[acter]

Anybody going through this or am I the only one?

[Hope]

Hi Acter,

You are not the only one. I’ve experienced derealization/ depersonalization in the past and still do from time to time. Many people experience this when anxiety levels are very high- at least for me. I know it can be really scary to feel like that. I think grounding exercises would be helpful. Good luck!

[sucsmile1]

Yes! I experienced that through my postpartum anxiety!

Grounding excersises. And therapy really helped a lot!

[if-the-stars-align]

You’re most definitely not the only one. I experienced it for many years.

You know, sometimes our bodies do things that are considered “disordered” just to survive a very terrible situation. Once we are safe, however, the behavior can get in the way of living life the way we want to.

I’m just pointing this out because I want you to know you’re not broken or crazy. You’re a hero for surviving whatever it is that made you need to disconnect in order to survive.

I hope that you’re currently in a safe place and find true healing ❤️

[Zipa Leah Scheinberg, LCSW]

Hi Acter,

You certainly are NOT the only one. Depersonalization and derealization are more common that people think, and are mostly underreported because people tend to hesitate before bringing it up with their friends or therapist. After all, the purpose of DP/DR is to help one hide in plain sight, so it certainly wouldn’t be noticeable (in others) in a regular setting unless you were really looking out for it!

One of the biggest signs that you are healing is that you notice when it is happening and you bring yourself back to the present. That is undoing, or unwiring, the brain’s neurons from living in the past and helping your brain to update itself that things are better now than they were in the past, and that it’s more safe to be present.

Please give yourself a lot of self-compassion and understanding. Your nervous system needed DPDR for a reason. It was a vital survival mechanism of signaling danger and threat. As you are able to verbalize and feel the nervous system’s messages and memories and talk about them or release them, this symptom may not longer show up as frequently, or even at all.

I hope that this is helpful. Wishing you much hatzlacha in your journey,

Zipa Leah Scheinberg

[Author]

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