# not sure if this is dp or not.



## Matt_928 (Jul 20, 2006)

My name is Matt, I'm 15, and I'm not sure if I actually have dp or not. Here are a few experiences I have had in the past few months that I've never had before, to get a general opinion on if it may be dp.

First it started one evening at dinner, I went out to eat with my family. Everything seemed off, and I was struggling just to seem normal. I took a sip of water, not sure if it was in slow motion, because it seemed like it to me. It was like I wasn't even the one eating or interacting or any of that, and I had to talk just to feel like I was still myself. I got up and walked to the bathroom which seemed to help a little, but otherwise I was like that for the rest of the night. The next morning I was okay.

On two seperate occasions I was walking down the street, and I had an experience similar to my first, though much shorter and not quite so intense. Almost like I was leaving my physical body (It was not an OBE, for I did not "see myself" leaving my body), it was more like I was leaving mentally. Again, I tried to move my arms as much as I could which brought me back.

Another time I was in my school cafeteria, and my experience seemed like a dream. I was talking to my friends when I looked up and felt as if I was seeing the cafeteria for the first time. Not in the sense that it was unfimiliar, I still knew exactly what it was and where everything was... if anyone knows what I'm talking about... it's one of the most difficult things to explain.

And finally, a few times walking home, I've felt like I'm getting bigger and smaller, like I'm close to the ground and everything is immense and "obtrusive", for lack of a better word.

I don't know if these are related in any way, but I had been wondering for months what had been going on and then I found a website about dp and was wondering if that would explain it. I hesitate to go to a doctor, because it isn't like these experiences are preventing me from doing anything, and I don't want to worry my family. These are also not frequent, and I am otherwise able to function perfectly well.


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## Catharsis (Jul 2, 2006)

Well... I may be wrong.. but it sounds to me like the beginning of DR.

My first experiences with the "unreal" happened when I was 15. I was at a restaurant with my family when everything seemed a bit different and I felt sort of disconnected and dream-like. The next morning I woke up normal. The second or third time was when walking along a road and the traffic seemed really loud and obtrusive and I was nervous and everything felt a bit unreal. Again it passed after a good night's sleep. 
I didn't want to bother my family and was afraid to tell anyone.
Each time it got worse, lasted longer and it got harder to snap out of.

About a month later I woke up with chronic DP/DR and didn't know who I was.

So.. if you're posting here and you're seriously worried..
If you want my advice... Get it checked out ASAP. Talk to a doctor and someone you trust. Don't go into the trap of thinking it will pass and get better on its own.


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## Matt_928 (Jul 20, 2006)

well, i'm not seriously worried, i posted on here because i have nothing to lose...

but earlier something happened that hasn't before... you know that feeling you get when you think about the fact that you are living, and can walk and talk... the distant feeling, not quite unreal though... well, that happened to me today without provocation (i wasn't thinking about life or anything, i was just watching a movie) and i felt like that for about 2 minutes... there was also a sense of panic that had never been there before, i kinda felt like i had to escape... i thought the only thing to do was lay down and close my eyes for a minute... but suddenly it passed wthout me realizing it, and i couldn't really relate to the feeling when it was gone. it wasn't like the other feelings of depersonalization that i've read about and breifly felt... more like anxiety. happened to me once before, several years ago, and i was in a crowd. but is anxiety another symptom, a problem on it's own, or what?

sorry for the long posts, i just have a lot of things i am wondering about.


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## Matt_928 (Jul 20, 2006)

maybe i should mention that i also have mild OCD, and i am kind of paranoid. when i walk out of my room at night i have to pull the curtain back to check the shower, and im constantly looking around the corner... this only happens when i'm alone, but even during the daytime i have to check behind doors and sometimes i even run. does anyone else do this, or am i just weird? the strange thing is, i don't even know what i'm checking for.


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## morningstarrr (Jul 22, 2006)

Matt_928 said:


> maybe i should mention that i also have mild OCD, and i am kind of paranoid. when i walk out of my room at night i have to pull the curtain back to check the shower, and im constantly looking around the corner... this only happens when i'm alone, but even during the daytime i have to check behind doors and sometimes i even run. does anyone else do this, or am i just weird? the strange thing is, i don't even know what i'm checking for.


sounds like generalized anxiety disorder.
anyways any anxiety causes dp/dr.
its just a symptom of your anxiety.


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