# How do you guys deal with it everyday?



## Missfoggy (Sep 27, 2006)

I mean how do you go to work and school and concentrate and be productive? Have any of you ever had to take time off to get yourself into some semblance of normal and if you have, did it help?

Feel free to share your life's story...



Foggy


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## Skynet (Jan 21, 2005)

When you have depersonalization you pretty much sleepwalk through life. Productivity goes down the drain and normal functioning becomes obsolete. Depersonalization totally disables many. Personally I've learned to live with it the best I can. Not because I want to, but because I have little choice. I sure am not going to take my life. I overcame depersonalization once before by meditating. It was gone for two full years and then came back after my Dad passed away. If I did it once I can do it again. You've just got to keep hope alive and know that even though DP may be a living Nightmare, it's a nightmare that I have personally seen go away in an instant.


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## Starz5 (Jul 5, 2006)

Thanks for the hope Skynet...seriously its always good to hear some positive things. Im so sorry to hear about your dad passing...keep going, things will get better...I dont know if you were close but Im sure he would want you to be happy and live well if you were close to him. Keep pushing through. You've made it through this before, you will do it again. All we can do is go on with our lives, I mean whats the alternative? Hope is what keeps me here.

I need to try meditation. I keep saying that..I guess I just dont know where to begin with it..anyway.

Keep trying, pushing through, doing the best you can do whatever that may be...even if its something you think is minimal. Hope floats. Tomorrow could be a new day.


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## +[ thedeadpoet ]+ (Jul 23, 2006)

any chance you could elabourate on that meditation technique?


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## Skynet (Jan 21, 2005)

thedeadpoet said:


> any chance you could elabourate on that meditation technique?


 Sure can. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I only come here a couple times a week.

This is going to sound totally stupid..... but this is what I did. I sat up in Bed and stared at a Bumper sticker across the room for 45 minutes straight. I did not even realize this was meditation at the time. All I was trying to do was calm down and maybe somehow the dizziness would go away. So after I did that I seemed to be a tiny bit calmer. Still a lot of depersonalization though.

Then I walked into the kitchen to get something to eat and BAM! It happened. The Depersonalization went away in an instant. Almost as if someone had just flicked a switch. Dizziness instantly went away. Fatigue instantly went away and I felt totally normal and healthy again. This happened within 5 miniutes after I stared at an object in my room for 45 minutes. So it must of calmed me down enough for my brain to go back into normal mode. I'm certain it doesn't even matter what you stare at. The trick is just to concentrate on something for a long perid of time with no interuptions. Just stare at it literally for 30 to 45 minutes. It's tough because you tend to get impatient. But this is the only thing that ever worked for me.

medication never worked, therapy has never worked.... but staring at an object did! Go figure. I need to do this again and again and again. But my problem is the impatience thing. It's not easy to just sit there and do nothing. But if you can do it I think you'll notice something good happen.


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## chris51 (Mar 21, 2005)

Sometimes I wonder how I do it too. I work PT raise 2 kids and keep a home. I have 2 BS degrees. Life is a blur to me. I am almost likea robot. Sad, yes, but there are times when I do feel grounded and everything is ok. I stay productive because what is the alternative? It is to either keep on living or not and I chose to keep on living even if it's in a fog. Meditation has in the past helped me a GREAT deal. Listening to chanting music while attmepting to keep the brain silent.


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## Pancthulhu (May 27, 2006)

Because I have to, I guess. When my DP started I was taking my A Levels and I knew I couldn't mess up my whole life over something I didn't think I would have for a long time. The fact I was able to get good grades meant I knew I could cope.


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## UGK17 (Oct 16, 2006)

i cant work and i just recently had to stop going to school.


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## meghan28 (Jan 3, 2008)

Working in school is extremely hard. I can't think things through and cannot elaborate answers as much as I would like to. It's also very hard to concentrate, because I either feel too tired to function, or my mind just wanders off into space. Knowing that I can't fail makes me still work hard to keep my grades from a-b's. It is much more difficult than pre-dp though. No doubt.


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## Morgulon (Jan 21, 2008)

DP/DR really got me after I had gotten kicked out of school and quit my job, so it has just made me go from non-productive and enjoying myself to non-productive and miserable. 

Meditation is fantastic though. I tried it last night and I've been working on it, and it has provided some instant relief. So far it has worked best for me in the bathtub, with my ears underwater. I just close my eyes and lay there and listen to the rhythm of my heart beat. Everytime my brain tries to wander I just calmly, mentally shush it. It's important to stay patient or you won't get anywhere. (this is just what I've found)


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## DRyan (Jan 19, 2008)

skynet74 said:


> thedeadpoet said:
> 
> 
> > any chance you could elabourate on that meditation technique?
> ...


Just tried it. Sadly didn't work for me. I got really tired by the end from just laying and staring, lol. My eyes did some weird stuff while I was staring. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. Thanks for your posts 

Edit: Forcing myself to try and focus on outside things for an hour may have actually helped. I didn't get your miracle, but doing this daily may be a good idea for me.


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## replaced (Feb 22, 2008)

What I do everyday, if I feel like I'm going to have a panic/anxiety attack I go either to Wikipedia and search depersonalization's cure, go to the forum (this forum) or I go to youtube and watch videos about people suffering with it. If I'm in a car ride or somewhere away from a computer, I start to talk about the news and whatever pops into my head (sometimes I even talk about my problems).

--Roy


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## DRyan (Jan 19, 2008)

I get through it by thinking about suicide every day and how little I care about everything until I go to bed and do the same thing the next day.


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## jay2008 (Nov 6, 2007)

Everyone - Glad to hear the positive remarks.

For me, DP/DR has already taken too much of my life (1.5 years) and this is minor compared to people having it constant for decades. I guess I should feel lucky that it didn't hit me until my early 30's. Last year, I lost a lucrative job and almost lost my sanity due to living in a fog everyday that I can't properly articulate to anyone. I tried Lexapro and Klonopin with only minor help from Klonopin and none from Lexapro.

I finally decided that if I'm going to have to suffer with this that I won't let it rip my life apart until I can find a cure or relief. I consider my highly-productive at my career and with my family and children. However, the social aspect of it is hard. I find myself cut off from friends and things I used to enjoy. I have a constant mild to moderate depression because of this.

My outlook is positive though and I hope everyone can keep that outlook. Everyone please keep posting how you deal with this problem day-to-day!

James


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## GoneInSpace (Apr 14, 2008)

Yeah Im in the same boat as you Dryan....Thinking about suicide is comforting....and sleeping...and I smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day....im starting to think some people are stuck with this and some are not, just like some have DP and some never even know what we are talking about.

But heres hoping it improves....Tried therapy, tried meds, tried natural supplements, tried yoga.....not working so far...


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## Surfingisfun001 (Sep 25, 2007)

I just read about the meditation and I haven't tried that yet. So I think I'm going to try that today. I don't have the cure that's forsure but I have found 2 things that help me cope. The first is forcing myself not to think about the future (or past). When I think about the future I just get freaked out and wonder if I am going to feel like this the rest of my life which just makes me more depressed and desperate. The second is finding something to do to occupy your brain. For me it's online poker. Poker is the number one thing that helps me cope with DP. I play online sometimes 5 to 10 hours a day. Sure this is pretty lame but after a long period of time (months) all I began to think about was poker and not DP. I'd wake up thinking about certain situations, pot odds, raises, whether to play, fold, raise,etc. It takes my mind off of thought ruminating and gives me something to do each day that forces my brain to be occupied.


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## bobby_brown (Apr 24, 2008)

DRyan said:


> I get through it by thinking about suicide every day and how little I care about everything until I go to bed and do the same thing the next day.


woah thats an awful thing to say! but very poetic too I must admit.


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## paul (Apr 14, 2008)

hI,
my names Paul... I`ve suffered from dp for twenty years. Yes I know how you feel. BUT life is precious and this is why we are still here.

It may be you also have depression? A mediction that helped me a lot was phenalzine an anti-depressant. It helped take away a lot of the feelings of being unreal. It certainly made life feel like it was worth living...It may help you? Try it ... it may be the answer...

Kind regards Paul .... uk


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## MasterMind. (May 9, 2008)

I'm amazed that I can even go out & function while dealing with this. I just do it, I have to, I mean on my days off I do spend a lot of time inside, trying to focus on doing things that don't involve too much thinking but in the end, anything involves too much thinking lol. Just keep trying & hope that the next day is a better one.

PS - Thanks for posting the meditation technique! I'm gonna give it a try! :lol:


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