# START RECOVERING NOW!!!!!!!!!!



## dpfree (Jun 5, 2012)

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## AndreaH (May 30, 2012)

dpfree said:


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Thanks for the tip, I feel more relaxed now


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## dpfree (Jun 5, 2012)

AndreaH said:


> Thanks for the tip, I feel more relaxed now


It may sound tedious, but if you are truly interested in recovering from this disorder, do this breathing exercise an hour a day and you will notice a HUGE difference!


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

I appreciate your enthusiasm about this method that helped you beat DP/DR, and I'm glad you've posted your video. After watching it, here are my concerns--for ME, not for anyone else necessarily:

1) Deep breathing actually fucks with my mind--it makes me feel MORE dissociated and like I'm going to pass out. Which leads to...

2) I have severe asthma; last year I had the worst pulmonary crisis I'd ever had, and my lungs were functioning at only 57%. I'm better now, but I physically CANNOT breathe in for 10 seconds and exhale for 20 seconds. But my main issue is what I mentioned above, that deep breathing does something weird to me. When I use my inhalers throughout the day, and whenever I have lung function tests at my pulmonologist's or internist's offices, I have to sit down because of the lightheaded/strange way I feel.

And with all that said, I'm going to give it a try! As with everything else I've tried, I figure I have nothing to lose. Although I can't breathe in/out for the actual number of seconds you're saying to, I'll do the best I can--and I'll make sure I'm sitting so if I faint I don't have far to fall!


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## chickadee (May 8, 2012)

I might be naive, but i believe everything that dpfree is saying. I refuse to think that the DR i am experiencing is permanent. Please dpfree, keep posting videos.
I have a quesrion for you: what do you think about alcohol consumption and DR? I tend to drink a lot in the evening and it helps me forget about my DR until the next morning


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## Skynet (Jan 21, 2005)

This guys video is right on. I had Depersonalization for a whole summer as a teen. Had it 24/7. Then one morning I did exactly as he described. Deep breathing. Self meditation. I did it for 45 minutes. Then I walked into my kitchen and instantly got better! I thought it was a fluke until I watched this video just now. DO THIS! Do it for an hour if you have to. The longer, the better. You need a lot of patience to just sit there and breathe. That has been my problem ever since my Depersonalization came back. But I'm fully confident that anyone who does it for long enough WILL get better. Watching this video has made me more confident than ever that THIS IS DEFINITELY THE WAY OUT!!!!!


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

dpfree said:


> Hey,
> 10 seconds on the inhale and 20 seconds on the exhale may be a bit too much for a beginner. That was my error. For beginners, start off with 5 seconds on the inhale and 10 on the exhale and work your way up from there.


I started shortly after posting in this thread. I'm not actually timing it, but I'm counting. Started with a count of 5 for the inhales and 7 for the exhales; today I'm managing 6 in and 8 out.







It's tough with my asthma, because deep breathing--especially on the exhale--can trigger really bad coughing attacks. But I'm trying.



> You say that deep breathing fucks with your mind.... when there is more oxygen being delivered to your brain that can enhance your ability to think. If you do this exercise correctly it's not going to "fuck with your mind"... because the point of this exercise is to stop thinking.


I knew there was no way I could CLEARLY explain how I meant it when I said it fucks with my mind. I mentioned that it increases the dissociation, and also that it makes me feel like I'm going to faint. You're going to have to trust me on this, it has nothing to do with thinking or not thinking, it's purely about exacerbating the dissociation AND making me feel faint. Like I said, when I have pulmonary function tests and/or when I use my inhalers, I have to sit down because of the fainting issue.

Also, years ago--before physical illness changed everything for me--I practiced Hatha yoga religiously, and at its very core is deep breathing, concentrating on the parts of your body involved with the act of breathing--the lungs, the diaphragm, the back of the mouth, and so on. I did yoga for years before my DP/DR hit, and then after, too. Back then, the deep breathing did NOT affect me the way it does now, so it really seems related to the asthma, which I've only had for about 8 years.



> All of your attention goes on breathing.... the way it feels, the way it sounds, etc. We are not thinking about the way it feels... we are not thinking at all. We are experiencing and just becoming aware of what is happening in the present moment. Just pay close attention to your breathing. You really don't even have to count when you are breathing... just inhale as much as possible very slowly and then exhale as much as possibly very slowly. If you can do this for 10 minutes I promise you that your mind will be calmer than ever before.


Thanks for the encouragement. I'm actually sitting outside under the lemon tree in my backyard when I do this. It's one of my favorite spots, very pretty, and the waterfall of my pond in the background has a very calming effect. Sitting on the grass is something I've been doing a lot lately. I have this...thought...that somehow I can become more grounded if I consciously work on PHYSICALLY interacting with my environment. (This is not a new idea for me--I've tried, and failed, before.) But right now, for some reason, I feel like I'm on a positive track.


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## insaticiable (Feb 23, 2010)

I have this feeling...and correct me if I'm wrong...that this technique will not work if you're not anxious. I see the deep breathing being a good skill to use in times of a major panic attack, but how about when you're just plain ol MEGA DP'D? Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I wanted your guy's intake on this.


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

insaticiable said:


> I have this feeling...and correct me if I'm wrong...that this technique will not work if you're not anxious. I see the deep breathing being a good skill to use in times of a major panic attack, but how about when you're just plain ol MEGA DP'D? Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I wanted your guy's intake on this.


Doesn't sound stupid to me at all.







I think I have the same feeling about it, and I can point to the fact that I used to do deep breathing religiously, as mentioned in my last post, while practicing yoga, and it certainly had no effect whatsoever on my DP/DR. *shrug*


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## insaticiable (Feb 23, 2010)

I just want some mental clarity, and if Sean Madden says that this technique will give me that, then maybe I will try it. It just feels weird to do it when your already calm as can be.


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## Skynet (Jan 21, 2005)

insaticiable said:


> I just want some mental clarity, and if Sean Madden says that this technique will give me that, then maybe I will try it. It just feels weird to do it when your already calm as can be.


 For years I thought I was calm too. But then I realized that I wasn't calm. Being scared just became normal for me.


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## insaticiable (Feb 23, 2010)

Skynet said:


> For years I thought I was calm too. But then I realized that I wasn't calm. Being scared just became normal for me.


I guess you're right. It just feels so strange to do this exercise when I am so numb and mentally removed. I want to be in the MOMENT. I'd rather be panicking and having massive anxiety vs doing this exercise when I'm just...dazed. Anyways, it won't hurt, and I've got nothing to lose. It just takes patience & discipline.


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

Yesterday was a bad breathing day for me--you know those commercials for Spiriva to treat COPD, where there's an elephant sitting on someone's chest? That's how I feel a lot, including yesterday. (I take Spiriva daily, but for asthma, not COPD.) I could barely deep breathe to a 4 count in and 5 out. I thought I'd try lying on the ground on my back, knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and found that this position made it a little easier to deep breathe. Still wasn't great, but better! Plus, it was really cool to look up through the lemon tree's branches, seeing the lemons and blossoms and the sky.


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## mitchell20 (Jun 1, 2015)

Thnx for that video! Really good.


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