# Dp has gotten worse! Please help



## Ryan1788 (Jul 13, 2013)

Lately my DP/DR has been way worse! I noticed a huge change about a week ago when I started my new job. My anxiety levels went through the roof causing me to fall deeper into DP. Before I started this job I hadn't worked in about a month and during that month my dp/dr was pretty bad but it felt manageable. I was excited to start working again because I thought it would help distract me from my anxiety and help reduce my DP but instead it made it 10 times worse! I work in retail and am constantly around people and running around staying busy so I think it had made me more anxious.

Before I started working again I had been doing everything in my power to try to get rid of the DP including working out EVERYDAY for at least 2 hours, going to hot yoga, journaling, going out with friends, etc... I felt like I was starting to get a tad better but then my "getting rid of dp" plan/schedule got interupted by this new job and now I work 10 hour days (because of our huge sale) and have no time for myself or to hit the gym or go to yoga or anything! I feel worse than I ever have in my life!!

I had dp/dr in the past from severe anxiety but luckily it slowly went away over the course of a year. That was about 3.5 years ago. After it went away I had thought to myself "omg I can't believe I made it through that" and told myself I would never go through that again! Well what do you know, it came back with a vengeance and it all started around the beginning of the year when I started having some bad anxiety about silly little things. That anxiety slowly got worse and worse and finally turned into DP/DR about 2 months ago and I've been dealing with it ever since, doing everything in my power to get rid of it!!

For some reason this time around feels a lot different than when I had it in the past, or maybe I just don't remember how bad it actually feels but its terrifying me!! Lately i'm so worried that this could be something worse like schiz or some horrible personality disorder. I know that most people with anxiety worry about the same thing and of course I made the mistake of googling symptoms of schizophrenia and now I can't it off my mind! I have GAD and pure-o ocd so of course I obsess over every little symptom that I have and worry that I'm loosing my mind!! Deep down I know that this is all anxiety and DP but I can't help but worry that it will turn into something worse and ruin my life!! =(

Lately I have felt so disconnected from everything and everyone it feel like I'm in a movie. I can barely hold a conversation with anyone without feeling confused. When I look at people they seem blurry. I can't concentrate on anything let alone talking to people and Its hard for me to get my words out, I feel like I stumbled on my words and struggle to find the right words to say, like my brain is just mush! I feel so tired and completely out of it all the time!! I don't even feel like i'm writing this write now.. I keep misspelling words cuz it feels like my brain doesn't work or I have to sit and think of how to spell them.

One thing that really scares me and makes me think i'm losing my mind is that I have been having peripheral hallucinations. Like i'll see a bush from the corner of my eye and think its an animal or something or i'll see some random figure and think its a person. I know this can be a symptom of extreme anxiety but it scares me. Even though this happens to everyone even without anxiety, I feel like its been getting worse as my anxiety levels increase.

It literally feels like I have a brain tumor or I'm losing my mind and I cannot seem to get these things off my mind which makes my anxiety worse and worse and my brain seriously can't take anymore stress! I can literally feel how "tired" my brain is from all this over analyzing and worry. I over analyze every thought that I have thinking "what if".. like "what if i'm having this thought because i'm going crazy" or "why am I having this thought and what does it mean?" and then I obsess over them everyday!!! Its driving me nuts and I know I need to see a therapist but I have no health insurance at the moment because of being in-between jobs. Hopefully I can get some words of advice because I feel so crazy and out of it like I need to check myself into a mental hospital which scares me even more!! =(


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## Haumea (Jul 11, 2009)

The principle is very simple: if something is helping with DP, *keep doing it*. If something is making it worse, *stop doing it*.

The point is, you should know fairly quickly. People have fear barriers about certain things that are actually good for them, but if they brave it enough to begin doing these things, they quickly find out the fear was irrational.

However, if the condition worsens over time, then that particular activity is not good for you.

(Am I saying "quit your job" or at least "cut down your hours"? I can't tell you that, but it's what I would do in your situation.)


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