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Derealization


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I think it has to be one of the most bothersome symptoms. Anyone else feel life isnt very real? Or like when you look at something its not the same as it used to be? Had a good day then this afternoon having some symptoms, currently at work and its hot, gtg for now
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I was hit hard with this for the first two months.  I never could put it into words.  I tried to describe it as like being in an old horror movie with bad camera Angles and strange lighting effects.  Sometimes I said it was like I was in the twilight light zone.  Maybe the w/d is distorting our depth and light perception combined with the false motion sensations and balance problems?  I don't know but it was freaky.  I am glad to be able to tell you it faded away, day by day, starting at the beginning of the 3rd month.
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[02...]

I understand very well what you're describing, as I have had d/r in my past. When I c/t Effexor.. I had it 6 months straight  :o

To me, it was like questioning if everything was real or not, as you explained.

Perhaps I would pick up a spoon, and it seem like it wasn't real or I was in some parallel universe. It is the most horrible thing to have and experience IMO too.

In my case, usually depression followed it.

 

Hopefully this symptom will subside for you.

 

 

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Sigma, I can't imagine what it would be like dealing with d/r or d/p without a break for 6 months >.<  Definitely deserve some sort of scout badge for that one!

 

Derealization seems to put our minds in some sort of unwanted philosophical reality.  It makes you question everything you believe in and even the empirical nature of your surroundings. It can cause great emotional stress thus exacerbate anxiety and depression. I have had some bouts with it but thankfully I came back around in a decent amount of time.

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Yes the parallel universe feeling... its horrid but the DR/DP has subsided to a degree. I was just wondering how many others here deal with it or suffer from it and could share thier experiences
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[02...]

"Parallel Universe" is the only word I can find to describe it.

 

Crono, yes I had it for 6 months, also d/p and it was hard, and then.. 2002, I DID NOT know what it was.

I researched the web back then. I used Yahoo and AOL. These forums were not so much available then.

I found a support group on Yahoo  ::) But most of them were taking a medication for it, and yes, it was a Benzo.. I suppose those people from then are now in this Benzo generation, and are healed or coming off the Benzo.

 

dedwards, I coped with the d/r and I had d/p as well.

I can post some of the techniques I used.. if you'd like.

 

Hopefully others will chime in as well. :)

The d/r and d/p.. I have had it in bouts, but when it gets thick.. that's what worries me.

It's actually harmless, though it feels like you're going to die from it.. you will not.

 

S#

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Very glad to see others have experienced this too; I've tried to explain it, but always feel like others are probably thinking, "Yea, he IS going crazy!"  ;D

 

Good descriptions of this feeling; I don't experience it very often now (I'm 8months off).

 

Blessings!

 

Sir William

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The DP/DR  would happen for very short periods early in  tapering, and then stopped for awhile...now that I'm further into the tapering, I'm feeling more episodes; in fact, I'm in one now, although the dizziness at this time also plays a part. 

 

It will get better. 

 

Thoughts and prayers,

Kat

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[02...]

d/p and d/r both get better. Some people have it for years, but if it's withdrawal.. it will most definitely get better!

After my c/t from Effexor. I thought I was going to die with it. It got better. Of course I had to push myself by using my own techniques. My d/p and d/r were from Effexor withdrawal. I have had it some in Benzo withdrawal, but not as thick as in Effexor withdrawal.

 

Hang in there.

 

 

 

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d/p and d/r both get better. Some people have it for years, but if it's withdrawal.. it will most definitely get better!

After my c/t from Effexor. I thought I was going to die with it. It got better. Of course I had to push myself by using my own techniques. My d/p and d/r were from Effexor withdrawal. I have had it some in Benzo withdrawal, but not as thick as in Effexor withdrawal.

 

Hang in there.

 

 

 

 

That's good to know, Sigma.  When I c/t'd from Effexor about 5 years ago, I felt no symptoms, except for the brain zaps...I didn't miss those!

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[02...]
That's good it know, Sigma.  When I c/o'd from Effexor about 5 years ago, I felt no symptoms, except for the brain zaps...I didn't miss those!

 

Well, we got the Effexor out of the way :)

 

It certainly was a nightmare for me, but I c/t it. I didn't know what I was doing because of the doctor's influence, that it would be okay to c/t it. He was wrong.

 

S#

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I am a bit confused about understanding/separating dr from just having this constant brain fog.  (well, I am hardly functioning and confused all the time lately :crazy:)

I constantly feel like I am  beyond stoned out of my mind--and it is awful. I call it reptilian brain, as I do not feel "conscious" and the world appears physically darker/different as well. When I try and do something to try and "snap" out of it, it often just gets worse. It sucks big time.  I am sooo sick of it.  Is this Dr/brain fog/Dp??

Honestly, I do understand PTSD, but the surreal feeling with flashbacks/past trauma is also awful/surreal/debilitating/sucks buti it's still different from this.

I imagine explaining this would be hard with my "normal" brain function--but now, when it is really bad, well I can only say I hope someone understands this post!!!

Guess I want to try and understand/not feel so scared and overwhelmed by my fried brain function  :idiot: as well as understand just what I am dealing with now.

Thanx,

itzsweird

 

 

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Personally I think its DR from what your describing, everything seeming to appear darker/different is something that I have experienced and sometimes continue to experience, to be honest I dont know what seperates brain fog from DR as it seems the symptoms are pretty similar.Your not alone with these symptoms, mine has improved a bit although my vision almost seems like its not the same and very hard to desribe, almost like my vision is too focused?? Try to accept it and hang in there  :thumbsup:
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Have you ever watched a movie where someone is drugged and they try to show what that person is seeing by doing camera tricks?  That is how I would describe derealization.  Does that sound like what you are trying to describe itzweird?  Mine lasted 2 months and became less and less - day by day during the 3rd month. 
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[02...]
Have you ever watched a movie where someone is drugged and they try to show what that person is seeing by doing camera tricks?

 

Yes, that would be it. That parallel feeling.

There's movie called, "Numb" it's a movie about a guy who suffers with d/r.

 

S#

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Hi folks,

Yes, it does seem like a s-l-o-w motion/surreal  movie.  I Feel like a zombie.  And yes, Dedwards, the dark vision stuff just adds to the weirdness (dark, sort of amber lighting.Sometimes it is nauseating too :() I guess now I have the name for this too, and perhaps understand other posts better.

I am trying to hang, and it helps sooo much to have BB's out there who understand the method to this madness.

Blessings,

itzweird

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That's good it know, Sigma.  When I c/o'd from Effexor about 5 years ago, I felt no symptoms, except for the brain zaps...I didn't miss those!

 

Well, we got the Effexor out of the way :)

 

It certainly was a nightmare for me, but I c/t it. I didn't know what I was doing because of the doctor's influence, that it would be okay to c/t it. He was wrong.

 

S#

 

I c/t the Effexor too...in fact, it wasn't until a week or so later that I realized I wasn't on it for that long!  Wish benzo tapering would be even 1/10th as easy. 

I will edit and change the "c/o" to c/t...it was a typo. 

 

Kat

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[02...]

That's good it know, Sigma.  When I c/o'd from Effexor about 5 years ago, I felt no symptoms, except for the brain zaps...I didn't miss those!

 

Well, we got the Effexor out of the way :)

 

It certainly was a nightmare for me, but I c/t it. I didn't know what I was doing because of the doctor's influence, that it would be okay to c/t it. He was wrong.

 

S#

 

I c/t the Effexor too...in fact, it wasn't until a week or so later that I realized I wasn't on it for that long!   Wish benzo tapering would be even 1/10th as easy. 

I will edit and change the "c/o" to c/t...it was a typo. 

 

Kat

 

Kat,

 

Well, we all differ. To me the Effexor knocked me for a loop.

It wasn't as bad as Benzo w/d, but comes close.

 

The c/t off Effexor..  :o

 

I couldn't live through that again. I literally felt blasted, out of it.

 

I don't know what it did, but it didn't agree with me whatsoever.

It made me sick while I was on it anyway.. but the c/t was brutal.

 

S#

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Hi Sigma..Yes, we all differ in our reactions to different drugs.  I've read quite often about many people suffering really severe symptoms when c/t or even tapering off Effexor.  Lately I've been finding it a bit hard to express myself at times because of w/d symptoms.

 

I had actually forgotten about taking my Effexor, and remembered about a week or 2 later!  Absolutely no side effects, except for the brain zaps disappearing or at least starting to disappear at the time. :) Needless to say, I never took another Effexor again.

 

Dedwards and Itzsweird, I've been having  periods of DP/brain fog symptoms the past few days.  From what I recall, DP is when one feels "out of body"  as when  I am speaking to someone and the words don't seem to be coming from  me...like someone else is speaking.  Depersonalization in short happens when the world around us  doesn't seem real.  Seems like I have a little DR  going on as well.  For brain fog, for me it means forgetting things that I would, under "normal" circumstances, remember.  Hope I'm making sense.   It really is a strange place to be.

Take care,

Kat

 

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I found these definitions on Wikipedia:

 

Depersonalization:

Individuals who experience depersonalization feel divorced from their own personal physicality by sensing their body sensations, feelings, emotions and behaviors as not belonging to the same person or identity.[2] Often a person who has experienced depersonalization claims that things seem unreal or hazy. Also, a recognition of self breaks down (hence the name). Depersonalization can result in very high anxiety levels, which further increase these perceptions.[3]

 

One way to describe the physical manifestation of the feeling is to compare it to a film technique called the vertigo shot or a dolly zoom. In this technique, the subject of the picture stays fixed within the shot while the surrounding background is pulled away, providing a sense of vertigo or detachment. People may perceive this feeling in a cyclical manner, where the feeling is experienced back-to-back in succession.[citation needed]

 

Depersonalization is a subjective experience of unreality in one's sense of self, while derealization is unreality of the outside world. Although most authors currently regard depersonalization (self) and derealization (surroundings) as independent constructs, many do not want to separate derealization from depersonalization.[4]

 

Derealization:

The detachment of realization can be described as an immaterial substance that separates a person from the outside world, such as a sensory fog, a pane of glass, or a veil. Individuals may complain that what they see lacks vividness and emotional coloring. Emotional response to visual recognition of loved ones may be significantly reduced. Feelings of déjà vu or jamais vu are common. Familiar places may look alien, bizarre, and surreal. The world as perceived by the individual may feel like it is going through a dolly zoom effect. Such perceptual abnormalities may also extend to the senses of hearing, taste, and smell. Because degree of familiarity is itself among one's sensory and psychological data when experiencing a place, the process of derealization, by blocking identification with one's surroundings, itself contributes to the difference between one's perception of one's surroundings under derealization and what one's perception would be in the absence of derealization. For this reason, the more familiar a place normally seems, the more unfamiliar it seems when a person is experiencing derealization.

 

Frequently, derealization occurs in the context of constant worrying or 'intrusive thoughts' that people find hard to switch off. In such cases it can build unnoticed along with the underlying anxiety attached to these disturbing thoughts, and be recognized only in the aftermath of a realization of crisis, often a panic attack, subsequently seeming difficult or impossible to ignore. This type of anxiety can be crippling to the affected and may lead to avoidant behavior. Those who experience this phenomenon may feel concern over the cause of their derealization. It is often difficult to accept that such a disturbing symptom is simply a result of anxiety, and the individual may often think that the cause must be something more serious. This can, in turn, cause more anxiety and worsen the derealization.

 

Without knowing it, it looks as though I was describing Depersonaliztion In my previous post.

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This has been the most difficult symptom I have had, it makes you question your sanity but it seems to be getting better a little at a time, good post perserverence  :thumbsup:
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This topic is why Im here .. I feel just like the 1st poster .. I am 6 months benzo free after being on upto 100 MG a day of varying benzos for 4 yrs , Im also on no meds currently. I tell my husband it feels like Im waking up from a coma . I also tell him it feels like Im not attached to myself . past events and memories also feel muted or like Im remembering a story Ive heard.

 

no only do I feel like things arent real I feel like emotions Ive had or memories Ive had arent real.

 

on a good day I look forward to whats new about me today , on a bad day I feel anxiety because I dont feel like I know myself.

 

Im also into cooking and Im having trouble remembering how to do it... or Ill have a kitchen tool dont think I know how to use it and suddenly Im doing the task wondering how I know how to do this.

 

very creepy to say the least.

 

 

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