# Meditation for DP/DR (and in general)



## Hedgehog fuzz (Dec 12, 2016)

Dear All,

Alot of people have said that regular meditation makes their dp/dr worse....

What is the consensus of that for the wider forum?

And do people have any specific practices that they can recommend? I would especially be grateful if these were things with instructions and geared towards DP/DR.

I am sure that this will be a useful thread for many people.....

thanks,

HF


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## TDX (Jul 12, 2014)

> What is the consensus of that for the wider forum?


There is no consensus. It can cause depersonalization, but there are also some reports about it reducing depersonalization. Depersonalization researcher Matthias Michal claims that it can improve depersonalization (when the wiki comes you'll see more about it), but my opinion of him is very low, so the reliability of this claim is debatable.



> And do people have any specific practices that they can recommend? I would especially be grateful if these were things with instructions and geared towards DP/DR.


There is no specific anti-depersonalization meditation. The by Michal recommended practice is mindfulness meditation and bodyscan meditation. Maybe loving-kindness meditation is also interesting, because there are a few studies where it was used to treat anhedonia.

I would not touch any other meditation techniques, because they are probably useless and might have bad side-effects (or their intended effect is bad). Generally side-effects of meditation is not very well researched.


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## Chicane (Oct 8, 2015)

Meditation always increased my fatigue and made my DP worse. To me that's logical, because meditation is meant to bring you into a state of relaxation, and a lot of us feel so out of it to begin with that the last thing we want is to feel more limp and tired. If anything, we should be looking for grounding techniques, which are invigorating and could be argued are the mirror opposite of something like meditation. I do think meditation has its place in the world though. People who are generally very anxious or high strung, and not on meds/benzos that tire them out, would likely benefit from it. But for those of us who are fatigued, spaced out, doped up on meds and half asleep during our waking hours, well, I can't really see how it would help. It could possibly assist us with regards to clearing our minds, or with insomnia. But beyond that I can't see much use for it.


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## Vincentv (Dec 19, 2016)

I want you bring in another topic.. yoga... because yoga is much like meditation. Ther is a certain yoga practise that I'm sorry son't know the name of but I can look it up later if needed, but doing this twice a day reduces my dp about 30 percent... so you have more options instead of just meditation.


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## Vincentv (Dec 19, 2016)

But if you do meditate, then meditate on your dp symptoms... it's the opposite of what you expect is best, but in reality meditating on your dp symptoms and experiencing them in detail, while being in that meditative state can also be very very helpfulll... for sure... because then you are not ignoring your dp but instead acknowledging the spaced out feeling you feel at te moment. So you let it be there instead of supress it.

most people with dp fail when they meditate because they try to get rid of the dp while meditating. The trick is is to let the spaced out feeling be there while you are meditating and not supress it. That is why there are failures and sucesses with meditation and dp. The people that fail tried tom ignore or supress their dp and the people that succeed meditate on their dp instead.


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## Phocus (Feb 8, 2017)

Meditation helps me but I solely have DR not DP. Different things work for different people, see what works best for you.


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## Vincentv (Dec 19, 2016)

And its sure that the moment you meditate on your dp, just let it happen, that you you begin to experience moments of clarity, try it and see for yourself


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## mind.divided (Jul 2, 2015)

Also remember to associate not dissociate during mediation


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## Hedgehog fuzz (Dec 12, 2016)

Mind divided, what does that mean?

I am going to try YOGA and TAI CHI. Has anybody else tried that? Did it make them worse?


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## mind.divided (Jul 2, 2015)

Hedgehog fuzz said:


> Mind divided, what does that mean?
> 
> I am going to try YOGA and TAI CHI. Has anybody else tried that? Did it make them worse?


You try to feel connected during meditation instead of trying to detach yourself from the experience


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## Hedgehog fuzz (Dec 12, 2016)

Right-o, but how do you do that? Would it be simpler to just do yoga instead?


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## James_80 (Feb 27, 2016)

Mindfulness meditation always made my symptoms worse. However, there is an element to mindfulness in general that has helped me, which is acceptance. If you completely accept your current state (don't fight it) and sit with your fears, the anxiety fades away and you feel more connected with yourself.


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## Amina_x (Nov 22, 2014)

Honestly I couldn't disagree any more than I already do. My DP/DR is significantly reduced thanks to Lamictal mostly but also Zyprexa and Remeron.


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## Amina_x (Nov 22, 2014)

James_80 said:


> Mindfulness meditation always made my symptoms worse. However, there is an element to mindfulness in general that has helped me, which is acceptance. If you completely accept your current state (don't fight it) and sit with your fears, the anxiety fades away and you feel more connected with yourself.


Meditation does the same thing to me. It makes me more aware of my body which might sound nice but with DP/DR it can be very scary. I think the kind of meditation where you clear your mind or use things like incense and candles can be more beneficial. Or as I like to do meditate in the shower or when taking a bath.


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## enroute (Sep 3, 2013)

There are plenty of youtube meditations for grounding/relaxation.


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