Anxiety and Feeling Unreal

[Rachel_X]

I'm under a lot of stress at the moment and have been suffering from a lot of anxiety. I have noticed that there are periods where I get so anxious I feel unreal and completely detached from my body. Unfortunately I find the only way to confirm my realness is by self injuring. I wonder if anyone else gets this? Is it a symptom of anxiety or is it something else?

 

[weechatterbox]

hi rachel,
i get this disassociated/detached feeling a lot. it's horrible. definitely a symptom of extreme anxiety! unfortunately i don't know how to stop it...but be assured you're not alone in this feeling.
gxxx

 

[Becks78]

feeling unreal...

I had this for a long time and still get it from time to time. I am quite sure it's a symtom of anxiety. When I used to get the detached feeling I liked to drink alcohol as oddly this seemed to make me feel 'real' again.

Doctors didn't know what it was and used to ask me if I thought I was depressed. One day it just went away on its own and didn't come back for years. I find that the best thing to do is to almost accept it and get on with your day, you might find then that the detached feeling just goes as you're not concentrating on it so much. I know this can be diificult though...

Just try and take comfort from the fact that you're not alone and lots of people experience these feelings.

x

 

[quality factor]

Hi, I too suffer from the same problem....de-personalisation. It comes with acute anxiety. I have to concentrate hard to bring myself back to a sense of reality.
QF.

 

[Becks78]

Hi Quality Factor...

It's awful isn't it? For me it's like I almost float above myself and look down on my body from the outside. It really does take effort to bring myself out of this state too and to be honest I have no idea how I even do it. I guess I just have to really concentrate on what is 'real' and allow myself to absorb everything that is going on around me: the sights, the sounds the smells etc

I think beta-blockers have helped a little too and I find that certain conditions enhance the feeling. For example florescent lights make me feel surreal and large open spaces llike indoor shopping centres...

 

[quality factor]

Hi Becks,

Yes it's a really wierd feeling, I have developed little habits that I use to try and bring myself back in the here and now. I tend to tense my body and then release it to try and 'get back'. I too find certain indoor places set me off, for some reason the Food Hall gets to me!
I have always found it difficult to try and explain the sensation to my pdoc, but they seem to quickly pick up on what I am saying and ask are you very stressed?...usually they've hit the nail on the head.

QF.

 

[Rorschach]

I'd accept that it's not a usual experience, and having experienced something similar to it in my youth, I understand it is very scary. That said their are many traditions where such a dissassociative state might be considered spiritual. I'm not going to go all hocus pocus on you, but it might be interesting to attempt something creative during the periods (if you're not in the middle of town on a Saturday. Some abstract art created in this state would be very interesting from an artists perspective (Apo will no doubt have something to say, he's an adept artist!!), but also if you were to eventually see a therapist some sort of art diary would be very interesting and helpful for them. If you're not into painting or drawing perhaps keep a journal/diary and do some free association writing??? Has to be worth a try beyond self harm???