I would only be able to sleep once I was completely worn out from constant worry and this continued day in day out.

This continued for about a year and yet nothing helped, my studies were falling apart and I didn't even know who I was anymore. It wasn't until I read 'At A Last a life' by Paul David that I truly began to understand anxiety (100% recommend) and start my own personal positive steps to recovery:

1. Acceptance. Fully accept you have DP, if this means looking at yourself in the mirror and saying it out loud then do it! Truly acknowledge you have it and although it's upsetting, see this as the beginning of the end (because I assure you there is one).
2. Challenging the feeling of anxiety. Anxiety is what drives and feeds dp, this technique right here is an absolute game changer and I can honestly say I have not had a panic attack ever since I practised this. Wherever you are, whoever you are with and at what time, as soon as you feel anxiety or panic rising, IMMEDIATELY FACE the anxiety. I know what you're thinking - 'why would I wanna face that?!?'. But trust me, say to it 'give me your best shot' and literally WILL for it to come for you at full force. This is scary at first, but once you do it the anxiety quickly subsides, you realise ABSOLUTELY NOTHING resulted of it, you are STILL alive and realise it is JUST a feeling. http://panicend.com is the most amazing website for explaining this! 
3. Dealing with dp thoughts. So this is what I struggled with the most and occasionally still do (we're only human right). For me this was 10000% the worst part of the condition but with persistent practise it gets better. Whenever a dp existential thought comes along, acknowledge it's presence (don't force yourself to ignore it - you'll be giving it more attention), don't challenge it or question it further, and then quickly distract yourself to another thought or activity. Classify them as 'existential bullshit that stems from my temporary dp condition' as that is EXACTLY what they are. Did you have these thoughts before dp? Most likely no. But if you did, did they bother you as much? Most likely no. These thoughts are not from brain damage or any other psychiatric illness, they suck so so bad but I promise you if eventually learn to just not give a fuck about them they will eventually begin to come less and less. It's like mind training - have a no tolerance policy to them. If you start to read into them, remind yourself you've been down that road, it's only lead to more despair and waste of life. However it is important to realise that while practising this, you also have to try and not be too hard on yourself. The world is a massive crazy place and we can't help but question it. In this condition though, questioning and googling are your new worst enemies, and the longer you abstain from them the better. 
4. Distraction. I honestly cannot explain how important this is for reducing dp! Not engaging in other activities, not socialising, staring at screens for hours on end locking yourself in your bedroom torturing yourself over dp is not the way to go. Try and do the very opposite - socialise as much as you can, even though I understand following conversation is hard right now. Even if you don't feel like it, go to that event, go to that party. You will only be able to dismiss your irrational fears once you start engaging in the REAL world with REAL people again and not inside your head. Watch a favourite childhood film, cook a new meal, maybe take up a new hobby if you can. Now is also a great time to start new goals. I was doing exams at the time this all started for me, and so by focusing on trying to get the best grades I could despite my dp, I had a temporary new 'purpose' in life and that helped massively.
5. Eating/sleeping well and exercising. I know I know, this is very cliche. However, it is said because it is true. Not only will you feel better, but exercising is also a great distraction and a good way of trying to connect back to your body. Try and aim for 8 hours of sleep - much more or less and I would feel anxious as ever. Exercising and sleeping well also create a good routine for you to get into, routine is something that definitely helped me with dp as it was something stable in my life when it felt nothing else was. Routine gradually brings you back into the 'normal' day if followed right and stops you from staying awake til 3am trying to search for some magic dp cure pill - again, more waste of life and time! 
6. Invest in your ego - sounds weird but hear me out. So, as we feel totally disconnected from our identity right now, surely it would make sense to reinvest in it again. Go and get yourself some new clothes you feel good in, do your hair and makeup nice for the day, pamper yourself for an evening. Write a list of all the things you like about yourself and mean it. Sounds petty but this will slowly increase your confidence and sense of self. Although it helps some, avoiding any kind of spirituality was an absolute must for me as the prospect of ego death would spiral me straight back into the depths of dp. Invest in your ego and find your own personal style again. 
7. Letting go. Another really hard step for me, as I was obsessed with my condition and felt I had so many unanswered questions. My questions still do go unanswered, but now you have to accept that you will never know and THAT'S OK. So what if you don't know the grand meaning of life, did that stop you from having those good times before? NO. Can you still be appreciative of your family and friends, the roof over your head, the love and opportunities you have now, despite your condition? Yes. Practicing gratitude for the good in your life will be your rock for while you get through the hard times now.

Honestly, recovering from dp is one of my proudest achievements in life, and I strongly feel us sufferers do not get enough support or recognition. Once you get out of the thick fog that is dp, the world will become clear and normal to you again - as it's the world you've always been in before your dp state and during. Avoid any drugs if this is what started it for you, drinking alcohol may offer some relief on nights out etc but avoid if you feel this makes dp worse. Truly wish all of you recovery and believe you can!! You can do it ????????


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## Psychostein (Nov 3, 2016)

Look it's a great post but you have stated some controversial topics.. i.e

"Distraction": This is my personal opinion from my own experience, why do we distract ourselves? So we can run away from our thoughts/feelings and focus on something else.

I have spoken to a valuable member from kings college research unit, he told me that "distraction" gives you only temporary relief and once you finish what ever you're doing you're one on one with your thoughts and weak again.

"Acceptance": one can accept their condition but it doesn't make 
It go away or cure it. Sometimes acceptance can mean different things for different people so we must be careful with that term. 
Although acceptance in my case was just a relief that I knew what was happening.

"Letting go" sorry but how can you let go of something when your brain is constantly signalling alarms of danger but within yourself? 
If letting go was easy then every George, bob and harry would be recovered.

I agree with your excericse and diet point as it essential for recovery.

I recovered after 5.5 months of DP/DR, anyways you're out now welcome to the recovered club ✌????


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## marc (Jun 17, 2016)

whats you recoverey steps ? pyschotien


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## Psychostein (Nov 3, 2016)

http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/58377-100-recovered-no-medication-lots-of-detailed-info/ *(general recovery tools)*

http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/66298-my-guide-to-help-reduce-and-eliminate-unwanted-thoughts/ (*how to eliminate intrusive, existential thoughts etc)*

Warm regards,

Psychostein.


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## anna97 (May 6, 2017)

Interesting what the researcher at Kings College said. I would not forcibly distract myself, but gently guide myself from pondering to participating in another activity. People without the disorder engage in these activities daily, so for me they acted like a way of returning to normality. If I did not distract myself, I would ponder my thoughts even further, creating new existential thoughts for me to panic over. Over time I realised that because I was getting re-interested in external activities, the thoughts started to have less power over me and so I was eventually able to think more rationally.

I understand how acceptance could be misinterpreted that you just have to accept you're ill and that's that. I meant acceptance in the way that you accept it's DP and not something else like brain damage or ignoring the whole thing completely, so that you can properly start recovery.

As for letting go, I put that as the last point deliberately as it takes the other steps of recovery to be able to get to that mindset. I meant letting go in the sense of not letting yourself fall back into the grasp of dp again once these thoughts return, and to accept that we will just not know the answers to them.

Glad you're recovered too, and thanks for the comments!


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## b7wagon (Jan 2, 2017)

Distraction is key for me also. It doesn't make my dp go away but it saves me from having full blown panic attacks most of the time.


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## TheGolfer (Jun 8, 2017)

Distraction IMO is key. When I first got this disorder a few months back I quit doing everything I used to love to do including golf. Once I adjusted and got myself back into golf I noticed a great improvement in my thought patterns. A typical golf round last about 4-5 hours and during this time the only thing on my mind is getting the golf ball into the hole.. it's an amazing feeling!


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