# DP/DR Recovery



## thatfatguy (Dec 26, 2010)

*Pain of DP/DR Experience*​
*Pain: DP/DR symptoms or Self inflicted (majority)*

Self inflicted: Bad thoughts, actions, behavior520.00%DP/DR symptoms: feeling/seeing differently1768.00%Symptoms and Self Inflicted312.00%Hard to discern00.00%


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## thatfatguy (Dec 26, 2010)

Hello there! It's been almost 2 months since my DP/DR started, and I have to say it's been quite an experience. I think we all know what DP/DR is, the side effects, and how disturbing it can be for us. But the thing that most people do not acknowledge is the power you have over it and how easy it can be to recover. I thought I would share my experience with DP/DR having recovered. Of course i'm no expert and my experience and level of DP/DR is different from everyone, but the process of recovering is the same for all.

How it all began is important, but dwelling on it will not help. It's good to note what experiences lead up to your DP/DR: Abuse, drugs, anxiety, ect... If you can determine what caused it you can begin recovering by making it your priority to stop those causes from keeping your DP/DR from persisting. Though, eliminating the external factors might be easier said than done for some of us. But once you can eliminate those external factors you will be faced with your next challenge of dealing with the internal factors of DP/DR, which for me was the biggest challenge of all. Of course most of you know what the internal side effects are: feeling out of body, thinking reality it isn't real, being detached, not being able to "feel" yourself, ect... But how do you deal with these factors? You can begin by tackling the next part of your symptoms by understanding that the side effects of DP/DR aren't permanent or damaging. You may experience severe anxiety, depression, or find your experience in your reality to be different to the point of being out right strange and disturbing. But the fact is your reality hasn't change, your perception of it has. If you go around your house or through your things you will find everything in the same spot. People haven't change and you yourself for the most part haven't either. Everything is fine! But why is it so disturbing? It's disturbing because you choose to view it that way. Your fear of DP/DR is causing those bad thoughts and feeling to persist in you. Thinking about how bad it is will make you feel worse. As you're reading this i'm sure you're not feeling as bad as you were before you opened this post. Why? Because you were not thinking about it! Once you stop fearing DP/DR only then will it begin to subside. Of course you will naturally recover, but you're perception of reality might remain the same because you had trained yourself to think it was different when it wasn't. Yes, DP/DR symptoms have some biological factors to it, but those are mostly anxiety and depression related. Those strange feeling in your head: pressure, pins of pain, what ever it may be is DP/DR for the most part. If you think that pain might be caused by something greater go see your physician.

Now that you understand that the power of recovering is within you, you can tackle away the fear of DP/DR and eventually the side effects of DP/DR will diminish...poof!. Anxiety might be a big one to deal with, but there are many ways to handle that aspect. A majority of dealing with anxiety has to do with your own thoughts. You may find yourself waking up every morning to check to see if you still have DP/DR, which will lead to you becoming anxious and nervous, maybe even fearful. But if you can reason with yourself, understanding that since you were anticipating the disturbing feelings you were preparing yourself to feel that way causing your anxiety. Don't let yourself think that way anymore. It's a vicious cycle: thinking about your feelings and preparing yourself to be anxious will cause anxiety and fear, which will cause more fear and anxiety, which will make you think more about how you feel. So if you find yourself in this cycle take a deep breath and stop those thoughts. Find something distracting to keep yourself from thinking. There is a lot of trial and error that goes into getting your anxiety and fear under control, but the more you keep at it the better you will get until the anxiety and fear is gone.

So you have eliminated the external factors, got the fear and anxiety of the situation under control, but you still feel "different". Why is it still there? That aspect of DP/DR will take time to recover, and the recovery is based on how you choose to live your life while feeling "different". If you choose to let your symptoms keep you from living normally then you have chosen to keep your DP/DR with you and there it will remain within you. On the other hand if you choose to go out with your friends, see a movie, have a conversation then you choose to continue to live normally and so you will. It's very similar to a person who has broken his leg. His leg is broken, he can choose to sit in his wheelchair alone in his room since he thinks he can't go outside and play basketball with this friends since he thinks the difficulty of dragging his chair around is too much for him. So there he will remain sad, and depressed. Eventually his leg will heal, but his experience of the situation had multiplied the problem. On the other hand he can choose to roll his way out to the basketball court and play with his friends. It's a different experience playing basketball in a chair, but it doesn't slow the man down. So the man go on playing basketball being happy for the most part. Eventually, his leg heals and he walks out to the court to play with his friends. Of course he's happy that he can walk and he goes on to play like nothing ever happened. Did his reality of basketball or with his friends change? No, not once. But his perception, the experience of the situation played a big factor in his recovery. So if you choose to let your DP/DR keep you down, then you will continue living under its control.

Overall, how you choose to live your life with DP/DR will determine how you will recover. If you choose to go on with your life your recovery will come. Not giving into fear and anxiety will further your recovery. I"m not saying this will happen in a few hours or days, but recovery will come. Be patient with yourself. I can't stress how patient you have to be. Symptoms will come and go, but overtime they will stop, not all together at once, though. Cherish the moments when you are feeling great, but be patient with yourself when times are hard. Do your best to not think about DP/DR.

I know this is a self help site, but you can always see a therapist or counselor to help you cope with your anxiety, fears, and other emotional problems like I had. I would strongly advise you to see one.

I do have to mention on more thing. On this site you will find many posts similar to mine, more informative with tips and ideas that may make more since to you. There are many posts that will inspire you, filling you with hope, determination, and spirit. Those are the best posts to read if you choose to skim through this site. Though I would advise not to spend lengthy amounts of time on this site since doing so will only remind you of your DP/DR causing you to think about it more, that is something you don't want. Unfortunately, there are many posts that are full of despair and sadness. People will insist that there is no cure or recovery is not possible-ignore them.

It's been almost 2 months since this had started and I am recovered. I've learned that this can happen to anyone, this is not a mental illness, its a behavioral problem that can be treated and cured. I hope this post makes sense and I do pray a speedy recovery for you all.


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## Fluke93 (Nov 2, 2010)

Ah so you recovered?


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## thatfatguy (Dec 26, 2010)

Oops! I somehow uploaded my post while I was typing it. It's finished now, sorry for the confusion.


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## greenland (Sep 27, 2008)

that's so great that you recovered dude - im sure your insights will help people. im sorry to drag down the tone of the thread, but jesus, it just isnt that easy for everyone. i really think that people who have only been trapped for a few months are going to find it easier to break out. people that've been stuck for considerably longer are going to have to fight harder to get out - sometimes 'just not thinking about it' or trying to 'live' your way through it doesn't work. by no means do i suggest that people who have been struggling for longer are stuck - i believe completely that every single person got themselves into this fucking mess and every last person can get themselves the fuck out...it's just gonna take different things for different people, be it therapy, supplements and meds or just focusing on other things. it's up to everyone to discover what it will take for them. i just dont want longer-term sufferers to read stuff like this and despair because their best attempts at 'just choosing to go on with life' dont always heal them.


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## Gypsy85 (Sep 23, 2010)

I simply LOVE threads like that. Everything is so so so so true and fills me with hope from deep inside. Thank you very much!

It is a bit hard to KNOW what to do, but not to be able to







but I think knowing the right way is the first step towards recovery.

Congratulations to your recovery! Embrace every moment of life, you deserve it


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## thatfatguy (Dec 26, 2010)

greenland said:


> that's so great that you recovered dude - im sure your insights will help people. im sorry to drag down the tone of the thread, but jesus, it just isnt that easy for everyone. i really think that people who have only been trapped for a few months are going to find it easier to break out. people that've been stuck for considerably longer are going to have to fight harder to get out - sometimes 'just not thinking about it' or trying to 'live' your way through it doesn't work. by no means do i suggest that people who have been struggling for longer are stuck - i believe completely that every single person got themselves into this fucking mess and every last person can get themselves the fuck out...it's just gonna take different things for different people, be it therapy, supplements and meds or just focusing on other things. it's up to everyone to discover what it will take for them. i just dont want longer-term sufferers to read stuff like this and despair because their best attempts at 'just choosing to go on with life' dont always heal them.


I agree with what you're saying. Everyone is different and the deeper you dig a hole the harder it will be to get out of it. I want people to know that the step towards recovery is to stop digging that hole. To some people it might be the external factors that caused it like drugs, or anxiety and depression caused by work, school, friends ect... or it could also be the internal factors of just being scared or thinking about it all the time. You have to ask yourself, "How much pain is this really causing me and how much pain am I causing to myself?" A cut hurts, we all know that, but it hurts more if you pick at it. Overtime it will heal, but if you kept picking at it day after day you might end up with a nasty scar. As with DP/DR those who could let the cut heal without picking at it day after day will heal nicely while those who couldn't might be healed but are too focused on the scar left over. The point of the post was that you can't determine the time to recover, you can only control how you wish to perceive the experience. Do you want to be the guy sitting at home because he believes he can't do this or that? Or will you be the guy out there playing basketball in his wheelchair? Again, people want to believe that is a mental illness. A Mental illness for the most part can't be cured only treated. DP/DR is a behavioral problem that CAN be treated and CAN be cured. Anything behavioral is learned.


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## Emir (Nov 20, 2010)

...


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## thatfatguy (Dec 26, 2010)

I heard about change in the brain chemicals and I don't really understand it. To me it sounds like you damaged or hurt a part of you brain through excessive stress. The damage altered the chemicals in your brain causing DP/DR(just an opinion), but like all things your brain chemistry should heal and go back to normal given you don't over stress your mind again.


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## samiam (Jan 28, 2011)

I have been coping with chronic DPD for over a year now and have been in the right therapy for it CBT there, my DPD is always strong and intese but some days I feel its 'tolerable' other times it feels like holy shit how am I even functioning everything is so disorienting. I find it really hard to participate in a lot of things. Although I am pushing myself to do things but its only within my limits and I think thats something that needs to be mentioned. The severity of it is disabling sometimes I can have a conversation with people or go out hang out with certain ppl sometimes the noise in public is so disorienting and your already feeling light headed all the time and talking to people you completely just blank out one what they just said to you minutes earlier. I guess I was wondering how severe yours was since it seemed you were able to participate in more things. I was also wondering how did you know it was lifting? thanks


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## thatfatguy (Dec 26, 2010)

bixin said:


> I have been coping with chronic DPD for over a year now and have been in the right therapy for it CBT there, my DPD is always strong and intese but some days I feel its 'tolerable' other times it feels like holy shit how am I even functioning everything is so disorienting. I find it really hard to participate in a lot of things. Although I am pushing myself to do things but its only within my limits and I think thats something that needs to be mentioned. The severity of it is disabling sometimes I can have a conversation with people or go out hang out with certain ppl sometimes the noise in public is so disorienting and your already feeling light headed all the time and talking to people you completely just blank out one what they just said to you minutes earlier. I guess I was wondering how severe yours was since it seemed you were able to participate in more things. I was also wondering how did you know it was lifting? thanks


I thought it was the most horrible thing ever to happen to me when it started. I didn't know I had DP and DR until my DP started to subside. For about a month I had severe panic attacks that would go of and on for hours throughout the day for no reason, and I would even have panic attacks in my dreams. I couldn't feel any of my actions and my head was always in pain from random pressure and prickling pain. My head felt heavy and my vision wasn't smooth, it was choppy and robotic like. I had this constant trembling in my chest, legs, and arms that would start when my panic attacks would happen. My perception of reality was different. Everything looked fake, I thought everyone was something I created in my head, and I felt detached and indifferent from everything. There was no difference between Day and night, wake and sleep, reality and the dream world. It was that bad for a few weeks, but after a month I started to get better once I resolved some internal and external issues that were causing me more pain than the disorder was. I guess picking my fights with DP/DR helped me a lot. If something small was causing my panic attacks I would stay away from that one until I got strong enough for it not to cause any more panic attacks. If bad thoughts were making my symptoms worse I would stop myself or counter it with something "good".

I did that with a lot of internal issues and slowly I gained power over them. Sometimes I would lose some of that strength, but I would gain more in other areas and eventually I regain any previously lost power. It was like chiseling away at a brick wall. I knew I couldn't just slam my pick against the wall because it would break and I would be in a bad situation. I had to slowly chisel away at each wall until it broke down and then I would work on the next one. I really had to push my "corpse" around in order to get better and not dwelling and being fearful really improved my condition. Eventually my strength had a snowball effect and after 5 or 6 weeks I noticed a big difference in my quality of life. Everyday my condition felt like it was dissipating by half until I noticed there was no internal conflict and I was at peace with myself. By then I was fighting DR mainly and DP was just a faint echo. I had convinced myself that everything was still real, that my perception of reality had changed so I just went on with life ignoring DR and my DR quickly went away thereafter. I do want to note that I was on winter vacation for most of my time with DR and DP so I had little external factors to worry about. It was mostly internal conflicts of thinking about my condition. When school started it stopped me tremendously from thinking about it all and helped resolve my internal conflict bringing peace.


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## Kitr (Jul 7, 2009)

Do you have any books or techniques to share with us that maybe also helped you?

How did you cope with your probs?

Thanks!!!


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