# symptoms reduce day by day



## heartless (Apr 29, 2013)

hey,

i'm new to this forum

i have been suffering from severe DP/DR for a month now. 
so severe, i was on suicide watch (it's when you consider killing yourself just TOO seriously, you let the authorities know,
and they guarantee your safety until you are back to the game).

each day, my condition is getting better and better:

first days were HELL. It was just too overwhelming to "know" that this is my fate... i tried to sleep at night and i felt myself 
watching at the other "me" trying to fall asleep... i got so scared... i had the most severe panic attack on the universe after thinking about
the idea that even if i committee suicide i will wake up "in the next world" feeling the same. and i'm not into religious stuff.

i got a prescription for zoloft (i know i know SSRI's don't cure dp/dr), however- it helped me to socialize.

things got and still get gradually better.

DR is completely gone. caput. im in reality. still, emotions feel like a sore throat but oh well.
the best part is that the auto-pilot has lessened so much- i feel like i walk were i walk for a reason.

i started to enjoy food again.
i arranged a hangout with some friends and i could actually feel the expectation build up within me.

also, my father managed to get me really mad which i actually enjoyed, well you know why because anger is a feeling.
day by day i feel myself getting more in touch with my feelings. i recommend getting busy with playing a musical instrument-
it is a huge boost to your recovery process. when i hold my guitar or hit the piano, i am "disconnected from the disconnection".

i would also recommend to listen to your vivid dreams. i bet your dreams feel like reality. i found that they are trying to tell
me something- for example- in my dreams i would be very social. in real life i tended to avoid social interactions. socializing 
is killing my symptoms one by one. it's like one part of my brain is sending the other part "clues"- 'you have always avoided
that and that and this can no longer go on. when you restart socializing (for example), i will no longer numb you as a protection'.

of course it is just my wild assumption to explain those dreams.

anyway, recovery doesn't happen over-night. get busy. socialize. google "the holy grails of curing dp/dr" and follow (i bet
all of you read it but barely applying). you will be okay. guaranteed- by my psychologist and psychiatrist. and by okay
i don't mean to say just "feel better" - i mean be back to your old self. well, actually a lot stronger.

at times where i get to a major checkpoint (for example dr gone), i will make sure to update + say what i did to achieve. and i
pretty much sure it will always be the same stuff: distract, socialize, get busy, etc.

pm me if you wish


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## boonanas (Feb 24, 2013)

You know, someone that I spoke to took Zoloft and it had positive effects as well. I'm wondering if that's something I should try.


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## heartless (Apr 29, 2013)

boonanas said:


> You know, someone that I spoke to took Zoloft and it had positive effects as well. I'm wondering if that's something I should try.


 listen to your psychiatrist. mine told me it will help me walk through this dark period. of course zoloft by itself can not cure dpd,
but for some it will help them socialize, reduce depression and reduce ocd.

pm me if you got questions about zoloft (side effects, feeling, etc.) or anything else

btw today my improvement was markable...


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## chuckbrando (Mar 27, 2013)

I'm so happy to hear about your recovery. After about 3-4 weeks taking Zoloft my anxiety significantly lessened. It didn't decrease my DP/DR all that much, but the weight of anxiety lifted off of my chest allowed me to better implement the lifestyle strategies and recovery strategies given to me by my therapist. Once I stopped feeling awful (anxiety wise) I could address some of the underlying causes of my DP/DR which coincided with my anxiety as well. I'm not sure if I'm fully recovered or healed yet, but this uncertainty is comforting because a month ago I was certain I was not back to normal. My psychiatrist also said this is a highly treatable and well known condition in medicine and psychotherapy and he guaranteed my recovery as well.


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## heartless (Apr 29, 2013)

to chuckbrando

just to encourage, i also talked with my cousin. he had severe drug induced dp for full six months. at month six the fifa world cup soccer games
had began, and his friends dragged him out of his comfort zone. they went to pubs and watched the games. after a month he just realized that
he is not dp'ed anymore. he also started to notice symptoms reduce slowly but surely. he didn't relapse since and it's been years.

zoloft is a great med, especially if you have difficulties to apply recovery techniques. for example- it is very important to socialize.
if you have social anxiety, it's going to get even harder. zoloft can kill your social anxiety. you will accept people with a bliss. you will let your
personality out in front of the cutest girls. and you will be loved back.

btw, yesterday i had about 5 hours of no dp. after i went out with my friends, i talked to a girl i once had a crush on. she liked me. i can back home,
immeresed with happiness, got on my laptop and listened to music for 4 hours. after that i went to bed, woke up this morning and i realized that
i actually feel great.

now i have another episode, but nothing severe. that is how recovery works: dp-dp-dp-dp-dp-normal-dp-dp-dp-normal-normal-dp-normal-dp-normal-normal-normal-normal and then it's normal all the way, unless you do drugs like an idiot and relapse.

can't believe a month ago i was on suicide watch. look at me- if i can make those huge steps in recovery in only 1 month, and probably be a free man
in about two weeks or so, then so can you.


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