So a few months ago, I experienced something new. It was weird. It was all in my head. It lasted a couple days and then disappeared. What I felt was this odd detachment from my surroundings. I was in a constant fog. I felt like I was sitting in the back of my skull viewing the world through my eyes. I wasn't on drugs. I asked around after my experience and nobody noticed any abnormal behavior from me. Now that I've done a little bit of research, I've concluded I was experiencing a brief episode of depersonalization. Some deal with more extreme versions and far more often. Here's a good article on the subject: depersonalization disorder Knowledge is power!
Um..well, you shouldn't diagnose yourself with anything, especially disorders. This could lead to somewhat of a placebo effect, where you believe that you truly do have this. If you're concerned about your mental health, I suggest that you seek out a therapist, who will give you a more accurate diagnosis. With that being said, yes, I have felt that way before. I have a specific disorder that forces me to go through it but what's interesting about mental disorders is that so much could be going on inside your head to the point where you believe it's effecting everyone, but in reality, no one notices. That's what makes mental disorders so hard to understand, let alone explain.
I wouldn't diagnose you. I have had this happen to me. It happened the last time I was in the hospital. It was a way of coping with the fact that I was stuck in a place with no freedom and I was stuck there of a while.
I don't have depersonalization, but I before I got on my meds, I had a tendency to dissociate. I would feel like I was wrapped in clear plastic or cotton, like every feeling and emotion was felt trought a protective layer of something and not as strongly as it usually was. I would feel numb and distant and I swear it was like all my senses were dulled, or I was experiencing everything from somewhere inside myself, if that makes sense. Now that I've been diagnosed with schizophrenia and put on meds, though, I rarely ever have it any more. Like others have said, be careful with self-diagnosing, and see a mental health professional instead, especially if it happens again.
I get both depersonalization/ derealization and dissociative episodes as a result of my mental illness, if you feel like it is something that is really affecting your life (it happens to me in class for example) maybe you could try to see a psychiatrist? If you don't think it's at that level of seriousness or if you can't afford a psychiatrist then I don't think there's any harm in researching it on your own Self-diagnosis can be helpful for many people; sometimes it's just the knowledge that you're not alone and there's a label for what your brain is doing haha.
I'm not going to diagnose myself, but one of the reasons it is so easy for me to not give a damn about people or things, is my natural ability to depersonalize. I'd say there's a likelihood something like this could fit me, but I'll leave that to the professionals to figure out. The fact I know that about myself, allows me to deal and use it.
I agree, self-diagnosis can be very dangerous and you never want to undermine the role of professional like a doctor or therapist. But in my case, I'm simply staying informed. My therapist had no opinion on my brief experience. This thread was just a way to share an article and help everyone gain some knowledge on the matter. And I'm not quite sure "placebo" was the word you were looking for. I'm not too worried about it. I haven't experienced anything like it since. And like you mentioned, it was just nice to find that there was a face to what I went through and that I wasn't alone. My heart goes out to the 2% mentioned in the article. I would say I'm consistently low energy, but I wouldn't say unusually tired. If I remember correctly, I was feeling extra stressed/depressed at the time, which may have been the cause. But who knows.
I have had similar experiences.... I would wake up from sleep feeling totally dusconnected from myself and the surroundings. And every action felt delayed and I had this numbing fatigue..... It feels very weird as if you are being undone. Dont know whether it is serious enough to visit a doctor?
It's good when people are saying not to self-diagnose. If it interferes with work, school, social, or basic functioning, you should see a doctor. This disorder supposedly manifests itself after ongoing trauma or an incredibly jarring traumatic experience. That's what I've read about it. But I'm no expert. I just read things here and there.
I haven't had this, but a friend of mine did while he was going through some serious depression. It sounded terrifying.
