Anxiety and Panic Help, Understanding Feelings Of Unreality/depersonalisation

Anxiety and Panic Attack

Depersonalisation

In the process of writing this book I covered the feeling of detachment from oneself, otherwise known as depersonalisation: an emotional disorder in which there is loss of contact with your own personal reality accompanied by feelings of unreality and strangeness, also a sensation of ones environment looking or feeling ‘strange’ and unusual.

This one question kept coming up more and more as I was writing this book, so I decided to add an extra chapter on this annoying, yet harmless, symptom.

D.P., as I will refer to it, is a common and understandable offshoot of the anxiety condition. I can also tell you that it is in no way a mental illness. It is not serious or harmful in any way and has a totally logical explanation. It is temporary and, with patience and understanding, eventually passes like any other symptom.

The key to recovering from this feeling of detachment is to surrender to this strange feeling, to pay it no respect and realise it is just the product of an over-tired mind, fatigued by your constant worrying thoughts and the constant checking in to how you feel. This symptom relies on your fear of it to keep it alive.

When people are caught up in the worry cycle, they begin to think deeply and constantly. They study themselves from deep within, checking in and focusing on their symptoms. They may even wake in the morning only to continue this habit, “How do I feel this morning? “I wonder if I will be able to get through today". What’s this new sensation I feel?" This may go on all day, exhausting their already tired mind further. This constant checking in and constant assessing of their symptoms then becomes a habit, but like all other habits this one can also be changed.

All this worry is bound to make your mind feel dull and unresponsive. Is it any wonder you have come to feel so distanced from your surroundings? Is it any wonder you find it so hard to concentrate? Some people, when studying for exams for hours on end, get to the point where they can no longer take information in, so they take a break and carry on the day after. For you, there are no breaks and no time outs.

As I have already mentioned earlier, your body has a safety mechanism that protects it from all this worry and slows the mind down to safeguard itself. It takes a step back from this onslaught, which can then produce your feelings of detachment and the world around you may become hazy or out of focus.

Once you understand this symptom as being caused by an over-tired mind, exhausted through worry, that you are not going mad and these feelings can’t harm you in any way, it makes sense. With the fear factor taken out of this symptom, it can start to hold less power over you and affect you less than it did before. Although still annoying, you now know why you feel these feelings. Once you learn to accept them and stop adding worrying thoughts to the mix, this is another symptom that you will be able to overcome in time. Taking a step back and giving up the worrying thoughts, gives your mind the chance to rest, rejuvenate and refresh.

When it happened to me, I recognised and understood what was causing it. I realised that I was checking in and worrying about it and I did fear this sensation, so I just stopped doing it. I also learnt to get busier and stop brooding on this and other symptoms. Being active gives you another focus. Having too much time on your hands can open the door to too much needless thinking. With less worry and fear of this harmless but upsetting symptom, I was eventually able to overcome it. It merely became a nuisance and because I knew the reason for its existence, it no longer held any power over me.

When a worry or fear loses its importance, it loses its power and that is why it is essential to realise these symptoms are neither harmful nor serious. Gradually, without all the checking in and worrying, this symptom that so dominated my life began to diminish and eventually disappeared completely.

This symptom is like any other all symptoms are still being fuelled by your fear of them. As long as the fear continues, so will the symptoms. When we start to understand why we feel like we do, we automatically fear them less and they start to lose their edge and importance, this is when symptoms gradually start to fade.



Paul David spent years after his own recovery studying the whole subject in full so he could go on to dedicate his life to helping others. He then went on to write a book entitled ‘At Last a Life’ telling his own story of recovery and what took him there. For more information and better understanding of the subject visit his website at: www.anxietynomore.co.uk



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Mental Health - Your Most Important

Throughout life there are times when things are going well for us and times when we cannot seem to do anything right. Everyone experiences these periods as a normal part of day to day life. Some people are able to cope better during the times when things seem to be going wrong, while others are not able to cope at all. For some people better coping skills are able to be learned but for others their mental health may prevent them from learning these skills.

For people with mental health disorders they may need to seek professional help to learn new skills and to stop the patterns that create excessive periods of down times. Mental health services are available in most communities throughout the country. Larger metropolitan areas have more mental health services in regards to specific support groups or counselors that specialize in certain disorders. Rural communities may offer a more generic approach to mental health services along with transportation to larger communities for more specific care needs. Rural communities also rely on general physicians to prescribe medications used in treating mental disorders. Most of these rural physicians find that they need to have a consultation resource so that they can keep up with the new medications that are made available to patients receiving mental health services. It is imperative that the physician treating mental health disorders takes the time to review how the medications are affecting the person and to insure that the patient is taking the medication at a therapeutic level.

Many people still fear admitting the need to have mental health services. They fear that receiving such services makes others perceive them as weak or inferior. There is still a negative connotation connected to mental health services, however those that take good care of the mental health are less likely to be physically ill and more likely to achieve their goals. There are many situations throughout life that may affect our mental health and ability to cope with life. Getting treatment during these times helps a person to get back on track more quickly and to be able to deal with crisis more effectively the next time one occurs. Receiving mental health services does not mean that you have to be in therapy for the rest of your life, it means you are dealing with an issue at a time of need. Taking good care of our emotions is as important as taking good care of our bodies. The two are linked closely together. Many times unresolved emotional issues will manifest as physical aliments. Taking care of the emotional problem will help avoid the physical ailments.

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Teeth Cleaning

My daughter’s grandparents recently asked me if they could take her in for a teeth cleaning. I figured she was about due for one, and that if they wanted to pay for it, there was no reason to say no. She came home quite happy about her visit with the dentist, and I was glad to hear she didn’t bite anyone and she didn’t freak out. Moments like those in the past have not be quite as peaceful. I think that might change if we ever have to do something more than a cleaning. Goodness knows the dentist is not a lot of fun, but when you hear drills and strange instruments, you know someone is going to be unhappy.

Teeth Cleaning

Most children have a problem going to the dentist, and that is mostly the fear of the unknown. There are books you can read with them about going to the dentist. Though these can help, the often aren’t enough. Nothing is going to beat actually going there and seeing that everything is okay. The best way to do that is to take them in for a teeth cleaning a few times. That way, if something else happens, they aren’t going to be quite as freaked out when they have to go for something else.

My daughter really doesn’t need frequent teeth cleanings at her age, but I do get her in once a year. She starts school soon, and I know they will help keep an eye on this. I remember when I was young that we had them done right in school, with our parents permission of course, though I’m not so sure that they do this any more. I don’t even know if all schools can afford to have a dental hygienist on the staff any longer. I know we had it, but as it turned out, I found out that many of my friends that I know now never had one.

One thing that people forget about when they get older is to go in for teeth cleaning on a regular basis. I know that I didn’t do it for a while, but then again, I never thought I needed one. That thinking was rather stupid. A good teeth cleaning is good for the teeth, and it makes you feel better, at least for a little while. Now that I have to think about this for my daughter, I guess it’s time that I go in and get it done for myself more often.

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