# The Shock Theory



## sytrus (Sep 30, 2015)

I'll start off by introducing myself:
My name is Axel, I am 23 years old and I live in Romania, a country where DP/DR is not even considered a condition - like it would not exist at all.
I have suffered from extreme derealization from October 2011 to January 2014. Those were arguably the worst years in my entire life.
I got DPDR on a cold October day in 2011. It was raining, I was tired, and I was heading to a Physics afterschool class. The other students hadn't arrived yet. And so, I was sitting there in the empty classroom waiting while watching the rain fall outside when suddenly I've thought: "Why the fuck am I here right now? School is useless, just like life anyway. And there is no reason why we exist"
Suddenly, I felt like I was falling in a Dr. Who like vortex of light...with thousands of questions about existence running through my head. I just didn't know what the hell is going on. I felt like i wasn't really there, but watching the entire world on TV. And that's how it all began.
By the end of 2012, I stopped caring about living. I was just existing. No feelings. Nothing.
I once ended up at the E.R from synthetic cannabis overdose (it happened to me once again after I got cured - one of the WORST feelings ever - trust me) and it had no effect on me back then. I was laying in a half coma with severe convulsions on a hospital bed with a heart attack just around the corner....and I didn't care. I was about to die. I wanted to die. But I lived. And I've left the hospital feeling exactly the same. It had no impact on my DPDR.
I graduated from high school thinking a complete change in my life would cure my dpdr. So I went to college in a town far away from where I lived on my own. It didn't work. I still felt exactly the same way as before. I dropped out because i felt it was useless and i could never finish it anyway.
So there i was, back home with no job, just existing and waiting to die.
Until one morning. I went to sleep at about 4 AM feeling shitty as usual. Shortly after I felt asleep, I can see the lights turn on and there's this guy standing at my bedside: "This is the Police. Wake up and get dressed. NOW!" said the guy. It was 5:30 AM. The police start searching through my wardrobe and drawers, and i saw them taking my computer away. "You are under arrest for Breaking in a secure financial database.".
Man..get the fuck outta here..i can't even code! What the fuck kind of joke is this?
But it wasn't a joke. They took me to the prosecutor's office. 
"This is a rare offence in Romania" , said the prosecutor. "If we find enough evidence, we'll propose a minum sentence of 6 years in prison".
Dude must be joking. This has to be some kind of hidden camera TV show. Snow was falling outside while a police car drove me to jail.
And there I was: entered a room with no windows, and a huge metal door closed behind me. Two creepy guys inside were staring at me. "Welcome kiddo" , said one of them. What are you in for?
" Breaking in some bank's server..that's what they've told me".
"Ooooh..you're in deep shit mate" - said the other guy. He was in jail for like 10'th time, so he had to knew stuff about offences and shit. "The top bunk is yours kid. Try to get some sleep".
And i climbed up to the bed. Still numb. Still derealized. But I've closed my eyes, while kept saying - this can't be true. My life sucked anyway so it doesn't matter.
Then suddenly i've thought: "But what if this IS true? What if i'm gonna spend my next 7 years in here?"
Then, all of the sudden, all my emotions came back. Everything. I've started remembering the vacations at my grandparents' cottage. Every girl I've dated and how it felt. Everything was back to normal. I started crying. Oh, tears...tears after 3 years of emotional numbness.. I was crying because of the situation i was in. But i WAS in it. I WAS there. No TV world, no spacing out. I felt just like before October 2011.
And then I've said, "now that i am me again, i must get out of this shit. Cause it's a REAL shit. It's not just in my mind".
I was released two days later after my parents hired a lawyer and the prosecution found no evidence.
The feeling I had when i crossed that giant metal door back out into the world cannot be described. Pure rebirth. The light of day was just like the first light you see when you get out of the womb. My life was back. 
Almost 2 years have passed since then and I've actually tried to get dpdr back - to see what exactly causes it, but failed. I am absolutely sure it is gone forever. And i want to help you get rid of it too.
You see, that absolute shock I got there in jail made my mind like finally wake up from that weird sleep it's been on for 3 years.
Note that i am in a NO WAY saying that you should get arrested to get rid of dpdr. I am pointing out that an extreme shock like that WILL wake you up from it.
A relative or friend's death/divorce/breakup are NOT shocking events. They are just depressing; and will only make your dpdr worse.
The only thing we need to do now is find a way to simulate shock in such a way it will change your entire perception. 
THIS might be the cure. The one and only, INSTANT dp/dr cure we have all been waiting for.
I am here to help.


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## Anonymity (Jul 8, 2013)

It's a good theory and it could possibly work under certain circumstances with enough 'shock' to the individual.

Since I have been DP/DR'ed I have been arrested, which I have never had happen to me before. And although it was very nerve wracking, the nerves and emotions I felt were still very numbed.

I have also been in a gnarly car accident that resulted in my car getting totaled. I was stopped at a red light when someone hit me from behind going 40 mph. There was blood coming from my face and I was in extreme shock, I didn't know what happened. It felt like a bomb just went off. The noise was high pitch like you see in the movies and everything was slow motion.

I have had pretty 'shocking' events happen to me while DP/DR'd that I have never experienced before, yet it didn't quite bring me out of it.

Personally I think for me, there are issues that need to be resolved in order to overcome the DPDR. However, the process is different for everyone.

Congratulations on recovery!


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## sytrus (Sep 30, 2015)

Car accident? That sounds pretty horrible.

Driving school for me while on DP/DR was absolutely terrible; I felt like I was playing a racing game with a gaming wheel; like I could slam into everyone in traffic like in G.T.A.

Your DP/DR might have actually helped you get over that car crash without much emotional impact. Without having DP/DR, you could have gotten PTSD after that.

But as I've said before, events that threaten your physical health are not going to help your DP/DR too much because while having DP/DR, we don't really care if we die or not, do we?

My worst fear while having DP/DR was that I would continue to have it forever, even after death - that thought absolutely terrified me.

I say that you should experience something REALLY shocking; not nerve wracking nor life threatening. But it should be a simulated shock; that's what I am currently researching at the moment.

Have a nice day!


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## TDX (Jul 12, 2014)

> Your DP/DR might have actually helped you get over that car crash without much emotional impact. Without having DP/DR, you could have gotten PTSD after that.


Interestingly the hyperarousal in PTSD seems to have a inverse brain activation pattern than in many people with DPD. Sometimes I wondered that PTSD could cure DPD. :blink:


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## jotteff (Aug 11, 2015)

@TDX: There are a lot of people with PTSD who have depersonalization and derealization as symptoms (basically DPD as a comorbidity). That proves that one cannot cure the other one.


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## 58779 (Jan 7, 2016)

Your idea is consistent with a book someone suggested here, I don't remember its name was it Waking the Tiger or something like that. I also have an experience similar and once I really really got scared of my situation when it began to take over and said I should get my control. I felt normal for a couple of days. Sadly it came back but I had many problems elsewhere. I also saw one guy here that said his dissocation had gone for 3 hours when he was placed in a mental hospital, maybe shock brought him out of it.

What sucks about this illness is you can't really catch what is causing it and say it in an objective way. Same in other psychiatric disorders as well. But I am sure many people can be cured by some kind of a shock. Good that you recovered after 3 years!


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## Stakingaddict (Feb 14, 2016)

sytrus said:


> Car accident? That sounds pretty horrible.
> 
> Driving school for me while on DP/DR was absolutely terrible; I felt like I was playing a racing game with a gaming wheel; like I could slam into everyone in traffic like in G.T.A.
> 
> ...


i agree with what ur saying shock events will make u come out of it but wont help fix the trauma from the past so for me it didint make me feel better, just more problems to deal with.


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## sunjet (Nov 21, 2014)

My theory is that DPDR is a neural pathway that goes through the sleeping pathway. A huge stress/event/drug triggers the pathway. It numbs you, makes you feel unreal, SAME like sleep inertia in "healthy people". It's a blanket that you brain puts on you while you are fully awake.

Why does living life and doing what you enjoy makes you recover? Because it reactivates the old pathways that wakes you up.

Why does extreme shock help for some? Because it's a neural "explosion" that instantly reactivates the old pathway that used to rrespond for your arousal.

Why does meditation work, because it relieves the stress, and you start to enjoy more the surroundings and you "wake up"

Why does boredome makes it worse? Because its making you sleepy => DPDR

What I noticed that helped in my case is coffee. Yes, at first it made my anxiety 100x worse but if you ignore this and aknowledge that it will make you jittery and anxious, your mind calms down and you "wake up", you feel more connected.

It's interesting. DPDR may be just a parasomnia BUT being fully awake not in transition.


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## Ningen (Apr 16, 2015)

I love this idea!


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## Surfingisfun001 (Sep 25, 2007)

GREAT story


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## LolaBananas (Feb 1, 2016)

It is a great story indeed. very refreshing and I'm glad to hear you are feeling normal again.

I got traumatized while having the beginnings of DPDR and it just made it hell of a lot worse. But there are different ways for everyone to get out.

funnily I can relate to the coffee thing. Too much is definitely bad but two or three cups a day help me too.


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## Extrempower (Mar 2, 2016)

Actually that is not a bad idea although there are easier ways


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## davinizi (Mar 9, 2016)

Great and interesting story! I also think 'sunjet's theory is interesting about DPDR being a neural pathway that goes through the sleeping pathway. Someone on youtube showed that people with DPDR have very little brain activity, so that makes sense.

In line with this shock therapy theory, I have been thinking that something like *body suspension* might work for DPDR as well.

There are these certain type of people (usually 'gothic' types who are also into body modification, piercings etc) who have themselves hung up by their skin with meat hooks. Because it's so painful, the brain actually releases a lot of endorphins and gives a high, better than a lot of drugs, supposedly. I recall from seeing a documentary about this that a guy mentioned, he always used to be so insecure and after doing body suspension, he feels a lot more confident and grounded.

Likewise, in India they have these festivals where they put a knife or other sharp thing through their tongue or other body parts. I guess that could also help in the sense that you have to take on a challenge and be fearless and it's a very bodily thing to do, so the energy will be focused in that part of the body, perhaps shocking the person's energy/consciousness/essence back into the body. Because before I found out I have DP, I thought I was 'permanently ungrounded' as in my energy is not rooted into my body and I just live too much in my head which is also the case.

Someone who experienced body suspension says: 'it is extremely empowering, relaxing and interesting. it can be a way to purge old energies, heal, transcend limits, or just have some intensely physical fun. '


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## Extrempower (Mar 2, 2016)

Wait, people with dp have little brain activity, that is unbelievable. I personally don't think I got this because of little brain activity (please I don't want to offend anyone) because the time I got dp I was so stressed out, my brain kept hurting me.


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## Ernestia Ignis (Apr 13, 2018)

coffee has helped me too actually


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