# New Member/Just returned from Afghanistan



## Canes5 (Aug 15, 2013)

Hey,

I just joined this forum today. I think I've had DR/massive anxiety for the past month. I just completed a deployment in Afghanistan and have been back in the states a few days. My symptoms started about a month ago over there, and I had no idea what was going on. One day I woke up and noticed that I felt in a fog all day, and my head felt spacey or heavy, and everyone thing seemed to move so fast, and my head felt heavy or blocked. I felt very disconnected from everyone and evertything, like I was stuck in my head. I thought it was a sinus infection at first or allergies. However, the feeling continued and then I began to get more anxiety about my fogginess. I thought I was going crazy, and the anxiety seemed to increase the more I worried about. I would wake up every day and check if the feeling was still there. I was so scared because I didn't understand what was happening. I just started to think it was mental and then started relating to the symptoms of DP/DR. Once I thought I had DR, the heavy fogginess/mass anxiety subsided a little, just enough where I could function. However, it's still here. It seems like the fogginess/spaciness subsides alot when I'm distracted or socializing, but its still present. Sometimes, when I'm around alot of people, the pressure in my head feels so intense, it's like a massive tension headace. I'm constantly checking if it's there, and how bad it is, and when it goes down, I try and check what is making it subside. I still question if I have DR, but I think it's DR with severe anxiety. I struggled with anxiety throughout my deployment, but never felt this DR/fog before.


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## King Baba (Aug 3, 2013)

I don't really know what you experienced over there, but I know there is a strong correlation between PTSD and DP/DR. I'm sure some form of detachment has to occur when you're engaged in something like that -- it's just convincing yourself that it's no longer necessary, which is difficult. I think these feelings persist because your mind is still stuck in that mode of defense, and the more you think about this anxiety/detachment, the more it reinforces that state. I'd look into getting treatment for PTSD and see if the DP symptoms dissipate.


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## Canes5 (Aug 15, 2013)

Hey Baba,

Thanks so much your reply and support! I started counseling over there and plan on continuing it stateside.


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## michelfolon (Jul 15, 2013)

does it feel like the very tip of your head is aching and pressured all day? and you cant really tell what you have but just dont feel right?


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## Canes5 (Aug 15, 2013)

I definitely don't feel right 24/7. The feeling seems to switch from either a constant spacey/foggy feeling in my head that seems to significantly increase when I'm around people or people are trying to talk to me. The foggy feeling can get so intense or loud in large social settings that it's unbearable. Or, a constant pressure in my head that feels to increase or decrease. But both sensations are present twenty-four 7. When I wake up in the morning it's not there, and I start checking for it. I just wish I knew for certain that this is DP/DR, and not some other physical ailment. Cognitively, I'm fine and can still process info, but something feels very very off. Sometimes I get scared because I don't know what it is and I just want to feel normal. This is torture and feels like some type of punishment. I try to stay positive, but the feeling is so overwhelming sometimes around people.


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