# Road to recovery



## DeletedAccount (Oct 29, 2013)

Hi all. I have not visited this website in years, however, as I sat here on the couch I remembered frequenting this site constantly about 5 years ago. I am at a point where i might not say that I'm cured, but my life is back to normal. Nothing that used to keep me up at night or make me suffer related to DP/DR affects me anymore. It's not that i don't feel somewhat chronically detached to a degree, it's moreso that it does not bother me at all and my symptoms have alleviated significantly. If i took a step back and asked myself, do i still feel DP/DR? The answer would be: A little bit. This however is not something that should depress you because as i said earlier, I am not bothered by it at all anymore.

I suffered from DP/DR horribly back in 2013. I will spare you the story but i had a panic attack and my dp/dr got worse and worse for the next year or so. I have been to the depths of hell with this and at my lowest point i was inconsolable on all fours in my bedroom pounding the ground and begging god to make it stop. I know how some of you feel. It was and will always be the most terrifying thing i have ever experienced in my life. I come back to this website hoping to educate and inspire rather than bringing you more fear and self doubt. I know that when I was in the deepest depths of DP/DR i would read these and feel nothing but jealousy and hopelessness. I am not claiming that I have the "cure" or that I know what worked for me will work for you. I simply can not know that. I can tell you that I have extreme confidence that my advice can only serve to improve your mental state and maybe eventually lead you to where I am at now.

If you are anything like me, the reason that you continue to suffer is because you are desperately trying to control everything. Be honest with yourself.. How long have you spent today plotting and thinking about how you want to rid yourself of this ailment? Probably way too much. The cause of your suffering is because of this. Let go. You need to be able to get to a point where fears don't hijack your brain all day like it used to do with me. Plant yourself in reality and do whatever it takes to take your mind off of DP (No drugs/alcohol). When a fear or thought enters your mind that is unpleasent, or if you start thinking about DP, accept those fears and go back to what you were doing. That sounds vague I know so I will provide you with an example. Say you are sitting down watching tv and you start to think about how terrified you are of living with this for the rest of your life, what you should do it tell your brain "Let it happen". When you do this you take the fear away from the thought. It becomes acceptance. You have no other reason to continue to think about it as you have already accepted the worst case scenario.

My process to recovery was extremely gradual. There was no aha moment where my symptoms just dissipated. I was in hell for close to two and a half years before I started to ignore DP. One day you realize that your symptoms are still there, but they don't hold power over you anymore. Then a little later on you realize that the symptoms are not as bad anymore and they have even less power over you. Do not expect to just wake up one morning and it all be gone. This mindset is part of the reason we suffer. Let go of expectations and dive head first into your life and do not look back.

I would like to offer you a concise set of instructions however that I believe can only benefit you.The meat and potatoes of what I want to tell you is this: read this post http://nothingworks.weebly.com/, distract yourself and do whatever you can that will keep you from thinking about DP/DR/anxiety, and accept the fears the come across your mind.

This ailment is anxiety. Nothing more, nothing less. It serves absolutely no benefit to believe otherwise. Do not fall in the rabbit hole of trying to conduct self psychotherapy on yourself or watch videos like the ones by harris harrington or whatnot. Also, it is my own personal belief that you should stop coming to this website. I understand that this website can be therapeutic and provide a support group for those in need, so if you disagree with me then thats fine but I personally feel that checking this website every hour will only cause you to think about your condition which is the exact opposite of what i recommend doing.

I will preemptively apologize if anything in this post comes across as insensitive or causes pain. I understand that everyone has their own views and I am simply sharing my own. The only thing I want is to help those that are still suffering and I thought this was the least I could do.

I love you all.

P.S. PLEASE READ THE LINK OF NOTHINGWORKS THAT I INCLUDED IN THIS POST. That post sums up everything that i have said much more eloquently than I ever could hope to.


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## Spadde (Oct 29, 2013)

Thank you


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## Broken (Jan 1, 2017)

Congrats to you, I agree at first it is caused by anxiety. However the disorder where you have constant DP symptoms is not that simple. You can't really have anxiety constantly. And I don't feel anxious constantly. But the DP never leaves. I think this is more related neurobiologically if you have the disorder.

Having said that, I skimmed through your link and it would be highly helpful for those that experience intermittent DP as a result of anxiety. Many thanks for returning to share your story


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## 35467 (Dec 31, 2010)

Broken

I think Peter Levine mentions a experiment done with animals who was exposed to stress repeatedly where a "fight and flight" response couldn't be mobilised -so they immobilised, Shut-down. If they were exposed repeatedly to a threat the immobilisation response would take more time to go away. Each time more time to go away. So, chronic anxious self-monitorisation/fear of losing control might prolong this response. Dissociation is a sedated state so anxiety is reduced with all other emotions.


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## DeletedAccount (Oct 29, 2013)

Broken said:


> Congrats to you, I agree at first it is caused by anxiety. However the disorder where you have constant DP symptoms is not that simple. You can't really have anxiety constantly. And I don't feel anxious constantly. But the DP never leaves. I think this is more related neurobiologically if you have the disorder.
> 
> Having said that, I skimmed through your link and it would be highly helpful for those that experience intermittent DP as a result of anxiety. Many thanks for returning to share your story


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## DeletedAccount (Oct 29, 2013)

I totally understand what you’re saying and I totally agree. My anxiety was gone for a long time and I still experienced heavy symptoms. I agree that we have an unusual response to anxiety that causes a neurological response that causes dp. My dp was chronic and I do not even consider it completely gone. I just don’t really pay it any mind or notice it anymore unless I sit there and focus on it. I do not claim to have the cure, but for those who are agonizing over it I believe that reducing anxiety and managing our thoughts related to dp is the easiest way to find some internal relief. I hope for you to find relief and peace


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

Anxiety: "Nothing more, nothing less"? That is painting with a pretty broad brush, and I have to disagree from my own personal experience, of which I have complete understanding. I think it would be more accurate to say

that dp/dr could be viral, bacterial, or traumatic.


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## DeletedAccount (Oct 29, 2013)

Forestx5

That is totally fine that you disagree with me. I personally believe that we learned to deal with stress in a non healthy way and that is why when we deal with anxiety our body responded by creating dp. I should say, I belive dp is a response to anxiety, nothing more and nothing less. When I say this I am not trying to diminish the severity of how bad dp is or can be. I am simply advocating for those of you that are suffering to adopt this viewpoint because I believe that it would be most beneficial to your well being in the long run. That being said, you can take or leave my advice and I'll be the first to tell you that I don't have all the answers.

I hope you the very best.


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

I've nevre been fond of the Dale Carnegie approach. It suggests to me that someone is trying to sell me something I wouldn't care to own. I reserve the right to form my own opinions and disagree with anything said by anybody.

Right or wrong is irrelevant. I don't ask for permission to do so, nor is it necessary to be reminded that it is my prerogative.

You believe dp/dr is a function of anxiety which is best addressed by ignoring it. That diagnosis and treatment was patented in your absence.

But, it has been said that repetition is the key to learning.

Thank you for the well wishes.


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## DeletedAccount (Oct 29, 2013)

I’m not familiar with the dale carnegie approach. I apologize if I have come off as someone trying to sell you something, and I did not intend to infringe on your right to an opinion.


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## Phantasm (Jul 16, 2017)

DeletedAccount said:


> When I say this I am not trying to diminish the severity of how bad dp is or can be. I am simply advocating for those of you that are suffering to adopt this viewpoint because I believe that it would be most beneficial to your well being in the long run.


I understand what you mean. It's a tricky point to express on a site like this, but it's one I've definitely come to appreciate.

There's theory and there's therapy. The intellect likes a debate but the subconscious likes it simple. If you can come to look at it in a simple understandable way you feel less scared and overwhelmed.


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