# Obessesing over existential thoughts and how time works.



## Acienne (Aug 13, 2017)

So dpdr used to be on my mind 24/7 and it has slowly been getting better and I was feeling it less and less and recovery was definitely in the future. Last week though I had this sudden realization about time and existence and how time works and it freaked me out so much. For the past week it's the only thing I've been able to think about and I can't get it off of my mind. I read a post the other day explain exactly how I was feeling about time. Whenever I look at something and it moves I think 'where did that movement go'or last night I was at the park 'what happened to last night?" I think it might be chronophobia that I've developed. Has anyone else experienced this and did it get better?


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## Acienne (Aug 13, 2017)

Maddykip said:


> I dealt with this heavily the last month, and it does get better. For me, I think it's just another form of OCD. If I'm not thinking about it, I don't notice it. If I'm very busy at work or absorbed is something that I'm doing, I don't dwell on it.
> As with most things, distraction helped the most until I no longer obsessed as much. It's just anxiety.
> I still think about it, but it's not at the forefront of my mind every second like it was.


I was diagnosed with pure o a week or two ago so that's definitely a sign. Thank you for this, hopefully I can get better.


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## M1k3y (Sep 19, 2016)

i dont know how people freak out about that stuff, just know that shit is in ur mind dude, and if u start to think about it, go start walking, or get a drink of water, get that shit off ur mind

do what jim carrey said, thinking is a waste of time, just react man


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## Acienne (Aug 13, 2017)

M1k3y said:


> i dont know how people freak out about that stuff, just know that shit is in ur mind dude, and if u start to think about it, go start walking, or get a drink of water, get that shit off ur mind
> 
> do what jim carrey said, thinking is a waste of time, just react man


I know it is, and it's such a stupid fear or thought to have but I just can't get it off my mind for some reason.


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## dachewth (May 6, 2010)

Acienne said:


> I know it is, and it's such a stupid fear or thought to have but I just can't get it off my mind for some reason.


If your mind is that powerful that it can control you. Then think about how powerful you will become once you are strong enough to control your mind.


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## Grindelwald (Jul 22, 2017)

The only existential time question I've had is "do we all experience time the same" which seems like a really stupid question in hindsight. Aside from the fact that it feels like I'm just wasting time rotting away with DP. I get that feeling a lot. Wonder why... -_-

All of my existential questions seem to relate to things like objective reality and consciousness.


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## yojana (Mar 29, 2018)

Hey,

May I ask you how have you been doing lately ?

Actually I have the same thoughts about time and have been thinking about how it works since long. Thinking where the past went is a major thought that comes to my mind.

Thanks


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## Hartigan (Aug 22, 2017)

Here's a tip for everyone with existential thoughts: Write it down in wordpad. Write down what you think will happen after death, how the universe works etc. After a lot of thinking and searching on the internet i've atleast come to the conclusion that as long as the universe exists, we are going to keep coming back to life but in different timelines all the time.

And that we are constantly connected with the persons closest to us in this life no matter timeline. My theory is basically that the universe and our lives is on "repeat". When the universe ends it will just be another Big Bang and everything starts all over again.

This writing calms my mind since i don't need to think about all the time after i've written it down.

Try it


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## Cosmic.loser (Jan 8, 2018)

I had this too. It got distressing , I'd find myself in the present thinking about how the present doesn't really exist bc as soon as it passes it's the next moment. I would sit here thinking "I'm in the present, this me will no longer even exist tomorrow and I will be thinking back to this exact moment." Guess what , like everyone says , it gets better. Know I went through it very hard. But it actually didn't even last that long. I looked up the phrase and everything "chronophobia" sorry if I said it wrong. This is showing the obsession and making it more than it is anyways.. your looking up an actual phobia that exists .. causing more anxiety thinking its a problem. THE MORE YOU ACT NORMAL , AND HAVE FUN, and get your mind off of things, your hyperawareness will go down and it won't matter. If you aren't enjoying your life or actually have time to sit and dwell, it's going to take longer. Get back into life and the gist of things. I have been through the worst and came out. Trust me.


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## Denisa (Oct 15, 2018)

Hello! I have experienced chronophobia for almost one week and it's been terribly bad. Every action I do seems unreal. I don't even know if it's chronophobia or not. I even had a full panic attack last week and cried my heart out of fear. I tried to find information about time online so that I could get over it, but doing that just worsened my thoughts. I know I'm quite anxious and I had ocd problems in the past.
I'm considering seeing a therapist, but I don't know how that could help me. Do you have any advice?


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## Tomisahoss (Feb 22, 2018)

Ive dealt with this exact thing for some time. Its not chronophobia. Real chronophobia is something quit different. One thing that helped me was to think of everything existing in an eternal moment, that things change and move inside of. This is in contrast to thinking of time as a string of unimaginably small moments. The past is simply changes that have occured, the present is the result of those changes, and the future is the result of changes in the present. If it werent for "time" which is literally a synonym for "change" we wouldnt be around to ask the question.


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## Denisa (Oct 15, 2018)

hello again and thank you for your advice
today I had a panic attack again because of this thoughts 
in the past, I used to think that time is my best ally. I was thinking that everything that's bad is gonna pass, buf these days it became the scariest thing 
I think that my symptoms have something to do with my ocd and maybe I also could have hyperawareness, but I don't know for sure. I managed to find a therapist and I'll see her in 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll get better
Thanks again


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

Here is a comforting fact about time. No matter how important it seems now, in 100 years it won't mean a damn thing.


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## Denisa (Oct 15, 2018)

Thank you for your replies ! If it's not chronophobia, do you any idea about what is it? Could it be derealization? I'll see a therapist in two weeks, and I don't know what to expect. Maybe it'll help.


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## Tomisahoss (Feb 22, 2018)

Hyperawareness is a good way to put it. In the state we are in we constantly overanalyze everything. For example, I am an avid gamer, and I used to feel absorbed by video games like I was there. More recently, Ive started noticing that Im sitting on a couch staring at a big square piece of metal and plastic. It really bugs me. Video games seem really odd when you look at them that way. Its the same as our whole fear of time thing. Hyperawareness. It will pass though, I promise!


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