Derealization: Could This Be Possible?
Question by him: Derealization: could this be possible?
I’m 18 and a freshman in college (living on campus). About two weeks after getting here, I got hit with some severe derealization that still hasn’t gone away, and is really affecting my studying and overall mental ability.
The last time I smoked weed was about 5 months ago, so I am not sure if this has to do with weed. Could it be possible that I am so stressed out that my body is telling me to smoke weed by having my brain simulate the “high” feeling?
I have gone to the doctor numerous times, and he wasn’t really any help. I had a CT scan and blood test done, and they both came out normal. Can somebody please help me? My life is slowly falling apart.
@countzander I said that the last time I smoked weed was 5 months ago, and the feeling didn’t start until last month.
Best answer:
Answer by countzander
Well, you could–I don’t know–stop smoking weed.
Answer by Jerry
Depersonalization/derealization: Opester, a therapist with more than 20 years of experience, specialising in dissociative disorders, and former contributor here, provided a post which is well worth viewing at: http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjGm6SZeDl.EmP3AKExBq3fh5gt.;_ylv=3?qid=20070729124635AAGBzdb&show=7#profile-info-418bccfb9324deeab3120af8e1ccb6ffaa Regard DP/DR as being purely temporary.
Advice from other therapists, and sufferers: When affected, run your hands under cold water for several minutes. Adapt the following to your situation: Look around and find 5 colours; feel 4 different textures; smell 3 different odours, and taste 2 different things. Focus on your hands for several minutes, multiple times daily. Try snapping a rubber band on your wrist, lightly, at first, then increasingly harder; remove afterwards, and pocket.
Give the EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. It is free via the searchbar at http://www.mercola.com “EFT” & “EFT therapists” or www.tapping.com (13 free videos). Professional is best. – There is a version for use in public places, (if you want to, you can claim to have a headache, as you employ the acupressure massage/tapping on your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: [repeating to yourself in your mind] ) “Even though I sometimes suffer from depersonalization/derealization, I deeply and completely accept myself”. Use the PMR, at http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html
DP/DR often results from anxiety/panic attacks, so if this applies in your case, see http://your-mental-health.8m.com/blank_25.html re anxiety, and/or panic, then pages h, & i. Neo-Reichian therapy has been recommended for DP/DR, but I suggest using the above treatments for at least several weeks, as they may well be all that are required. Also view http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization but TMS (radiation exposure) and naloxone (see www.drugs.com ) should be kept in reserve, due to their relative risks.
Read: Feeling Unreal: Depersonalization Disorder and the Loss of the Self, by Daphne Simeon and Jeffrey Abugel, and Depersonalization: A New Look at a Neglected Syndrome, and The Stranger In The Mirror by Marlene Steinberg and Maxine Schnall, and Depersonalization Disorder Medical Guide by Qontro Medical Guides, and The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) by Onno van der Hart, Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis, and Kathy Steele, from your bookstore, or www.amazon.com
Google DP/DR chat sites & forums, such as www.anxietyzone.com & http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum and ask what worked for them, such as: http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/20892-the-holy-grail-of-curing-dpdr/
Avoid any psychoactive drugs in future, or it may not respond so well to treatment.