# Can panic/anxiety cause permanent DP/DR?



## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

Can chronic panic/anxiety/hyperventilation cause permanent DP/DR? Or is DP/DR just temorary if caused by anxiety or perhaps lack of oxygen to the brain? 'Cause I was having that happen even many weeks before I first started having DR.


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2005)

I don't think anything can "cause" permanent DP/DR, even drugs. It seems to be a symptom, which in many cases is kept alive by giving it more and more attention. I don't think anxiety and panic will make it any more permanent than temporary. No matter how long you have it, most people who recover seem to deal with it in a similar manner (Look at Janine's posts)

Best,

Jon


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2005)

yea it can cause permenant DP/DR it all depends on what you do with it, Make it worst or make it better, eventually gettin rid of it. Noone really knows what causes it, they havent done enough research on it ( i think ). Im a noob Ive only had it for 1 year and 1 month and it has toned down over the year, recently i have been using the supplement DMAE and it has helped so much wit derealization. Now in the mornings, the derealization is gone but eventually throughout the day comes in. Only been on it for 3 days now, good stuff


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

permenant, no. _chronic_ hyperventilation/lack of oxygen to the brain causing DP/DR is a very valid theory.

http://members.westnet.com.au/pkolb/magarian.htm

look under signs and symptoms, you'll see some familiar stuff. :wink:

the Buteyko Breathing Method is very useful to stop chronic hyperventilation once triggered. and there's a very simple way to figure out if your brain is getting enough oxygen or not (more like if your blood has enough CO2 or not.) lemme know if you want more info.

-ru


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

Yeah thanks I'm pretty familiar with all that like the buteyko methods and everything.


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## gem (Aug 10, 2004)

I believe panic and anxiety can cause one to be in a constant state of dp/dr, the reason I say this is because I was suffering from panic attacks and severe anxiety on a daily basis then one day it all turned into dp/dr. The panic stopped. The fear is there but not as intense as it was. I think when you are constantly in fear the brain cannot deal with that much upset so it finds a way to stop the trauma and even though it is not a pleasant replacement the dp is born. I was also told by the doctors I was under, nerologists that the trauma and fear I was under was like to many plugs in an electrical socket, at some point it overloaded and the depersonalization even though not a nice thing to have saved me from having that constant state of fright. This may be for some people but not for everyone because everyone has a different experience. I thought I would share what it was like for me.

gem.


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## pfpc (Aug 22, 2004)

I experienced the same thing too. I went into daily panic attacks for a week (the first one lasted 4 hours and put me into hospital) and found myself slowly disconnecting until at the end of the week I woke up and found myself severely DR'd. All this was stress/trauma induced.


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

Yeah. I was in a state of extreme panic/anxiety for a over a month to the point where I was always dizzy and hyperventilating cause I freaked out reading conditions on the internet. I thought I had a blood infection and that I was gonna die 'cause the symptoms of it were the same symtoms of anxiety symptoms but then I didnt know it was anxiety. But my DR didnt start til after a week after I stopped Xanax cold turkey.


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

the theory is that you slowly disconnect cuz the symptoms of hyperventilation kick in slowly, it takes a few weeks for your over breathing to start causing symptoms. we speed up our breathing every time we panic, feel anxious, stress, 'till one day the brain just doesn't get enough oxygen any more and DP/DR feels more permenant. the panic/anxiety can one day stop, you could even take all kinds of anti-anxiety meds, but your body doesn't stop hyperventilation, cuz the brain is stuck triggering a fast breathing cycle, so dp/dr doesn't go away.

I know a lady (online) who cured herself of asthma completely in only 3 weeks of breathing exercises. now she's working on her DP next. both DP/DR and asthma are breathing problems.


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

DP/DR is a breathing problem in some people with it? Or just some of the anxiety induced people like myself?


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

AHuseman said:


> DP/DR is a breathing problem in some people with it? Or just some of the anxiety induced people like myself?


it's a theory that DP/DR is a breathing problem for everyone, and it has many different triggers like i said. anxiety/stress/fear/anger/obessive thoughts/drugs that mess with your breathing/yada yada...

i didn't beleive i was hyperventilating when my GP first told me, i thought he was nuts. but I measured my Control Pause with the Buteyko method, and turns out i do breathe too much. it's very subtle, it's not like you can notice yourself doing it.

-r


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## David (Nov 23, 2004)

I think anxiety causes DP initially and then the DP lives on its own even after the inital anxiety has gone. DP can recede but then you become anxious again and your body 'remembers' the DP you had before and it comes back

David


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2005)

rula,
where can I find more info on the breathing exercise you talked about


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

foggy said:


> rula,
> where can I find more info on the breathing exercise you talked about


a good site, but charges $$ to teach you BBT
http://www.buteyko.co.nz/buteyko/work/h ... lation.cfm

the free stuff
http://members.westnet.com.au/pkolb/but_strt.htm

this site mostly mentions asthma, but BBT is used for anxiety too. it's interesting to note that hyperventilation increases histamine levels, and Mt. Sinai is now looking into an anti-histamine as a cure for DP. hmm.

-rula


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## jft (Jan 10, 2005)

This may sound strange, but when this first started for me I would get dry mouth and feel I had "bad breath". I was very conscious of this when I was very symptomatic and would literally hold my breath alot so not to offend anyone when in close situations, talk without exhaling etc. When I did this my symptoms would skyrocket. Granted this could be only becasue of the hypervigalence, but it also intrigues me that when I find myself most symptomatic I am hardly breathing..or it seems. Breathing is very shallow when I am wiped out. It is like I inhale but not as much exhaling. In fact this was such a correlation for me that when I had a workup done at univeristy I specifically asked them about co2 levels. They said get real. I am not eeally talking about anxiety shallow breathing, but something different here. 
Anyway.. I said it was strange..
jft


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## dreamcatcher (Sep 23, 2004)

jft.....bad breath can come from anxiety......i thought the same thing so get some retar dex.....pricey but give you the confidence to breath near people......luckily i am through that stage aswell


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## jft (Jan 10, 2005)

Never thought I would be on the world wide web discussing my bad breath. (hee hee ). But what does anxiety have to do with causing bad breath? And what is detar ex?
It is Saturday night and I sit home alone without a date. Maybe there is something I should know here....is cyber bad breath possible?
jft


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## dreamcatcher (Sep 23, 2004)

retar dex is like a mouth wash that eliminates the course of babd breath....my partner went to the chemist for me.....told them i had really bad anxiety and was on meds and they said that bad breath was on side effect you can get...but the retar dex cleared it up......and no i cant smell your cyber breath......can you smell mine??????


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