# Think I'm almost there



## Chris P Bacon (May 31, 2011)

Okay so in the past month and a half I have made steady progress and I think that maybe soon I will be fully recovered, I didn't want to post this thread too soon in case I "jinxed" myself as it were but I think having a positive outlook helps alot.

Okay so I first started to suffer with DP/DR (mostly DR) in early February after about 2 months of bad anxiety, so it took about four months for me to start actually making some progress.

I feared I was losing my mind when I first experienced this "feeling", but actually the fact that I got DP/DR proves that just the opposite was happening, my brain needed to protect itself from the negative and scary thought cycle I had got caught up in, so my brain took the rest it needed, which is exactly what your brain is doing too.

I found the trick to making progress was all about positive thinking, that and exercise anyway. Whenever I got a "what if" thought, such as "what if I'm like this for the rest of my life?" I would just counter it with something positive, like "my brain is just protecting me, and this weird feeling will pass". I know its really, really hard to think positive sometimes but I promise that if you get the positive to negative thought ratio at 2:1 then you will definitely see progress. You become calmer because you aren't getting freaked out all of the time, and the calmer you are, the less DP/DR you feel.

Exercise too, was great for me, fortunately my job requires me to be fit, so that was a great help, don't let your DP/DR stop you from going to work or doing things that you enjoy, because it will keep a tight grip on you. Getting out with my friends and enjoying myself took my mind off the DP/DR, and at work I have to be completely focussed and so again you just don't think about it.

I've noticed a sharp decline in those weird existential thoughts which were really scary to me a few months ago, indeed I spend large parts of days not even feeling DP/DR anymore, and it feels fucking great let me tell you.

You will get 5 minute spells when you feel almost back to normal, and these will get gradually longer and longer, don't get disheartened if you're having a bad day. I would fall into that trap. I would have a couple of good days and then have a couple of bad ones and think "oh, I've relapsed", this wasn't true at all, so don't think like that.

Getting better is very much a case of taking two steps forward and one step back.

I would get the odd good day here and there followed by six bad days, then gradually I would work my way up to 2 good days a week, then three and now I'm at about four days a week where I feel relatively fine.









I don't like using words such as "recovery" because lets face it, that implies we're ill, we're not ill, our brains have simply took a precaution to ensure we remaim perfectly safe and pefectly sane.

I've spent less time on these forums recently because theres just too much negative shit on here, you get caught up talking to people with rubbish attitudes to DP/DR who think they'll never get better when its exactly thoughts like that which are keeping them locked in the cycle, talking to negative people got me down and and squashed my confidence, don't ever let that happen to you. YOU MUST TRULY BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL GET OVER THIS AND THAT IT IS TEMPORARY, believe me you will make progress.

Good luck everyone, I know you can do it.


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## Victor Ouriques (Jul 15, 2011)

My "recovery" was pretty much the same.

Since I broke the vicious cycle my DR/DP slowy started to fade away.

Also never stopped doing things I liked.That really helped me.

Also I used meds,Lexapro10mg and Clonazepam 0,5mg.

Unfortunately I still taking them,won't be stopping with them at least until August 2nd when I think I'll start the withdraw of Clonazepam.


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## Chris P Bacon (May 31, 2011)

Cool mate, I was offered meds to help deal with my anxiety but refused them, meds will not get back you back to normal, the way to get better is all in your head and how you approach dp/dr.

I found for the first few months I would try to fight the dp/dr but towards the end of June I started to get used to this feeling, which was the first real step I think. I got used to it and although it still bugged me a little bit I stopped worrying about it so much.

I'm still not totally there yet but I know that since I've reduced the severity of it considerably, that its just a matter of time, it might take another couple of months to get totally free, but I know I will get over this.


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## Chris P Bacon (May 31, 2011)

More progress has been made.









The past couple of days I haven't been feeling particularly good, this would normally be when the DP/DR would be at its strongest and yet... it keeps on getting weaker, even though I'm feeling bad!

I think time is the most likely healer of this condition, your brain will take as long as it needs to get itself sorted out and then you will gradually be re-introduced to reality.









Honestly, recovery isn't as amazingly wonderful as you might think! I thought I would be absolutely delighted to be getting back to normal... but its almost as if I never suffered with DP/DR, I can't really remember what it felt like to be really worn down with it! Its almost like it was never severe and I never experienced it. I feel almost normal again.









I told myself that when I started to make progress I would be so grateful that I would never complain about anything again... but seriously, its like DP/DR never happened, and you soon get back into the swing of things again.

I'll keep this updated as I keep on progressing.


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