Fear of Earth floating in space

I asked this question a few days ago.  Does anyone get a fear that the Earth is floating in space and we are just standing on a ball?  This is the main fear I have.    If there isn't something else to fear, I fear the Earth being a ball in space, and feel completely overcome with fear.  More fear than I have read about so far on BB.  Any help/experience with this?

I'm sorry I don't so far. I cannot help you with this. It must be very difficult. At least you're not a flat earther 

 

What do you do? Have you tried cold plunges? Emotional freedom tapping? Those things help with fear.

How long have you had this fear? Have you tried any of the things that helps withdrawal fears in general? I don't think it matters what your exact fear is, you can tackle the brain to try and overcome it anyway.

Ive had this fear for many years.  The Klonopin always took it away.  Now I have no life.

You had this fear before Klonopin? Wow I have never heard of it before. Why did you stop the klonopin?

 

Could you change your brain into being indifferent about it? Like yes we are all just tiny ants on a ball floating through space so what does it matter? We don't ever really matter to anyone but ourselves is what I learned too late.

No, I am the only one that has this fear.  There is no point continuing this w/d process when my fear is clearly mental illness.  Everyone has similar symptoms except me.  My fear is completely worse, all emcompassing, and thoughts others dont get.  I get reactions like "Wow!"  or "I've never heard of that".  Goodbye BB, I'm have much more serious issues than a w/d.

Hi gonzo, I'm sorry, don't leave. You can still get support here. We do our best. Perhaps one of the older members or moderators has some words of wisdom for you?

No, I am the only one that has this fear.  There is no point continuing this w/d process when my fear is clearly mental illness.  Everyone has similar symptoms except me.  My fear is completely worse, all emcompassing, and thoughts others dont get.  I get reactions like "Wow!"  or "I've never heard of that".  Goodbye BB, I'm have much more serious issues than a w/d.

 

Did you have these fears when you were taking the Klonopin?

Was it for the entire 20 years of use or had it become more pronounced as time passed?

not sure.  Think it was pretty much there the entire time.  Now it's crippling.

Let me know if I’m incorrect in my assessment of your situation.  Your were put on Klonopin but your dose had to keep increasing because it wasn’t as effective as it had been in the past.  Finally, no amount was providing any therapeutic value so you decided to quit.

 

When we become tolerant to our dose, we begin to have symptoms of withdrawal so if you were having these fears while still on the Klonopin, it was most likely caused by the drug.  Once you quit, those fears become full blown and you doubt your sanity, but I firmly believe what you’re feeling and thinking is a result of the drug.

 

Something I thought I’d mention, people talk about windows and waves but I think it may be different for people who quit cold turkey.  I had one window that lasted a few seconds, I felt it as I was walking up my stairs, I still remember how wonderful it was.  But I never had a wave, I just felt bad all the time.  I’ve never done a survey about this but wondering if you feel waves?

 

 

How does the Klonopin cause these fears if its an anti-anxiety drug?

When our body becomes dependent, when the dose we take no longer addresses our reason for starting it we must increase the dose to achieve the same effect, this is tolerance.  When I first started taking Klonopin for sleep, it worked like a charm but after awhile, it took more and more for me to be able to sleep and of course, I had to start taking it during the day because I’d get interdose withdrawal.  I couldn’t keep increasing the dose and besides that, I started experiencing new behaviors like anxiety and paranoia.  It’s a great drug until it isn’t.

 

I had a similar fear. Nightmares about the earth turning in space and me knowing I couldn't hang on and would be spinning out into oblivion. It was terrifying. I can't explain how profoundly and utterly frightening I found it.

 

Finally figured out that it signified something deeper. I now think it came from a realization of how completely out control my life was. That's terrible English  I really mean that I realized I wasn't in control of my life; other forces were. Here we are more out of control than ever before, too!

 

We do have incredible fears. So much worse with the benzos. I think you'll repair, I really do!

Hey Gonzo,

 

I'm sorry you're struggling so much. I have read about your fear before, and I understand you had the fear before K as well. I would highly suggest speaking to a therapist, maybe one that is specialized in OCD. I am NOT saying you have OCD (but you do have an obsessive fear). The therapy types they use are different than regular therapists and are used to overcome fears, especially debilitating fears by making you face them in a controlled environment. I understand that intense therapy is not always recommended during tapering/withdrawal stages because of misdiagnoses and also an unsettled CNS however if the fear was there before, I'm not surprised it has resurfaced during this stressful time. Know that there are options out there for you and you aren't doomed to living in this fear forever.

Hi Gz, I pm'd you; didn't see that you CT'd from such a high dose! I spoke with a doctor last week who told me about an 85 year old attorney. The doctor had helped him off 6 mg of Clonazepam. He'd been on it for about 20 years. It took a year for him to get off of it.  The doctor told me in her view, the Clonazapam unstrings the nervous system and it just takes a long time for it to recompose itself.

 

Going CT must have been crazy hard for you! Very brave. I hope this thing settles down for you soon!

I have certainly had panic/fear/terror about my mind being untethered and kind of floating away when I have DPDR episodes. I remember being gripped by the most incredible fear. Fear I never thought was possible.

 

*touch wood* I haven't had one of those episodes in months.

 

You will get there!

You're only five months off, from a cold turkey leap! You've got to cut yourself miles of slack. You're not abnormal, you're just acutely recovering. People get bound up in all kinds of fears on this forum. Many think they're dying of a disease, or the benzos have somehow broken them beyond repair. People are afraid to go out. They're afraid to get out of bed. They're afraid to ride in cars. And on and on ad nauseam. The fears are irrational so being rational with yourself apparently doesn't work. At all. Distraction is the best go-to that I know of. That and doing things for others. When you're well enough, things around the house.

 

You're not nuts. And you won't fall off the earth. You're in recovery, and it's a pistol until it's not.

You need time to heal your brain + therapy to deal with your fear. I have heard of some of the craziest fears that I couldn't even conjure up in my head if I tried from some people in my OCD community. You won't be able to get rid of this thought permanently but with therapy you can build a healthier relationship with it and live with it without anxiety or fear towards it. Look into ACT or ERP as therapy modalities. I have terrible thoughts that bring me a great deal of fear and mine are rooted sometimes in reality and sometimes not. Working with a therapist and letting my brain heal has brought me to some healing. I do not believe that we should be passive in our recovery, time isn't the only factor here. We need some intervention to create a healthier relation with our thoughts and fears. It is possible.

Thanks Birdie.  Do you think the fear of this will diminish?  I’m at 5+ months, and it still obsesses me as much as during the 1st month.

Yes.

I asked this question a few days ago.  Does anyone get a fear that the Earth is floating in space and we are just standing on a ball?  This is the main fear I have.    If there isn't something else to fear, I fear the Earth being a ball in space, and feel completely overcome with fear.  More fear than I have read about so far on BB.  Any help/experience with this?

 

Thats funny to me. I sometimes have scary dreams about this. My dream has me looking at the sky at night and seeing space ships or asteroids attack the planet and them the ground shakes under me and earth blasts out of its atmosphere in some deathly cosmic dance, and when the earth rumbles I lose my footing and flip . You are still in the "bad acid trip" phase of your post detox interval. Try not to trip out on these thoughts. The ancients feared this too. If this is a long term neurosis, read about it. You are probably not the only one who finds this disturbing

 

keegan, where can I read about it?!?!  I have never heard of ANYONE else having this.  What do you mean by the bad trip phase?  Im 5+ months from CT.  You mean there are more phases??

keegan, where can I read about it?!?!  I have never heard of ANYONE else having this.  What do you mean by the bad trip phase?  Im 5+ months from CT.  You mean there are more phases??

 

There is the get better phase which you are on your way to. You are in the toughest spot now, but healing.

Hi Gonzo,

I would like to suggest that this unusual fear of yours is actually rooted in something deeper and is being expressed through your image of the Earth floating in space, like a metaphor. You may need help exploring what it is about that image that is triggering to you. Is it the surrounding darkness? Is it being limited to a single point within infinite possibilities? Could it be the fear of falling (failing) off the ball? Could it be a memory of something going on in the background (a movie for example) while you were enduring trauma earlier in your life that you suppressed the memory of? My point is that focusing on the metaphor (if that is what it is) and not the actual problem is not going to get you through this.