# Recovered from Marijuana induced DP/DR



## ManOnTheSilverMountain

After 5 months, I've completely recovered from marijuana induced DP/DR. My post in the Introductions section of this site tells the story of how it happened. Basically, I overdosed on edible marijuana while I was home alone for a weekend and had an intense and prolonged panic episode that seemed to last forever. After about 20 hours of intense tripping and constant panic, I was left with extreme anxiety and constant sensations of adrenaline surging through my body. Within a few days the DP/DR started. I stopped recognizing places I went everyday and had frequent episodes where I didn't feel real or the world didn't look real. Colors were odd and cartoonish and I had strange and disturbing existential thoughts. I had compulsive ruminations and I felt like I was coming out of my skin. Basically, I felt like I got high and never came down. My biggest fear was that the condition was permanent and I had somehow damaged by brain.

I got up the courage to see my doctor and I told him the whole story. He gave me a script for Xanax, which I think was a key to making a quick recovery. He also referred me to a psychologist that had experience with DP/DR and knew a lot about anxiety. A big realization was learning that DP/DR is caused by anxiety and is really a maladaptive coping mechanism the brain uses. I thought the DP/DR symptoms were caused by the marijuana, but thankfully, I was wrong. The marijuana caused the intense and prolonged panic, and the intense and prolonged panic switched my brain into a state of heightened anxiety, which included DP/DR symptoms. That state of heightened anxiety lasted a long time (about three months) and would have lasted longer, had I not worked hard to treat it.

The main things are did to treat it are as follows:

1. I learned what was really happening to me and why - seeing a doctor and a psychologist and reading this forum all gave me a great deal of insight and helped me understand how and why this was happening, and that it was temporary.

2. I kick started my recovery with an anti-anxiety med....Xanax in my case. I desperately needed some relief from my anxiety and DP/DR symptoms, particularly in the first month after the OD. The key to recovery is slowly getting your brain out of the state of heightened anxiety. The less time you spend in an anxious state, the more your brain recovers. For me, taking a .25 mg Xanax when I started to panic broke the cycle of fear and dread that kept me in a state of heighted anxiety. Like many, I quickly developed a dread of the DP/DR symptoms such that the dread of them actually caused them. Knowing that I had a way to do self-rescue and stop the symptoms by taking a pill really stopped the cycle of dread and rumination and allowed me to get some relief. Xanax always worked to make me feel grounded and back in sync with reality, if only for a few hours. I gradually used it less and less and I haven't used any in about a month.

3. Sleeping enough - I had to be very conscious of getting enough sleep. When I was tired, I found that the anxiety was much worse. I had to sleep regular hours and get 8 hours of sleep each night. I can't emphasize this enough. It made a big difference, as it seemed to push the neuro-chemical reset button in my brain.

4. Exercise - One of the things my doctor told me is that the state of heightened anxiety that my brain was stuck in, was causing my body to produce extra adrenaline. My blood pressure was up, my pulse was up and I had constant anxiety pangs and nausea at first. Exercise burns adrenaline and I quickly found that if I exercised daily, it had a big effect in decreasing my DP/DR and my anxiety. I was more relaxed afterward, I slept better and I felt much more grounded. It also improved my health dramatically, as I lost weight and am now in much better shape.

5. Better diet - I didn't eat poorly before my experience, but in order to recover, I had to stop eating foods that were hard to digest or unhealthy. I basically cut my calorie intake in half, stopped using any caffiene and stopped drinking any alcohol. I started eating whole foods and I had to avoid foods high in sugar, as they triggered anxiety. Alcohol, in particular, had an odd effect. I could drink and get a buzz and felt fine, but after it wore off, I would have serious anxiety and it would magnify my DP/DR symptoms. I stayed away from alcohol and caffiene during my entire recovery and ate a lot of raw fruits and vegetables and nuts. I was very sensitive to caffiene for about 4 months. Even a little coffee would immediately kick in serious DP/DR symptoms. I had to stay away from it, but it was a good indicator for when my brain returned to normal. I can now drink all the coffee I want without any ill effects.

6. Dietary supplements - I did a few things here that were recommended by my doctor and psychologist. I started taking B family supplements, magnesium taurate, high potency fish oil, vitamin E and other "brain vitamins". I also started taking a multivitamin. I sometimes used herbal teas with a calming effect, such as passion flower, valerian root and chamomile, but these didn't help much once I was already anxious or in the midst of panic. I think the vitamins definitely helped, as I felt much more physically and psychologically comfortable.

7. Counseling - I saw a psychologist who specialized in anxiety disorders. He knew all about DP/DR and he had me buy a book on Amazon for about $15 called the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. This was very helpful in recognizing and intervening in my anxiety. It also taught me a lot of cognitive behavioral techniques for relaxing myself and breaking cycles of rumination. I see a lot of people on this site who see psychiatrists and end up with multiple diagnoses and lots of different meds. It seems to me that a lot of psychiatrists aren't familiar with anxiety and DP/DR, and often make inaccurate diagnoses, label people and push pills. My psychologist was very reassuring, didn't label me with diagnoses and gave me excellent tools to recover. In particular, I learned some relaxation techniques that helped me calm myself.

8. Get out and do stuff - this was very hard for me, as I didn't feel like leaving the house or going anywhere. I joined a sports league and kept up a pretty busy social schedule as soon as the initial crisis ended (about two weeks into it). I did a lot of walking outside, hiking, fishing, jogging and activities with other people. I particularly enjoyed playing sports because it was a social activity as well as exercise. It helped me to go to work because I was able to focus and while at work and this kept my mind from wandering.

9. Keep occupied - My worst times were when I was alone with nothing to do. My mind would wander to dark places and would enter cycles of rumination and dread. I found that listening to audio books helped a lot, as did playing video games. I had to be proactive about structuring my time so I was either with someone else or I had something to do. Driving in the car was particularly difficult without audio books.

10. Tell people about it and tell them how to help - I told my family, my boss, my doctor, my kids, etc. about my anxiety and DP/DR. I explained what it was (although not necessarily how I got it) and what I was doing to recover. They were very supportive and this helped me feel more secure. Once I knew that the people around me had my back, I wasn't so worried that I would freak out or have a panic attack where the people around me wouldn't know how to help.

11. Don't poke the bear - I had to avoid needless stress and anxiety. I had a habit of doing online research about DP/DR and reading DP/DR horror stories. I also liked to do thought experiments to see if I was thinking clearly. I had to stop this and keep my mind focused. One of my worst compulsions was "reality checking," in which I'd stop and look around to see if things looked "real enough." Of course, they never did and I would start an anxiety cycle that would usually result in DP/DR episodes. Now, I knew better than to do any of these things, but I kept doing them, even though they served no purpose and caused me anxiety. I had to stop this sort of self-sabotage.

12. Act your way into better thinking - I had to just put one foot in front of the other and do things even if I felt anxious and had DP/DR symptoms. In the case of anxiety, over-thinking can be the problem....analysis paralysis. I needed to keep my mind focused and keep busy by proactively structuring my time and planning things to do and to look forward to. I often had anhedonia where I just didn't feel like doing anything and felt pretty hopeless but I went through the motions until the feelings passed....and they did pass. By taking the correct actions, my brain healed and my thoughts became normal again.

It has now been 5 months. The first 2 months were the worst and the third month was tough. I had to quit worrying about how long it would take me to recover. Everyone recovers at a different rate based on their life circumstances. If you already had anxiety issues, you might need to get a handle on them before you can experience permanent recovery, but you can definitely improve and reduce your anxiety and head off symptoms of DP/DR. I made recovery the number one priority in my life because I was so miserable and it paid off. I now feel completely grounded and no longer have any DP/DR symptoms. My generalized anxiety is gone and I'm recovered. However, I'm not the same as I was. I'm now much healthier and happier. I'm much more aware of my feelings and I am more enthusiastic about life and about the people in my life. I think that having had the experience of entering that nether-world where your conciousness is alienated from reality really gives you an appreciation for reality once you get back in phase with it. I've seen that dark world and I'm glad to back on the other side. I feel like I need to live the rest of my life to the fullest extent possible and I now see a lot of the things that were holding me back before I had the overdose. So, in closing, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and I still wouldn't want to go through it again for a million dollars, but I'm not sad that I did, because it lifted a veil from my eyes and opened the door to new possibiities that my mind had been closed to before.


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## Victor Ouriques

Amazing history man! That's it,be happy,go on!

Seems like you've got some good music taste haha






"I've fallen off the edge of the world

I've fallen from the top of the mountain
Just to rise again

I've seen it from heaven and hell
I've seen it from the eyes of a stargazer"

Seems like this apply to you!

Congrats!


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## Victor Ouriques

double post


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

It's been about 6 months now since my OD and I've had no anxiety and no further issues. A few things I notice now.....even if I don't get enough sleep or if I drink too much coffee, I no longer get anxiety or any strange existential thoughts now. My doctor says that this is fairly strong evidence that my brain has returned to a chemically normal state...i.e. that it has healed from the state of heightened anxiety that it was in after the OD. I no longer have a visceral memory of what it feels like to be in a state of DP/DR. People's stories used to trigger DP/DR for me, but they no longer do. I can ready pretty much anything now without having any uncomfortable thoughts or sensations. For a while, I wasn't really quite sure that I was recovered, but now I definitely am sure it's over. I'd say the first three months were actively terrible, the fourth month was much better, and the fifth and sixth months have been back to normal. It was one strange summer.


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## grunge14

Did you recover instantly or did DP/DR fade over time for you?


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## Nico111

Hello and congrats for your recovery!

When you say "The less time you spend in an anxious state, the more your brain recovers."
Do you mean that if i have DP since 5 years 24/7; it will take longer for recovered??

Because i never wanted to take medication and i chose natural ways for getting out of this shit.

You think that's a wrong idea?


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## newbie101

No he/she is saying the faster and the more you have your anxiety levels down .. The faster you will recover. The mess you fear this thing... and get caught up in anxious feeling. . The faster the symptoms dissappear ! After I calmed my anxiety to a minimum... The thick fog left.. The Dr left ... everything pretty much left. Now I just gotta stop thinking about how I had it and I'll be recovered.


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Nico111 said:


> Hello and congrats for your recovery!
> 
> When you say "The less time you spend in an anxious state, the more your brain recovers."
> Do you mean that if i have DP since 5 years 24/7; it will take longer for recovered??
> 
> Because i never wanted to take medication and i chose natural ways for getting out of this shit.
> 
> You think that's a wrong idea?


Hi....In my post, I was referring to time spent feeling actively anxious. During the months I had DP/DR, my anxiety level wasn't always high. I went through highs and lows with it. I might add that a lot of my higher anxiety periods were self-induced through poor self-care. The key was to minimize the amount of time I spent in an actively anxious state. I did this by a combination of things. The most effective things were getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, keeping my mind occupied, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol. Taking a Benzodiazapine was not a requirement, although it helped me to know that if I started feeling overwhelmed, I always had a safety net. I would definitely have been able to recover without taking Xanax, but I think it accelerated my recovery and got me out of some tight spots where I was really freaking out. I believe that my rate of healing was proportional to the number of hours each day I spent in a relaxed, non-anxious state. It has now been nearly 10 months since my overdose and I have returned to a completely normal state. I can drink coffee and alcohol in moderation and I no longer have odd, existential thoughts. I have no noticeable anxiety and my thinking has returned to normal. However, certain stressors still trigger mild DP/DR sensations. If I don't get enough sleep and/or I drink too much caffeine or alcohol I can get some DP/DR and I can also get feelings of meaninglessness/anhedonia, but they pass pretty quickly if I take a nap. I consider myself 100% recovered, but the experience has definitely left me with some psychological and emotional scars. Still, it's also given me some very positive things as well. I have a much healthier perspective and I'm much more open than I used to be.


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi....I'm coming up on a year since my marijuana OD and I'm still recovered. I've had some real life stressors and changes since my recovery, but I've been able to deal with them without any real DP/DR symptoms. I still find that I need to practice good self-care or I get anxious feelings, but the odd, existential thinking is gone, as are the cognitive distortions. I go weeks without even remembering what happened last year (the OD and subsequent months of DP/DR). Interestlngly, I've been hearing from a lot more people who have had the same experience from using marijuana, probably due to the increased number of people experimenting with it due to legalization. I'm surprised that the risk of extended DP/DR syndrome hasn't been part of the conversation concerning marijuana legalization and dispensation. It seems like the incidence of marijuana induced DP/DR syndrome is high enough to merit a warning or at least some discussion, particularly considering how devastating it can be. I did an interview on a local public radio talk-show about my experience and a half-dozen people called in who had suffered from marijuana induced DP/DR syndrome. Many, like myself, never had anxiety issues before. I don't really have a strong opinion about marijuana legalization, but I do think people should be aware that this can happen to them before they decide to use it. The media talks about it like it's nothing....like drinking a beer. Given how horrible my experience was, I'd like to prevent others from going through it, if possible.


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## Nico111

thanks man for coming back and tell the good new!
You can imagine how much i'm happy to read that and envious in the same time. 

Agree with you, a lot of people like i used to, can't imagine what weed can create..

I confess i was in a very stressfull period when i got dp after a join. But i guess even if you seem to feel "happy", majijuana can get out some old forgotten stuffs which can bring dp..


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## Stephenvcb

So you think I should go to the doctors? My story is pretty similar to yours. I'm 19 and I smoked some very strong weed, and this whole mess started. I keep telling myself there is hope but it's hard to believe when this fog is my reality. I want so badly to get out of this. I feel like a different person. I'm afraid to tell my family about it because I know they are going to just think that I'm crazy. This has been nonstop for the last two months. I'm at the point know where I'm getting very irritated and fed up, so should I go to the doctors? Do you think Xanax will help to make this more bearable until I'm healed? It's like I know it's hard now but I think that DP will eventually make me a better person, but for now I need help getting the fuck out of this.


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## Bob122443

Hey, don't know if your still active but I had an OD on weed and bad trip anyway.I've just come on my second month and apart from not being able to sleep till 7-8 AM. I'm pretty good. Brain fog is bad etc, but I feel in my body etc and I nolonger obsess over it. I'm 16 and in the UK so I can't go to the doctor and Xanax is illegal in England, what do I do to push forward and recover?


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi All,

My OD and subsequent ordeal with DP/DR was in May of 2014 and I'm now coming up on 2 years. It's been about a year since I had any DP/DR symptoms and I'm completely back to normal. I have had several times where I've had a LOT of caffeine and even a few hangovers with no DP/DR symptoms of any kind. I am definitely 100% recovered. For those who've read my posts, you know I had really serious DP/DR symptoms that lasted quite a while. Based on my experience and the experiences of the many other people I've corresponded with and talked to, it seems like marijuana induced DP/DR lasts between 3 and 6 months for most people who get it. It goes away faster if you work diligently on getting rid of it (see my 12 points in a previous post).

I'm also a firm believer that you don't need to have a pre-existing anxiety disorder to get DP/DR from marijuana. All you need is to have a serious and prolonged panic attack while you're high. This happens to a lot of people....particularly young people. There are a few commonalities in most of the marijuana panic attack stories I've read and heard. You are at a high risk of having a bad panic attack from pot and getting DP/DR under the following circumstances:

1. Use of edibles - edibles produce a MUCH longer high with different sensations that can be more physical in nature.

2. Large or larger dose than usual - larger or more THC potent doses of marijuana can have a much different effect than smaller doses.

3. Inexperience or infrequent use - most people who experience serious panic attacks that cause DP/DR do not have an established tolerance to marijuana and/or are not use to its effects.

4. Youth - young people are often less emotionally prepared to deal with the intense and unexpected effects of hallucinogenics and are more prone to panic attacks.

5. Intense setting/set - how you respond to being high on marijuana depends somewhat on the setting and your mind-set at the time. If you're in a nice, quiet place and you're pretty happy when you get high, you have less of a chance of panic than say, if you're at a rave and your boyfriend just broke up with you.

These are of course, generalizations. I had my overdose at the age of 46 and although I hadn't used marijuana in few years, I was hardly unfamiliar with it, having used quite a bit when I was younger. I was also alone at home in a quiet, relaxing setting and in a pretty good mood....looking forward to a bit of fun. However, in my case, I did have a huge dose of edible marijuana after not using for several years. I had no tolerance and although I expected it to be a pleasant experience, it turned out to be one of the most intensely horrifying experiences of my life.

I had absolutely no history of anxiety and the whole experience was very eye-opening for me. I had no idea that it was possible to experience generalized anxiety....e.g. anxiety about nothing in particular.

Now that I'm looking at this experience in the rear-view mirror at a good emotional distance, I've gained a real appreciation for my mental and emotional health and how fragile it actually is. I've also developed a mistrust of marijuana as a recreational drug. I'm fine with it as a medicine, and I still think it shouldn't be criminalized, but it is far from harmless. I've had a few wicked hang-overs from drinking that left me feeling sick for a day or two, but my misadventure with marijuana left me an emotional and cognitive cripple for months and landed me in therapy. To be frank, I'm a bit surprised that this dark side of marijuana isn't more widely known and that the marijuana industry hasn't taken steps to make the public more aware of it. I wouldn't wish the experience on my worst enemy and I've read enough recent accounts of other people who've had similar experience to know that mine was not an isolated case.

People are showing up at ERs more frequently in all the states where marijuana has been legalized and these people are reporting extended DP/DR symptoms as a result. I think it's high time (pun completely intended) that the public was educated about the very real possibility of a marijuana overdose and the terrifying and lengthy consequences. Nothing annoys me more than the many pundits who claim that it's impossible to overdose on marijuana because they define an overdose only as being a fatal misadventure. I don't doubt that thousands of people are subjected to extended marijuana induced DP/DR on a regular basis, but the public never hears about it because the marijuana industry doesn't want to advertise the risk and because people are reluctant to come forward.

I think the marijuana industry has a responsibility to educate and inform people about the risk. I'd be an advocate of some sort of labeling like we currently require on alcoholic beverages. It certainly would have saved me from experiencing the worst year of my life.


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## sydneyarnce

ManOnTheSilverMountain said:


> After 5 months, I've completely recovered from marijuana induced DP/DR. My post in the Introductions section of this site tells the story of how it happened. Basically, I overdosed on edible marijuana while I was home alone for a weekend and had an intense and prolonged panic episode that seemed to last forever. After about 20 hours of intense tripping and constant panic, I was left with extreme anxiety and constant sensations of adrenaline surging through my body. Within a few days the DP/DR started. I stopped recognizing places I went everyday and had frequent episodes where I didn't feel real or the world didn't look real. Colors were odd and cartoonish and I had strange and disturbing existential thoughts. I had compulsive ruminations and I felt like I was coming out of my skin. Basically, I felt like I got high and never came down. My biggest fear was that the condition was permanent and I had somehow damaged by brain.
> 
> I got up the courage to see my doctor and I told him the whole story. He gave me a script for Xanax, which I think was a key to making a quick recovery. He also referred me to a psychologist that had experience with DP/DR and knew a lot about anxiety. A big realization was learning that DP/DR is caused by anxiety and is really a maladaptive coping mechanism the brain uses. I thought the DP/DR symptoms were caused by the marijuana, but thankfully, I was wrong. The marijuana caused the intense and prolonged panic, and the intense and prolonged panic switched my brain into a state of heightened anxiety, which included DP/DR symptoms. That state of heightened anxiety lasted a long time (about three months) and would have lasted longer, had I not worked hard to treat it.
> 
> The main things are did to treat it are as follows:
> 
> 1. I learned what was really happening to me and why - seeing a doctor and a psychologist and reading this forum all gave me a great deal of insight and helped me understand how and why this was happening, and that it was temporary.
> 
> 2. I kick started my recovery with an anti-anxiety med....Xanax in my case. I desperately needed some relief from my anxiety and DP/DR symptoms, particularly in the first month after the OD. The key to recovery is slowly getting your brain out of the state of heightened anxiety. The less time you spend in an anxious state, the more your brain recovers. For me, taking a .25 mg Xanax when I started to panic broke the cycle of fear and dread that kept me in a state of heighted anxiety. Like many, I quickly developed a dread of the DP/DR symptoms such that the dread of them actually caused them. Knowing that I had a way to do self-rescue and stop the symptoms by taking a pill really stopped the cycle of dread and rumination and allowed me to get some relief. Xanax always worked to make me feel grounded and back in sync with reality, if only for a few hours. I gradually used it less and less and I haven't used any in about a month.
> 
> 3. Sleeping enough - I had to be very conscious of getting enough sleep. When I was tired, I found that the anxiety was much worse. I had to sleep regular hours and get 8 hours of sleep each night. I can't emphasize this enough. It made a big difference, as it seemed to push the neuro-chemical reset button in my brain.
> 
> 4. Exercise - One of the things my doctor told me is that the state of heightened anxiety that my brain was stuck in, was causing my body to produce extra adrenaline. My blood pressure was up, my pulse was up and I had constant anxiety pangs and nausea at first. Exercise burns adrenaline and I quickly found that if I exercised daily, it had a big effect in decreasing my DP/DR and my anxiety. I was more relaxed afterward, I slept better and I felt much more grounded. It also improved my health dramatically, as I lost weight and am now in much better shape.
> 
> 5. Better diet - I didn't eat poorly before my experience, but in order to recover, I had to stop eating foods that were hard to digest or unhealthy. I basically cut my calorie intake in half, stopped using any caffiene and stopped drinking any alcohol. I started eating whole foods and I had to avoid foods high in sugar, as they triggered anxiety. Alcohol, in particular, had an odd effect. I could drink and get a buzz and felt fine, but after it wore off, I would have serious anxiety and it would magnify my DP/DR symptoms. I stayed away from alcohol and caffiene during my entire recovery and ate a lot of raw fruits and vegetables and nuts. I was very sensitive to caffiene for about 4 months. Even a little coffee would immediately kick in serious DP/DR symptoms. I had to stay away from it, but it was a good indicator for when my brain returned to normal. I can now drink all the coffee I want without any ill effects.
> 
> 6. Dietary supplements - I did a few things here that were recommended by my doctor and psychologist. I started taking B family supplements, magnesium taurate, high potency fish oil, vitamin E and other "brain vitamins". I also started taking a multivitamin. I sometimes used herbal teas with a calming effect, such as passion flower, valerian root and chamomile, but these didn't help much once I was already anxious or in the midst of panic. I think the vitamins definitely helped, as I felt much more physically and psychologically comfortable.
> 
> 7. Counseling - I saw a psychologist who specialized in anxiety disorders. He knew all about DP/DR and he had me buy a book on Amazon for about $15 called the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. This was very helpful in recognizing and intervening in my anxiety. It also taught me a lot of cognitive behavioral techniques for relaxing myself and breaking cycles of rumination. I see a lot of people on this site who see psychiatrists and end up with multiple diagnoses and lots of different meds. It seems to me that a lot of psychiatrists aren't familiar with anxiety and DP/DR, and often make inaccurate diagnoses, label people and push pills. My psychologist was very reassuring, didn't label me with diagnoses and gave me excellent tools to recover. In particular, I learned some relaxation techniques that helped me calm myself.
> 
> 8. Get out and do stuff - this was very hard for me, as I didn't feel like leaving the house or going anywhere. I joined a sports league and kept up a pretty busy social schedule as soon as the initial crisis ended (about two weeks into it). I did a lot of walking outside, hiking, fishing, jogging and activities with other people. I particularly enjoyed playing sports because it was a social activity as well as exercise. It helped me to go to work because I was able to focus and while at work and this kept my mind from wandering.
> 
> 9. Keep occupied - My worst times were when I was alone with nothing to do. My mind would wander to dark places and would enter cycles of rumination and dread. I found that listening to audio books helped a lot, as did playing video games. I had to be proactive about structuring my time so I was either with someone else or I had something to do. Driving in the car was particularly difficult without audio books.
> 
> 10. Tell people about it and tell them how to help - I told my family, my boss, my doctor, my kids, etc. about my anxiety and DP/DR. I explained what it was (although not necessarily how I got it) and what I was doing to recover. They were very supportive and this helped me feel more secure. Once I knew that the people around me had my back, I wasn't so worried that I would freak out or have a panic attack where the people around me wouldn't know how to help.
> 
> 11. Don't poke the bear - I had to avoid needless stress and anxiety. I had a habit of doing online research about DP/DR and reading DP/DR horror stories. I also liked to do thought experiments to see if I was thinking clearly. I had to stop this and keep my mind focused. One of my worst compulsions was "reality checking," in which I'd stop and look around to see if things looked "real enough." Of course, they never did and I would start an anxiety cycle that would usually result in DP/DR episodes. Now, I knew better than to do any of these things, but I kept doing them, even though they served no purpose and caused me anxiety. I had to stop this sort of self-sabotage.
> 
> 12. Act your way into better thinking - I had to just put one foot in front of the other and do things even if I felt anxious and had DP/DR symptoms. In the case of anxiety, over-thinking can be the problem....analysis paralysis. I needed to keep my mind focused and keep busy by proactively structuring my time and planning things to do and to look forward to. I often had anhedonia where I just didn't feel like doing anything and felt pretty hopeless but I went through the motions until the feelings passed....and they did pass. By taking the correct actions, my brain healed and my thoughts became normal again.
> 
> It has now been 5 months. The first 2 months were the worst and the third month was tough. I had to quit worrying about how long it would take me to recover. Everyone recovers at a different rate based on their life circumstances. If you already had anxiety issues, you might need to get a handle on them before you can experience permanent recovery, but you can definitely improve and reduce your anxiety and head off symptoms of DP/DR. I made recovery the number one priority in my life because I was so miserable and it paid off. I now feel completely grounded and no longer have any DP/DR symptoms. My generalized anxiety is gone and I'm recovered. However, I'm not the same as I was. I'm now much healthier and happier. I'm much more aware of my feelings and I am more enthusiastic about life and about the people in my life. I think that having had the experience of entering that nether-world where your conciousness is alienated from reality really gives you an appreciation for reality once you get back in phase with it. I've seen that dark world and I'm glad to back on the other side. I feel like I need to live the rest of my life to the fullest extent possible and I now see a lot of the things that were holding me back before I had the overdose. So, in closing, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and I still wouldn't want to go through it again for a million dollars, but I'm not sad that I did, because it lifted a veil from my eyes and opened the door to new possibiities that my mind had been closed to before.


Love the post. 
I've had it for 4 years, but when I was pregnant with my daughter it went away then came back with my postpartum depression. 
Your post mentions getting your anxiety under control and for a lot of people that's true. But now that my thoughts are so lost and I'm completely numb, I no longer even have anxiety. At all. No longer an anxious person, but the DP and dr is as strong as ever. 
I do believe that panic attacks and stress in the past is what brought on the constant dpdr but now there's no panic. I'm very calm. No bad thoughts, but then again, no thoughts at all :/ 
So, since my anxiety is really under control now yet I still am having dpdr. What are your thoughts?

Congrats 1000000x on recovering!!!!


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

I would focus on getting treatment for the depression symptoms. It is certainly possible that the post partum depression triggered a return of the DP/DR symptoms. In my case, I sought out professional help, which proved to be very valuable.


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## sydneyarnce

I've been on ssri's for 7 years and just got off because I don't have depression. Like I said I don't even have worry or fear anymore. Just the dpdr symptoms.


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## partiedtoohard

Couldn't agree more. I feel like my experience is exactly as you described. I have smoked my fair share of pot when I was younger, but I am 30 now, and after a long time of being away from it, I both ATE a very small amount, and smoked a good amount. This is what lead to what I am dealing with today. I hope my recovery story ends up exactly like yours. I am coming up on 2 months now, and I have days where I feel great. I just yesterday took a small amount of Valium to see what the drug did to me. I didn't feel too much, but I didn't have much anxiety at the time, just the "this dont seem right" DR feeling. I have started recently eating healthier, and doing exercise, I feel like this is helping as well. You were right on the nose about how this is caused. 
My Case -

1. Use of edibles - although a small amount, yes i did

2. Large or larger dose than usual - I ate a very small amount, but when i did not feel much i started smoking things that were passed to me, and who knows how strong they were, or if they were laced.

3. Inexperience or infrequent use - I had not smoked in quite some time as I was getting ready for job interviews and before that I had not smoked much at all.

4. Youth - I am 30

5. Intense setting/set - I was in a place I had never been before, the hard rock hotel for a reggae concert.

I panicked and left the concert without ever telling my friend that was with me, I tried to walk back to the hotel and just ended up at the wrong one, in the process i fell and hurt my foot badly.

Mix this all with an upcoming job opportunity, Interviews, and big life changes, I believe you have a recipe for disaster. 
I, like you, feel like while Marijuana can be very helpful for some, people should definitely know the possibly of dangers of use. I would not want this feeling on my worst enemy, it is terrible and I would do anything to go back to that night and slap myself around. But its done now, and the past cannot be changed. I feel that I can fight this and get better. It seems that the people who have gotten DR from Marijuana recover fully in about 3-6 months indeed, and I intend to be one of those people on the recovery posts. 
Silver I am happy you recovered, and I am in every way trying to mirror what you did to recover, your story (and others here too) have helped me out very much. Im not sure if you saw my recent post on your other thread, but if you dont mind I would like to talk a bit with you on Skype or a messenger as I have a few questions for you. Appreciate it


----------



## Extrempower

Congrats


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi All,

Checking in again at 2.5 years since my marijuana overdose in May 2014. I have been completely recovered from all symptoms for around 1.5 years. I have absolutely no lingering anxiety, my thinking has returned completely to normal and I never have any DP/DR sensations, even under extreme stress. I can drink as much coffee as I want without symptoms and I can drink alcohol again without any issues, although I don't use marijuana at all. I'd say it's as though it never even happened, but I did keep up with many of the lifestyle changes I had to adopt to recover. I'm still 50 pounds lighter than I was, I still exercise 4 or 5 times each week and I still eat a high protein, low glycemic diet. It took me about 3 months to get through the worst part of it and about a year before the last, lingering symptoms went away. I detailed what I did to recover in my two main posts. I've corresponded with many people on this forum and I'm a strong believer that most people who develop DP/DR from a marijuana misadventure do recover completely. If you've developed DP/DR from marijuana, keep in mind that most people recover completely but they don't continue to haunt support forums, so they are under-represented in posts on forums. Although this is an excellent forum and I come back every few months to check in, reading it exhaustively can create the impression that everyone struggles for years, has relapses of symptoms or develops a long term anxiety disorder. That's simply not the case. If you work at recovery, you can completely beat this and come out better than you went in.

Cheers!

MSM


----------



## Guest

Thank you for checking in. Glad to hear things are still going well for you!


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## Jjj123

Msm Ur posts give me hope. Was yours 24/7? Or episodic? You declared yourself cured at 5 months but then say one year for lingering symptoms? Can you elaborate?

Thanks bro. Love u


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## Jjj123

RSJ, I think MSM's was episodic to which I would say he indeed was lucky. Dealing with this 24/7 is a whole other nightmare. Not to say I don't appreciate MSM and his posts which I totally do.


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## Lallo

I'm glad to hear that you have recovered and it's nice to read your recommendations so I can follow them to recover myself.

I'm also stuck in a lot of existential thoughts and I have an analyzing personality and always think a lot about life even before my dp/dr.

My question to you is: will you ever smoke again?

I took lsd and experienced dp/dr a week later (not a bad trip, it was amazing) so I think it was my underlying anxiety in combination with maybe the drug...

I'm not doing any drugs right now but I hope to be able to do it again some day. I don't use it often I only do mdma and lsd twice a year or something and I never drink alcohol.

Someone would say that it's better to stay of everything forever and yes I can't disagree with that but still I find drugs to be a very interesting thing in life and especially mdma and lsd combined with great friends and great locations have made great experiences for me and I would lie to myself if I said I'm willing to never do them again...


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## partiedtoohard

RPJ said:


> You got lucky, nothing more. I got it from a marijuana brownie and I've had it for a year. I've been doing as much as I can to keep my mind off it and it's only hitting me harder. You only got a mild form of DP and lucked out.


Really dude? Shut the hell up.

Every post so far that I have seen you make has been negative. If you SERIOUSLY think that nothing will help, and you are doomed, then stay the hell off this forum, or at least off the recovery section. 
People come here to feel hope and share happiness with people who have recovered, the last damn thing they want to see is your BS about "you lucked out" "there is no cure" etc. and your other negative posts.

And to strengthen MSM's comments, his help has been fantastic with my recovery, and I am not episodic. I have talked with him extensively, and the last few days have been the best since my ordeal a little over a year and a month ago.

So no, he didn't get lucky, he worked hard at it, which I am too. This form consists of hundreds of pages of people who recovered. The evidence is there. Take your negativity elsewhere.


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## Jjj123

There's so much advice on here bro. Ur attitude sucks man. U gotta change it or you'll never get better.


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## Jjj123

I'm the most negative person in the world and it makes it harderer. You're job now is to become a new better person. That's how h overcome this shit. Accept it and live Ur life bro


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## partiedtoohard

RPJ said:


> It isn't negativity. I am sick of constantly being accused of being negative. The truth is I am just cursed with being a realist. If there was a way to cure it, I could post a thread asking, "how do I cure my DP?" and I would get a solid, straight answer. You know what I'll actually get if I post such a thread? Silence.


Yes it is negativity dude. People come onto the recovery section to be happy for one another and for healing people to have hope the same thing happens to them, not to hear someone say "you got lucky nothing more".
Yes, there is no one set answer to recovery this is true. BUT PEOPLE DO RECOVER, AND ITS NOT ALL JUST DUMB LUCK. Sometimes recovery isn't just black and white as much as we would like it to be.

Again, I have to ask, if you HONESTLY think there is no hope, there is no cure, and you are never getting better, then why the hell are you here?


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## jestemzalamany

Most of the poeple with DP do recover. We have to accept the condition we have now, and hope that one day we will get cured (I believe most of us will!). Worrying cannot change things for good. Imagine you're going to have it for 2 years. Acceptance will only help you! The sooner you accept it the sooner you will recover! And that is something I am still working on because I feel like I haven't fully accepted yet. And that what keeps me nad probably most of us from recovering.


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## partiedtoohard

jestemzalamany said:


> Most of the poeple with DP do recover. We have to accept the condition we have now, and hope that one day we will get cured (I believe most of us will!). Worrying cannot change things for good. Imagine you're going to have it for 2 years. Acceptance will only help you! The sooner you accept it the sooner you will recover! And that is something I am still working on because I feel like I haven't fully accepted yet. And that what keeps me nad probably most of us from recovering.


Good luck buddy stay strong and hopeful. Its a hard task I know but we will indeed recover. Have you had it for 2 years yourself?


----------



## jestemzalamany

partiedtoohard said:


> Good luck buddy stay strong and hopeful. Its a hard task I know but we will indeed recover. Have you had it for 2 years yourself?


No, I've had it for almost a year now. But this year I am going to beat DP I promise.


----------



## partiedtoohard

jestemzalamany said:


> No, I've had it for almost a year now. But this year I am going to beat DP I promise.


Good attitude. You will overcome it. I am at a year and a month now, and I am still confident I will overcome.


----------



## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi All,

I'm checking in, as it's near the four year anniversary of my overdose. I'm still completely recovered and have had no anxiety of any kind for three years. However, this syndrome robbed me of a year of my life. If you've read my posts, you know that I had this thing as bad as anyone and it took me a long time to recover. After about 6 months, I was mostly out of the woods, but I went through a long tail end where I still felt slightly off. It was a full year before I was truly over it. Being in the clear for 3 years has given me some perspective on the whole thing and has helped me to appreciate being recovered. I don't frequently return to this forum and I apologize to those who've written and not gotten responses. I have decided to write my recovery experiences and the things I learned on this forum as a book, which I plan to publish. I have corresponded with so many people in recovery and it does seem that those of us with marijuana induced DP/DR seem to have very similar symptoms and paths to recovery. There currently aren't any books specifically about recovery for marijuana induced DP/DR so I thought I'd write one that synthesizes everything I've learned from reading this forum and from the many people with whom I've corresponded over these four years.

I few specific things prompted me to do this. First, in my correspondence, I frequently found myself cutting and pasting the same advice over and over again and I thought would be a good idea to put all my writings on one place. Second, I found that there was a huge amount of ignorance and misunderstanding concerning marijuana induced DP/DR, what causes it and how to recover from it. Last, I found that an increasing number of people are developing it due to the increase in the use of legal edibles. For the record, I have no issue with legalization, but it is a fact that more people are reporting to emergency rooms with marijuana induced anxiety and many of these people go on to develop protracted anxiety with DP/DR symptoms. Too often, these people are told that they have had a psychotic break or that they are mentally ill when in fact, this syndrome is generally a temporary reaction to trauma and nearly everyone completely recovers from it within a year or two. As such, I wrote a book about my experience.

I do think that the experience has made me emotionally healthier than I was before. I am much more mindful of other people, the world around me, real priorities and reality than I was. I'm also more emotionally attuned, as I find that I self-monitor much better without being too internally focused. I'm also in much better physical shape. I lost 40 lbs. during my recovery and I've kept it off because I've continued the exercise regimen I started in order to recover. I've also maintained my dietary changes.

Still, I look back at that year of my life as the greatest challenge I ever faced; particularly the first 4 months. That time seemed like it took years to pass and it was the most unreal, terrifying and bewildering experience of my life and I'm now 50 years old. I am extremely grateful to have recovered from those feelings of unreality and I have carefully avoided marijuana, although I no longer fear it.

If you're a new person struggling with this unimaginable challenge, hang in there. Although it seems like it will last forever, it definitely passes.

Cheers!

ManOnTheSilverMountain


----------



## yoloking123

5 months and im out here on 2 years. Lifes not fair.


----------



## Grindelwald

ManOnTheSilverMountain said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm checking in, as it's near the four year anniversary of my overdose. I'm still completely recovered and have had no anxiety of any kind for three years. However, this syndrome robbed me of a year of my life. If you've read my posts, you know that I had this thing as bad as anyone and it took me a long time to recover. After about 6 months, I was mostly out of the woods, but I went through a long tail end where I still felt slightly off. It was a full year before I was truly over it. Being in the clear for 3 years has given me some perspective on the whole thing and has helped me to appreciate being recovered. I don't frequently return to this forum and I apologize to those who've written and not gotten responses. I have decided to write my recovery experiences and the things I learned on this forum as a book, which I plan to publish. I have corresponded with so many people in recovery and it does seem that those of us with marijuana induced DP/DR seem to have very similar symptoms and paths to recovery. There currently aren't any books specifically about recovery for marijuana induced DP/DR so I thought I'd write one that synthesizes everything I've learned from reading this forum and from the many people with whom I've corresponded over these four years.
> 
> I few specific things prompted me to do this. First, in my correspondence, I frequently found myself cutting and pasting the same advice over and over again and I thought would be a good idea to put all my writings on one place. Second, I found that there was a huge amount of ignorance and misunderstanding concerning marijuana induced DP/DR, what causes it and how to recover from it. Last, I found that an increasing number of people are developing it due to the increase in the use of legal edibles. For the record, I have no issue with legalization, but it is a fact that more people are reporting to emergency rooms with marijuana induced anxiety and many of these people go on to develop protracted anxiety with DP/DR symptoms. Too often, these people are told that they have had a psychotic break or that they are mentally ill when in fact, this syndrome is generally a temporary reaction to trauma and nearly everyone completely recovers from it within a year or two. As such, I wrote a book about my experience.
> 
> I do think that the experience has made me emotionally healthier than I was before. I am much more mindful of other people, the world around me, real priorities and reality than I was. I'm also more emotionally attuned, as I find that I self-monitor much better without being too internally focused. I'm also in much better physical shape. I lost 40 lbs. during my recovery and I've kept it off because I've continued the exercise regimen I started in order to recover. I've also maintained my dietary changes.
> 
> Still, I look back at that year of my life as the greatest challenge I ever faced; particularly the first 4 months. That time seemed like it took years to pass and it was the most unreal, terrifying and bewildering experience of my life and I'm now 50 years old. I am extremely grateful to have recovered from those feelings of unreality and I have carefully avoided marijuana, although I no longer fear it.
> 
> If you're a new person struggling with this unimaginable challenge, hang in there. Although it seems like it will last forever, it definitely passes.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> ManOnTheSilverMountain


I'll be honest, your thread was the first thread I read on the board and I ended up learning what I had and creating an account on here as a result. Your experience was so similar to mine, it was such a relief quite frankly. And I did recover. I'm not absolutely 100%, but close enough where it's not even an issue for me anymore. Thanks for the update!


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## Ahungerf

Man On the Silver Mountain!! Great to see you check in. Yours was the first of posts I read that gave me the most hope... However after I passed the benchmark of around 6 months where you seemed to get better I moved on to otheres posts who had it for longer as we always want to be reassured from people who have the EXACT symptoms or EXACT length of time we've had it... anyway I look forward to your book. I've had mostly DR now for a year which was also weed induced. My still remaining symptoms are sunlight, or changes in light settings such as ( walking from room to room, an open door esposing the outside light, looking out of windows) even at night a well lit sky from a full moon can really give me a disconnected feeling from the sky. Anyway looking back it seemed you were always aware of your levels of dp/dr as you recovered... so do you subscribe to the notion that we must lose our fear of our symptoms and get lost in life or "forget about it" to fully recover? Or are we allowed to focus on our DP and remain self aware because no matter what time will heal us? Curious about your perspective on this because I can't seem to break the constant self awareness of my DR and the constant inner dialogue in my head about how I'm feeling... must we break this loop with distraction? Or as time allows symptoms to fade so will our focus on them? Hence alleviating the self monitoring? Thank you again so much for checking back in. Your posts were huge in the beginning and I hope your insight can help me now in these later stages of recovery.


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## macmazz1985

I relate to much to you and how you describe yourself (I also read your first post which brought me to this one)

I'm in the same scenario you were but only 2 weeks have passed.

I've good moments follow by terrible moments. I have a wife and a daughter and eating a pot brownie was not something i would've done if I knew there was the slightest chance of hurting myself and my family, I do accept the responsibility of not informing myself better, I guess out there currently there is more propaganda in favor that against marihuana.

It's very helpful to see someone that went through with a happy ending. Thank you for sharing your story I'll definitely apply your advices to try to speed up my recovery.


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## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi All,

I just passed the 5 year anniversary of my "misadventure," and I'm happy to say that I've not had any return of symptoms. It's been a pretty good year for me in many ways and my normal enthusiasm and sense of self has gotten even stronger. As I've said in the past, I felt pretty good before "the troubles," but I feel way better now and I chalk much of that up to the lifestyle and emotional habit changes I had to make to recover. I've been getting good feedback on my Amazon eBook, titled Recovering from Marijuana Induced Depersonalization/Derealization, A Practical Guide. I appreciate the thoughtful reviews.

Despite the passage of 5 years, this experience remains by far, the worst thing that ever happened to me and the year I spent working to heal my mind was the toughest thing I've ever done, but I'm much better off now that I was before.

I still stay away from marijuana, but I don't have issues with people who use it. I do think this can happen to anyone and it's one of the hidden risks of marijuana that nobody talks about.

If you're new here and you feel like you've just gotten unplugged from the matrix, hang in there. This is a temporary condition that goes away, but it takes a while and you can heal faster if you work at it. I was over the worst of it after a few months, felt normal most of the time at 6 months and was 100% after a year. For some people, recovery is quicker, for others slower, but we all eventually recover.

Cheers!

ManOnTheSilverMountain


----------



## Ahungerf

I also got this from weed 2 yes ago. All symptoms come and go with anxiety levels but one symptom that has not changed in the least is light sensitivity that includes a derealized dream like sensation. The sky for example is incredibly bright, shimmery, and just seems dreamlike when really sunny. I feel it’s the stark contrast of the landscape such as buildings and the bright sky behind it always instantly triggers this look of it being artificial. This visual issue has not changed at all. I’ve learned to become less fearful of it but it always grabs my attention. Did you experience issues with lighting? And if so when and how did you notice it change or receed? You gave me so much hope when I first read your post over a year ago but yet this symptom has not aleiviated me??


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## zouzoux

Yes, the feeling Ahungerf is also similar to my symptom combined also with feeling that the world I see in front of me is the only thing that exists ( like below the ground there is emptiness and darkness ) . Does theese feelings say something to you ?

Thank you for checking back Mountain! Yours posts helped me alot while I was at the worst when it all started!


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## Dancing_master

ManOnTheSilverMountain said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I just passed the 5 year anniversary of my "misadventure," and I'm happy to say that I've not had any return of symptoms. It's been a pretty good year for me in many ways and my normal enthusiasm and sense of self has gotten even stronger. As I've said in the past, I felt pretty good before "the troubles," but I feel way better now and I chalk much of that up to the lifestyle and emotional habit changes I had to make to recover. I've been getting good feedback on my Amazon eBook, titled Recovering from Marijuana Induced Depersonalization/Derealization, A Practical Guide. I appreciate the thoughtful reviews.
> 
> Despite the passage of 5 years, this experience remains by far, the worst thing that ever happened to me and the year I spent working to heal my mind was the toughest thing I've ever done, but I'm much better off now that I was before.
> 
> I still stay away from marijuana, but I don't have issues with people who use it. I do think this can happen to anyone and it's one of the hidden risks of marijuana that nobody talks about.
> 
> If you're new here and you feel like you've just gotten unplugged from the matrix, hang in there. This is a temporary condition that goes away, but it takes a while and you can heal faster if you work at it. I was over the worst of it after a few months, felt normal most of the time at 6 months and was 100% after a year. For some people, recovery is quicker, for others slower, but we all eventually recover.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> ManOnTheSilverMountain


Hi, I actually bought ur book on amazon it helped. I just want to ask, what can I do about the anhedonia? my story is that I got DPDR after a weed edible trip similar to yours, I had anxiety disorder before that but it was like super super mild. I never got panic attacks. After this I started getting panic attacks then 2 months later got a horrible one that reminded me of the trip. Then I got all the DPDR stuff. I actually went the anti-depressant route, taking SSRIs. It gave me bad side effects like depression and loss of motivation and apathy... but it did take away panic attacks and I think it helped with DPDR other than the existential anxieties.

The complication is I then got scared that the medications would permanently affect my brain because of the apathy and demotivation I felt... I got off them after 8 months and the DPDR came back and so did the panic attacks for 4 months, then after that I only feel anhedonia basically and emotional numbing. So I don't know if this is the DPDR or the medications but I think it is the DPDR because I have motivation now I just can't feel my feelings... it is very strange. Was this something you felt during DPDR? It is the worst I would rather feel horrible panic attacks than emotional numbing. Even


----------



## ManOnTheSilverMountain

I've had a few people ask about anhedonia and what I did about it. I think my anhedonia was caused by my brain still needing to heal. Anhedonia hit me hard at about 3 months and left me with feelings of meaninglessness and a lack of enthusiasm for all the things that once brought me joy. I often felt that I was simply going through the motions. In retrospect, during the time I experienced anhedonia, I still had many lingering anxiety symptoms and I think the two were related. The anxiety centers of my brain were still overactive and I still had occasional episodes of uncontrolled anxiety. I found that when my brain returned to normal, the anhedonia and anxiety both gradually went away.

The larger question, is how did I help speed this aspect of my recovery? I used the old addage "act your way into better thinking." You can't will your thoughts or feelings to change. The only way you can influence them is through your actions. As such, I deliberately forced myself to engage in life. I joined a sports league that played multiple times each week. This gave me both regular cardiovascular exercise as well as socialization. I found that when I was playing or in the locker room with the guys, I was absolutely unaware that I had anhedonia, anxiety or any other issue. Essentially, I was unaware of myself because I was intensely focused on what I was doing. I took every opportunity to go fishing with my son, despite the fact that I didn't feel like it. While I was out with him, I started to feel fleeting moments of normality. Very gradually, with an aggressive self-care regimen, started to look forward to my league games and to doing outdoors things with my son. This "looking forward to" things marked the beginning of the end of my anhedonia. This didn't happen overnight. It was the result of several deliberate changes I made related to diet, exercise, how I spent my time and how I responded to sensations of anxiety and odd thinking.

I'm not a big advocate of anti-depressants for treating marijuana induced DP/DR. I've opined about this in other posts. I think anti-depressants are for treating people with primary depression. If you go to a psychiatrist, you will always leave with a psychiatric diagnosis and a prescription for pills. It's what psychiatrists are trained to do and what insurance pays them to do. I think marijuana induced DP/DR is best treated by time, aggressive self-care, cognitive behavioral therapy, practicing mindfulness, a strong support system and a good therapist (e.g. one that uses talk therapies and not just meds). A lot of people look to "experts" to cure them and to meds for magic bullet fixes. The only person who can really impact your recovery is you, and the best way to do that is by taking deliberate, consistent action over the long-term. This is not easy. I'm in my mid 50s and this is still the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life, but I didn't do it alone. I had help from people on this forum, from a therapist, from my family and from my close friends. I made recovery my number one priority for at least a year of my life. By recovery, I don't mean thinking about recovery, I mean taking actions....doing recovery. I did this because I was miserable. I wasn't so much running toward health as much as I was running away from hell. I started running and never stopped. I still do most of the self-care practices I started five years ago and I got my life back. My world is once again familiar, comforting and occasionally a source of happiness and joy. The normal emotional textures of my life have returned completely and I no longer experience anhedonia, generalized anxiety, odd existential thoughts or DP/DR. I haven't experienced any symptoms in about 4 years. This is my first time logging on to this forum since May, but I do check back occasionally.

Cheers!

MSM


----------



## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi All,

I recently passed the sixth anniversary of my hellish year of marijuana induced DP/DR. I'm happy to say that I'm still completely recovered from DP/DR and I've not had any symptoms in at least five years. If you read my account, you know that I had this as bad as anyone and I spent a year battling with the unreal and demoralizing symptoms. This was easily the most terrifying, challenging and life-changing experience of my life, and I'm in my 50s. I did fully recover with a great deal of help, persistence and discipline, but I will never forget the trauma and anxiety that were my daily companions for several months. These memories no longer trigger a visceral response and I rarely think about them these days. I don't frequent this group anymore, as I have moved on, but I do come back every year to remind people that full and lasting recovery is not only possible but common. I recorded my experiences and recovery journey in a book which many people have said was helpful to them, titled Recovering from Marijuana Induced Derealization and Depersonalization. If you've fallen into the strange, unexpected and frankly unreal world of Marijuana induced DP/DR, hang in there. You're not losing your mind, you're not mentally ill and most of all, you will recover with time and good self-care.

Cheers!

MSM


----------



## ManOnTheSilverMountain

Hi All,

MSM back here again. Next week will be the seventh anniversary of my marijuana misadventure, which precipitated the worst, most hellish year of my life. Those who've read my previous chain of posts know that I experienced complete and lasting recovery.

That said, this has been a difficult year due to COVID. I lost a lot of socialization, including my regular sports league that helped me stay in shape. I gained 20 lbs and my heath has definitely declined. I also started drinking quite a bit more, which hasn't helped with my weight or my mood. In short, this has not been a great year for my level of functioning.

What's important is that I have had zero symptoms associated with DP/DR or any sort of existential anxiety. In short, I've been able to experience a significant decline in my level of activity and my physical health without a return of symptoms. I think this is primarily because I haven't had any symptoms in about six years due to a fundamental healing of my brain. Although I have cognitive memories of what DP/DR felt like, I can no longer experience the visceral sense of being alienated from reality and living in an absurd, foreign world. This reinforces my belief that people can heal completely and permanently from marijuana induced DP/DR.

I got my second vaccine recently and I am already planning some changes to improve my physical and emotional well-being. My sports league restarted and I've got a busy summer planned with friends and family. I hope to drop some weight and resume my pre-COVID life.

For those who are in the difficult part of recovery from marijuana induced DP/DR, don't get discouraged. The path back to normal thoughts and feelings isn't always linear, but you will get there. Diligent self-care and supportive people can speed your recovery. I came out the other end with my normal thoughts and feelings back, but also with much better life skills. After my year of hell, friends and family found me much more empathetic and more easy-going. I personally found that I had better focus in my life afterward and am still better at setting and accomplishing goals.

I should add that my year of recovery wasn't 365 days of intense anxiety. After the first month, I felt fairly normal much of the time and after six months, I rarely had symptoms. However, I didn't feel 100% for about a year. As an example, I couldn't drink coffee or alcohol for about six months without symptoms and I had to practice active mindfulness for about a year.

I haven't used marijuana at all since my misadventure. In the first few years, I lived in fear of being exposed to second-hand smoke, as I feared that it would retrigger my symptoms. I am no longer fearful of this. Although I don't plan to use marijuana ever again, I don't believe that I could easily revert back to full DP/DR again.

I wish everyone a fast and insightful recovery.

Cheers!

MSM


----------



## jestemzalamany

jestemzalamany said:


> No, I've had it for almost a year now. But this year I am going to beat DP I promise.


Well that didnt age well.
Still have it after so many years. Funny


----------



## ThoughtOnFire

In 2008 I gave myself 3 years.


----------



## cyberafrica

ManOnTheSilverMountain said:


> After 5 months, I've completely recovered from marijuana induced DP/DR. My post in the Introductions section of this site tells the story of how it happened. Basically, I overdosed on edible marijuana while I was home alone for a weekend and had an intense and prolonged panic episode that seemed to last forever. After about 20 hours of intense tripping and constant panic, I was left with extreme anxiety and constant sensations of adrenaline surging through my body. Within a few days the DP/DR started. I stopped recognizing places I went everyday and had frequent episodes where I didn't feel real or the world didn't look real. Colors were odd and cartoonish and I had strange and disturbing existential thoughts. I had compulsive ruminations and I felt like I was coming out of my skin. Basically, I felt like I got high and never came down. My biggest fear was that the condition was permanent and I had somehow damaged by brain.
> 
> I got up the courage to see my doctor and I told him the whole story. He gave me a script for Xanax, which I think was a key to making a quick recovery. He also referred me to a psychologist that had experience with DP/DR and knew a lot about anxiety. A big realization was learning that DP/DR is caused by anxiety and is really a maladaptive coping mechanism the brain uses. I thought the DP/DR symptoms were caused by the marijuana, but thankfully, I was wrong. The marijuana caused the intense and prolonged panic, and the intense and prolonged panic switched my brain into a state of heightened anxiety, which included DP/DR symptoms. That state of heightened anxiety lasted a long time (about three months) and would have lasted longer, had I not worked hard to treat it.
> 
> The main things are did to treat it are as follows:
> 
> 1. I learned what was really happening to me and why - seeing a doctor and a psychologist and reading this forum all gave me a great deal of insight and helped me understand how and why this was happening, and that it was temporary.
> 
> 2. I kick started my recovery with an anti-anxiety med....Xanax in my case. I desperately needed some relief from my anxiety and DP/DR symptoms, particularly in the first month after the OD. The key to recovery is slowly getting your brain out of the state of heightened anxiety. The less time you spend in an anxious state, the more your brain recovers. For me, taking a .25 mg Xanax when I started to panic broke the cycle of fear and dread that kept me in a state of heighted anxiety. Like many, I quickly developed a dread of the DP/DR symptoms such that the dread of them actually caused them. Knowing that I had a way to do self-rescue and stop the symptoms by taking a pill really stopped the cycle of dread and rumination and allowed me to get some relief. Xanax always worked to make me feel grounded and back in sync with reality, if only for a few hours. I gradually used it less and less and I haven't used any in about a month.
> 
> 3. Sleeping enough - I had to be very conscious of getting enough sleep. When I was tired, I found that the anxiety was much worse. I had to sleep regular hours and get 8 hours of sleep each night. I can't emphasize this enough. It made a big difference, as it seemed to push the neuro-chemical reset button in my brain.
> 
> 4. Exercise - One of the things my doctor told me is that the state of heightened anxiety that my brain was stuck in, was causing my body to produce extra adrenaline. My blood pressure was up, my pulse was up and I had constant anxiety pangs and nausea at first. Exercise burns adrenaline and I quickly found that if I exercised daily, it had a big effect in decreasing my DP/DR and my anxiety. I was more relaxed afterward, I slept better and I felt much more grounded. It also improved my health dramatically, as I lost weight and am now in much better shape.
> 
> 5. Better diet - I didn't eat poorly before my experience, but in order to recover, I had to stop eating foods that were hard to digest or unhealthy. I basically cut my calorie intake in half, stopped using any caffiene and stopped drinking any alcohol. I started eating whole foods and I had to avoid foods high in sugar, as they triggered anxiety. Alcohol, in particular, had an odd effect. I could drink and get a buzz and felt fine, but after it wore off, I would have serious anxiety and it would magnify my DP/DR symptoms. I stayed away from alcohol and caffiene during my entire recovery and ate a lot of raw fruits and vegetables and nuts. I was very sensitive to caffiene for about 4 months. Even a little coffee would immediately kick in serious DP/DR symptoms. I had to stay away from it, but it was a good indicator for when my brain returned to normal. I can now drink all the coffee I want without any ill effects.
> 
> 6. Dietary supplements - I did a few things here that were recommended by my doctor and psychologist. I started taking B family supplements, magnesium taurate, high potency fish oil, vitamin E and other "brain vitamins". I also started taking a multivitamin. I sometimes used herbal teas with a calming effect, such as passion flower, valerian root and chamomile, but these didn't help much once I was already anxious or in the midst of panic. I think the vitamins definitely helped, as I felt much more physically and psychologically comfortable.
> 
> 7. Counseling - I saw a psychologist who specialized in anxiety disorders. He knew all about DP/DR and he had me buy a book on Amazon for about $15 called the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. This was very helpful in recognizing and intervening in my anxiety. It also taught me a lot of cognitive behavioral techniques for relaxing myself and breaking cycles of rumination. I see a lot of people on this site who see psychiatrists and end up with multiple diagnoses and lots of different meds. It seems to me that a lot of psychiatrists aren't familiar with anxiety and DP/DR, and often make inaccurate diagnoses, label people and push pills. My psychologist was very reassuring, didn't label me with diagnoses and gave me excellent tools to recover. In particular, I learned some relaxation techniques that helped me calm myself.
> 
> 8. Get out and do stuff - this was very hard for me, as I didn't feel like leaving the house or going anywhere. I joined a sports league and kept up a pretty busy social schedule as soon as the initial crisis ended (about two weeks into it). I did a lot of walking outside, hiking, fishing, jogging and activities with other people. I particularly enjoyed playing sports because it was a social activity as well as exercise. It helped me to go to work because I was able to focus and while at work and this kept my mind from wandering.
> 
> 9. Keep occupied - My worst times were when I was alone with nothing to do. My mind would wander to dark places and would enter cycles of rumination and dread. I found that listening to audio books helped a lot, as did playing video games. I had to be proactive about structuring my time so I was either with someone else or I had something to do. Driving in the car was particularly difficult without audio books.
> 
> 10. Tell people about it and tell them how to help - I told my family, my boss, my doctor, my kids, etc. about my anxiety and DP/DR. I explained what it was (although not necessarily how I got it) and what I was doing to recover. They were very supportive and this helped me feel more secure. Once I knew that the people around me had my back, I wasn't so worried that I would freak out or have a panic attack where the people around me wouldn't know how to help.
> 
> 11. Don't poke the bear - I had to avoid needless stress and anxiety. I had a habit of doing online research about DP/DR and reading DP/DR horror stories. I also liked to do thought experiments to see if I was thinking clearly. I had to stop this and keep my mind focused. One of my worst compulsions was "reality checking," in which I'd stop and look around to see if things looked "real enough." Of course, they never did and I would start an anxiety cycle that would usually result in DP/DR episodes. Now, I knew better than to do any of these things, but I kept doing them, even though they served no purpose and caused me anxiety. I had to stop this sort of self-sabotage.
> 
> 12. Act your way into better thinking - I had to just put one foot in front of the other and do things even if I felt anxious and had DP/DR symptoms. In the case of anxiety, over-thinking can be the problem....analysis paralysis. I needed to keep my mind focused and keep busy by proactively structuring my time and planning things to do and to look forward to. I often had anhedonia where I just didn't feel like doing anything and felt pretty hopeless but I went through the motions until the feelings passed....and they did pass. By taking the correct actions, my brain healed and my thoughts became normal again.
> 
> It has now been 5 months. The first 2 months were the worst and the third month was tough. I had to quit worrying about how long it would take me to recover. Everyone recovers at a different rate based on their life circumstances. If you already had anxiety issues, you might need to get a handle on them before you can experience permanent recovery, but you can definitely improve and reduce your anxiety and head off symptoms of DP/DR. I made recovery the number one priority in my life because I was so miserable and it paid off. I now feel completely grounded and no longer have any DP/DR symptoms. My generalized anxiety is gone and I'm recovered. However, I'm not the same as I was. I'm now much healthier and happier. I'm much more aware of my feelings and I am more enthusiastic about life and about the people in my life. I think that having had the experience of entering that nether-world where your conciousness is alienated from reality really gives you an appreciation for reality once you get back in phase with it. I've seen that dark world and I'm glad to back on the other side. I feel like I need to live the rest of my life to the fullest extent possible and I now see a lot of the things that were holding me back before I had the overdose. So, in closing, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and I still wouldn't want to go through it again for a million dollars, but I'm not sad that I did, because it lifted a veil from my eyes and opened the door to new possibiities that my mind had been closed to before.


Even though I have relapsed after a 7 year respite from DPDR, part of my prior healing also involved forcing myself to get active in the real world and keep at work instead of wanting to be a recluse. Did you find this helped you?


----------



## Tres

ManOnTheSilverMountain said:


> After 5 months, I've completely recovered from marijuana induced DP/DR. My post in the Introductions section of this site tells the story of how it happened. Basically, I overdosed on edible marijuana while I was home alone for a weekend and had an intense and prolonged panic episode that seemed to last forever. After about 20 hours of intense tripping and constant panic, I was left with extreme anxiety and constant sensations of adrenaline surging through my body. Within a few days the DP/DR started. I stopped recognizing places I went everyday and had frequent episodes where I didn't feel real or the world didn't look real. Colors were odd and cartoonish and I had strange and disturbing existential thoughts. I had compulsive ruminations and I felt like I was coming out of my skin. Basically, I felt like I got high and never came down. My biggest fear was that the condition was permanent and I had somehow damaged by brain.
> 
> I got up the courage to see my doctor and I told him the whole story. He gave me a script for Xanax, which I think was a key to making a quick recovery. He also referred me to a psychologist that had experience with DP/DR and knew a lot about anxiety. A big realization was learning that DP/DR is caused by anxiety and is really a maladaptive coping mechanism the brain uses. I thought the DP/DR symptoms were caused by the marijuana, but thankfully, I was wrong. The marijuana caused the intense and prolonged panic, and the intense and prolonged panic switched my brain into a state of heightened anxiety, which included DP/DR symptoms. That state of heightened anxiety lasted a long time (about three months) and would have lasted longer, had I not worked hard to treat it.
> 
> The main things are did to treat it are as follows:
> 
> 1. I learned what was really happening to me and why - seeing a doctor and a psychologist and reading this forum all gave me a great deal of insight and helped me understand how and why this was happening, and that it was temporary.
> 
> 2. I kick started my recovery with an anti-anxiety med....Xanax in my case. I desperately needed some relief from my anxiety and DP/DR symptoms, particularly in the first month after the OD. The key to recovery is slowly getting your brain out of the state of heightened anxiety. The less time you spend in an anxious state, the more your brain recovers. For me, taking a .25 mg Xanax when I started to panic broke the cycle of fear and dread that kept me in a state of heighted anxiety. Like many, I quickly developed a dread of the DP/DR symptoms such that the dread of them actually caused them. Knowing that I had a way to do self-rescue and stop the symptoms by taking a pill really stopped the cycle of dread and rumination and allowed me to get some relief. Xanax always worked to make me feel grounded and back in sync with reality, if only for a few hours. I gradually used it less and less and I haven't used any in about a month.
> 
> 3. Sleeping enough - I had to be very conscious of getting enough sleep. When I was tired, I found that the anxiety was much worse. I had to sleep regular hours and get 8 hours of sleep each night. I can't emphasize this enough. It made a big difference, as it seemed to push the neuro-chemical reset button in my brain.
> 
> 4. Exercise - One of the things my doctor told me is that the state of heightened anxiety that my brain was stuck in, was causing my body to produce extra adrenaline. My blood pressure was up, my pulse was up and I had constant anxiety pangs and nausea at first. Exercise burns adrenaline and I quickly found that if I exercised daily, it had a big effect in decreasing my DP/DR and my anxiety. I was more relaxed afterward, I slept better and I felt much more grounded. It also improved my health dramatically, as I lost weight and am now in much better shape.
> 
> 5. Better diet - I didn't eat poorly before my experience, but in order to recover, I had to stop eating foods that were hard to digest or unhealthy. I basically cut my calorie intake in half, stopped using any caffiene and stopped drinking any alcohol. I started eating whole foods and I had to avoid foods high in sugar, as they triggered anxiety. Alcohol, in particular, had an odd effect. I could drink and get a buzz and felt fine, but after it wore off, I would have serious anxiety and it would magnify my DP/DR symptoms. I stayed away from alcohol and caffiene during my entire recovery and ate a lot of raw fruits and vegetables and nuts. I was very sensitive to caffiene for about 4 months. Even a little coffee would immediately kick in serious DP/DR symptoms. I had to stay away from it, but it was a good indicator for when my brain returned to normal. I can now drink all the coffee I want without any ill effects.
> 
> 6. Dietary supplements - I did a few things here that were recommended by my doctor and psychologist. I started taking B family supplements, magnesium taurate, high potency fish oil, vitamin E and other "brain vitamins". I also started taking a multivitamin. I sometimes used herbal teas with a calming effect, such as passion flower, valerian root and chamomile, but these didn't help much once I was already anxious or in the midst of panic. I think the vitamins definitely helped, as I felt much more physically and psychologically comfortable.
> 
> 7. Counseling - I saw a psychologist who specialized in anxiety disorders. He knew all about DP/DR and he had me buy a book on Amazon for about $15 called the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. This was very helpful in recognizing and intervening in my anxiety. It also taught me a lot of cognitive behavioral techniques for relaxing myself and breaking cycles of rumination. I see a lot of people on this site who see psychiatrists and end up with multiple diagnoses and lots of different meds. It seems to me that a lot of psychiatrists aren't familiar with anxiety and DP/DR, and often make inaccurate diagnoses, label people and push pills. My psychologist was very reassuring, didn't label me with diagnoses and gave me excellent tools to recover. In particular, I learned some relaxation techniques that helped me calm myself.
> 
> 8. Get out and do stuff - this was very hard for me, as I didn't feel like leaving the house or going anywhere. I joined a sports league and kept up a pretty busy social schedule as soon as the initial crisis ended (about two weeks into it). I did a lot of walking outside, hiking, fishing, jogging and activities with other people. I particularly enjoyed playing sports because it was a social activity as well as exercise. It helped me to go to work because I was able to focus and while at work and this kept my mind from wandering.
> 
> 9. Keep occupied - My worst times were when I was alone with nothing to do. My mind would wander to dark places and would enter cycles of rumination and dread. I found that listening to audio books helped a lot, as did playing video games. I had to be proactive about structuring my time so I was either with someone else or I had something to do. Driving in the car was particularly difficult without audio books.
> 
> 10. Tell people about it and tell them how to help - I told my family, my boss, my doctor, my kids, etc. about my anxiety and DP/DR. I explained what it was (although not necessarily how I got it) and what I was doing to recover. They were very supportive and this helped me feel more secure. Once I knew that the people around me had my back, I wasn't so worried that I would freak out or have a panic attack where the people around me wouldn't know how to help.
> 
> 11. Don't poke the bear - I had to avoid needless stress and anxiety. I had a habit of doing online research about DP/DR and reading DP/DR horror stories. I also liked to do thought experiments to see if I was thinking clearly. I had to stop this and keep my mind focused. One of my worst compulsions was "reality checking," in which I'd stop and look around to see if things looked "real enough." Of course, they never did and I would start an anxiety cycle that would usually result in DP/DR episodes. Now, I knew better than to do any of these things, but I kept doing them, even though they served no purpose and caused me anxiety. I had to stop this sort of self-sabotage.
> 
> 12. Act your way into better thinking - I had to just put one foot in front of the other and do things even if I felt anxious and had DP/DR symptoms. In the case of anxiety, over-thinking can be the problem....analysis paralysis. I needed to keep my mind focused and keep busy by proactively structuring my time and planning things to do and to look forward to. I often had anhedonia where I just didn't feel like doing anything and felt pretty hopeless but I went through the motions until the feelings passed....and they did pass. By taking the correct actions, my brain healed and my thoughts became normal again.
> 
> It has now been 5 months. The first 2 months were the worst and the third month was tough. I had to quit worrying about how long it would take me to recover. Everyone recovers at a different rate based on their life circumstances. If you already had anxiety issues, you might need to get a handle on them before you can experience permanent recovery, but you can definitely improve and reduce your anxiety and head off symptoms of DP/DR. I made recovery the number one priority in my life because I was so miserable and it paid off. I now feel completely grounded and no longer have any DP/DR symptoms. My generalized anxiety is gone and I'm recovered. However, I'm not the same as I was. I'm now much healthier and happier. I'm much more aware of my feelings and I am more enthusiastic about life and about the people in my life. I think that having had the experience of entering that nether-world where your conciousness is alienated from reality really gives you an appreciation for reality once you get back in phase with it. I've seen that dark world and I'm glad to back on the other side. I feel like I need to live the rest of my life to the fullest extent possible and I now see a lot of the things that were holding me back before I had the overdose. So, in closing, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and I still wouldn't want to go through it again for a million dollars, but I'm not sad that I did, because it lifted a veil from my eyes and opened the door to new possibiities that my mind had been closed to before.


Hello, 

I have also recovered; however I did so after 9 years rather than 5 months. Your explanation of what dpd/drd feels like, the mechanism that causes it, and the fix for it are all correct. I personally put more emphasis on the nutritional dietary aspect but overall yeah....it's based in prolonged anxiety and generally treating yourself better is the answer. 

I've been trying to spread that idea in these forums because I noticed that people have decompartmentalized the answer into just one thing or another. It's doing it ALL. Anyways, im glad to see that more and more people are happening upon the answer.


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