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Do you ever experience derealisation and/ or depersonalisation?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Canterpiece, Nov 26, 2017.

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  1. Canterpiece

    Canterpiece
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    I sometimes do, and it can feel quite bizarre. It usually starts with my focus zoning out of what I was doing, and picking up on random things in the room, jumping from one thing to another trying to take it all in. I try to bring back my focus to whatever it was that I was doing, but my brain can't seem to filter anything out and this time it isn't flicking between different sounds or smells, instead it's taking everything in at once which can be overwhelming, and an urge to leave is common.

    However, if I do stay then my surroundings start to feel unreal, and feeling out of place and/or disorientated sometimes follows. That's when the final stage kicks in, I feel myself retreating into my own mind as everything around me becomes unintelligible, I zone out without meaning to, only to suddenly catch myself.

    I remind myself of where I am, and what's going on. Then I take a few breaths if necessary. Focus on something really mundane, for example; a wall. Reach out and feel the texture, the bumps or any rips in the wallpaper.

    Keep focusing on that wall, somehow by doing this my surroundings start to feel real again, and not the dream like blur that they once were.

    Then I usually look around to see confused looks from people, and spend sometime alone or with a few close friends, either outside or somewhere that's inside but quiet. After that I'm fine.

    Have you ever experienced something like this? :thinking:
     
    #1 Canterpiece, Nov 26, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2017
  2. Loves books

    Loves books
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    I read a lot. For instance I can read for several hours straight and notice nothing around me. I lose track of time and I wouldn't notice if someone was right in front of me saying really mean things. That actually happened and I still don't know what she said. I had a vague memory of someone near me but no memory of what was said. I was so far in to other worlds the real one disappears. Its kind of disorienting when I finish a four hour reading session with a really long book and find myself back in the real world. It takes a while to leave the fictional world and transition back to reality. But noticing random stuff in my room only happens when I see a dark shape. I stare for a while and it starts moving. I blink and look again. If it stopped moving everything's fine. If it still moving I run and find someone to deal with the arachnid that had the audacity to enter my room.
     
    #2 Loves books, Nov 26, 2017
  3. Mahidevran

    Mahidevran
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    yes. I've been diagnosed with derealisation-depersonalisation syndrome.
    the longest episode I've had was over 7 months long and it was very exhausting. I felt as if I was trapped within a bad computer game. nothing around me felt real.
     
    #3 Mahidevran, Mar 12, 2018
  4. Gal Mencej

    Gal Mencej
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    I sometimes forget I exist if I'm not focusing on anything, when I look at my hands I always think they're someone else's and I often forget the difference between reality and fiction...It's annoying when people are talking to me and I don't respond because I think to myself that they can't be talking to me if I don't exist
     
    #4 Gal Mencej, Mar 12, 2018
  5. LoveWinzzz

    LoveWinzzz
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    Sometimes, when I go to the bathroom, I see myself in the mirror. I stare back at this random, awkward person who is just as confused as I am. I stare at their hair to their nose to their lips and as twenty minutes pass, I begin to realize that that person is me.
     
    #5 LoveWinzzz, Mar 12, 2018
  6. LaurenSkye

    LaurenSkye
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    Sometimes when I am driving, I will lose track of where I am and where I am going. During that time, I am paying attention to the road and driving safely, but every so often I will be like "Where am I?" Usually I am right where I am supposed to be and didn't miss any turns or anything.
     
    #6 LaurenSkye, Mar 12, 2018
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