# A Running commentary?



## Coming?Back2Life (Oct 20, 2006)

Hey all i`m wondering if anyone just "thinks" constantly even walking along the street its just constant negative thoughts usually about yourself or your state of mind and your health and it feels like a running commentary? I find this terrifying and one of the main symptoms of schizophrenia is "a running commentary" so i`m terrified that i might be like that and i`m actually completely and utterly insane!!!! Help


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## Ludovico (Feb 9, 2007)

This is a common symptom of depersonalization. So is the constant fear of schizophrenia


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## happyandfirm (Oct 19, 2007)

Ludovico said:


> This is a common symptom of depersonalization. So is the constant fear of schizophrenia


nothing to add, this is the best post ive read on this forum so far and i just need to quote it 8)


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## medo (Dec 19, 2006)

Coming?Back2Life said:


> Hey all i`m wondering if anyone just "thinks" constantly even walking along the street its just constant negative thoughts usually about yourself or your state of mind and your health and it feels like a running commentary? I find this terrifying and one of the main symptoms of schizophrenia is "a running commentary" so i`m terrified that i might be like that and i`m actually completely and utterly insane!!!! Help


Dont fear those thoughts no mater how extreme they get. You get a thought just like any normal person but since we cannot think clearly thanx to dp to refute them, all our weird thoughts seem real.


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## 17545 (Feb 14, 2007)

6


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## nemesis (Aug 10, 2004)

From the little I know of the disorder, the the running commentary that comes with schizophrenia is provided by a voice other than your own. E.g. You believe that thoughts are being inserted into your mind.

What you're experiencing by the sounds, is the negative self talk that comes with depression or OCD.


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## Guest (Oct 30, 2007)

It's difficult to respond to this as everyone is different, but in my personal case, in my understanding ...

Constant worry, rumination, etc. is *anxiety* it is one of the key definitions of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which I have down to the last criteria. I didn't know this until after having it for most of my 48 years.

I believe DP/DR are, in those of us with severe anxiety, and who have panic, the "final explosion" of anxiety, where the "circuit blows" so to speak. Depends on the person how/when you can reset the circuit.

When I am under stress, I start catastrophizing about anything, I always did, since a child. And I'm talking about worrying about if my dog would get sick, if I would make a fool of myself, that my mother would have a heart attack, etc. Nowadays I worry if my apartment will burn down, if my auto-debit got paid and if it didn't will my credit rating be ruined, will my HUSBAND have a heart attack. All of these things are illogical and useless worries that healthy individuals don't think about. Or they don't worry about 500% of the time.

To work on this I use CBT to "kick the thoughts out of my mind" or I talk with someone to get a better perspective.

I do not ruminate on my existence as much as a did as a young girl. I am DP/DR all the time -- a baseline "relatively bearable but limiting level" -- but I DO NOT have existential thinking like that.

My theory is, once the FEELINGS/perceptual distortions of DP/DR come over you, you DO get frightened, and the sense of "loss of self" perhaps plays into the brain asking "Who am I? What am I?" etc.

So for me, the worrying about things in general (and I mean EXTREME) is Generalized Anxiety. Panic Attacks bring on DP/DR. I've had my share of those my whole life.

I believe the DP/DR are secondary IN MY CASE to this. And unfortunately due to no intervention in my early years, the symptoms are chronic.

I'll post the GAD/panic criteria. I really don't think the DP causes worrying, it is ANXIETY. DP/DR are the end result of fight/flight as I understand it. And one can apparently get stuck in the fight/flight mode. I am, but it really doesn't scare me, unless it gets TERRIBLE. It's just "there" and I try to ignore it.

Let me get the GAD criteria. And again, this is my theory in MY CASE.

D


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## Guest (Oct 30, 2007)

Also, a "running commentary" is something everyone has. But we seem to be overly conscious of it. My friend chats with her dog, or with herself when alone, lol.

But ILLOGICAL, INTRUSIVE rumination isn't healthy ...

*Symptoms of GAD - and I have ALL of them, and did since I can remember... but no one put a name to these things until years later*

From the DSM-IV:
"Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation), occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance).

The person finds it difficult to control the worry.

*The anxiety and worry are associated with three (or more) of the following six symptoms (with at least some symptoms present for more days than not for the past 6 months). NOTE: only one item is required in children.
- restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge
- being easily fatigued
- difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
- irritability
- muscle tension
- sleep disturbance (difficulty falling asleep, or restless unsatisfying sleep)*

The focus of the anxiety and worry is not confined to features of an Axis I disorder, e.g. the anxiety or worry is not about having a Panic Attack (as in Panic Disorder), being embarrassed in public (as in Social Phobia), being contaminated (as in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), being away from home or close relatives (as in Separation Anxiety Disorder), gaining weight (as in Anorexia Nervosa), having multiple physical complaints (as in Somatization Disorder), or having a serious illness (as in Hypochondriasis), and the anxiety and worry do not occur exclusively during Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

*The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.*

The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. drug of abuse, medication) or a general medical condition (e.g.) hyperthyroidism) and does not occur exclusively during a Mood Disorder, a Psychotic Disorder, or a Pervasive Developmental Disorder."

When I first read this ... maybe age 40, I thought, for the Love of God, that is ME, all of ME my whole life!

------------------------------------------------------------

And I've had more than my share of THESE. Panic Attacks.

A discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four or more of the following symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes.

*Panic Attack:*
palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate

sweating

trembling or shaking

sensations of shortness of breath or smothering

feeling of choking

chest pain or discomfort

nausea or abdominal distress

*feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint*

*dearealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself) - my emphasis

fear of losing control or going crazy*

fear of dying

paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations

chills or hot flushes
------------------------------------------
This is how I spent my youth, with GAD and panic attacks. And DP/DR.

I have ALWAYS been GAD, I have panic attacks off and on, especially under stress, I have CHRONIC DP/DR which I'm certain are associated w/anxiety as they get worse under more stress, and I have depression which I have no clue where that fits in.

Also, my parents were doctors. I knew what schizophrenia was when I was a little girl. SO, I didn't fear schizoprhenia. I just thought I would be completely disabled with these symptoms (and I often was). I also thought w/DP/DR -- I would just one day disappear and have to be carted off someplace.

So a concern about schizophrenia, or a brain tumor, etc. is based upon a layperson's lack of understanding re: what that is -- Schizophrenia is so poorly represented in the media. And it's the one word we associate with "crazy" which means .... what?

So for me:

Anxious ----> GAD -----> Panic Attacks -----> DP/DR and all of this is chronic.

What has helped? Meds, therapy, CBT, and time. And I'm just plugging along.

Best,
D


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