Altered perception of the world

[jon mike]

hi, a few years ago this website really helped me with general anxiety issues, these days my levels are generally fine,
just lately though ive had some really disturbing feelings/thoughts? when i dont even feel like im anxious, i feel as though all around me is completely different, for maybe a few minutes i cannot get my bearings, everywhere looks so different and i know it sounds strange but i literally dont know where i am or who i am?? i was in the supermarket about 20 minutes ago and i looked down all the aisles and everywhere looked so unfamiliar and long and narrow like a tunnel? i look at my arms and they dont look like they belong on my body??? i look all around me and people just carry on as normal and from the my point of view everywhere looks so so different and far away from what i am used to seeing, i could go on and on, i know its just a by-product of anxiety in whatever form it takes but its really frightening, i try to rationalise the situation to try and look at it for what it is but its so hard to focus on what it actually going on, just wondering if anyone else experiences anything like this at all?

[jessed03]

You mean like de-realization Jon mike? Or a drastic change in depth perception or something?

[jessy]

Yes I think I know what you mean, I get these feelings a lot. I'm not sure if it's exactly the same as yours but I think they call it de-personalisation or something like that .
I get the feeling I'm not real & everything is a dream & everything seems brighter & bigger & far far away , it's a very scary feeling & I don't know why I get it or what causes it x

[jon mike]

hi, having trouble replying and its stressing me out haha third time lucky!
yes i think it is depersonlaistion or derealistion? its very strange, so hard to describe, its like i panic about thinking about where i am, and the realisation of where i am, it sort of reminds me that film vanilla sky, that sort of fear? god knows! i dont hink ill ever be able to put the sensation into words!

[jon mike]

over analysing my surroundings, have you ever had that feeling when you look at a word for too long and then it dosent look like that word anymore?
its like that but with everything around me, all my surrounding including people, my wife and even myself!

[hiswaywardgirl]

You're definitely going through depersonalization or derealization. I've been feeling that way lately, and it's really uncomfortable and stressful, but one thing that helps me is to "interact" with my surroundings, like touching the things around me or having conversations with people. And I used to think aromatherapy was ridiculous, but my family just bought me some essential oils, and they really help to keep me feeling "grounded" when my anxiety flares up. I just put some on my wrist (the ones for stress with natural scents like lavender, peppermint, or "tree" scents work best) and sniff it at work from time to time.

And remember... it's all in your head! (ETA: well, the overanalyzing part, at least. Lots of us have found that eating better and taking magnesium & other supplements makes some of these symptoms go away.) You used to feel normal, and you'll get back to that point again. :)

[Olive Yew]

I get dpdr all the time. It sucks. Probably the worst byproduct of anxiety there is. As frightening as it is, it isnt life threatening. You brain just gets tired of feeling intense emotion and so it starts shutting things off. Health anxiety is also a big cause of this because we live in a world where our "reality" is that we're constantly fretting over our health. We always feel threatened by OURSELVES. Because we live in this "alternate reality" and life carrying on around us is SO different from what we're feeling and our logical brains know that the signals our subconscious is sending us is false, we get derealized/depersonalized. To our subconscious, the real world is fake and it feels like we're imagining it because our fears feel more real than the real world does. Does that make sense?
So essentially it's a defense mechanism to protect the mind.

[scrambledegg]

Oh I've been feeling like this so much this week, I've described it as feeling like I'm in a bubble, or that I'm zoning out - it feels like I'm not really here and its a very strange and uncomfortable feeling.

[jon mike]

it is frightnening isnt it! its a very personal hell, i overcame all my anxiety problems about 2 years ago with simple acceptance and some therapy :-), eventually the derealisation disappeared!
i was ''stuck'' in that frame of mind for months as well, the thing now is i dont actually feel anxious, i accept my thoughts and control my breathing etc and yet it still
lands on me like a ton of bricks every now and then, so so weird

[cassether]

it is frightnening isnt it! its a very personal hell, i overcame all my anxiety problems about 2 years ago with simple acceptance and some therapy :-)

You mentioned acceptance, I'm just curious... did you know what was making you anxious to begin with? I have no idea where mine is coming from?? It sounds weird cause I'm anxious about everything now lol. But if someone said to me 'pinpoint the most stressful things in your life' I would draw a blank. I just don't 'feel' stressed :/

jon mike I know exactly what you mean! I get the exact same feeling if I have alcohol or am really tired. I will literately have no familiar association with a place I've been sitting in for hours!! Happened to me with my best friend at a restaurant not so long ago, we've been friends for ten years and for about five/ten seconds didn't know her from a bar of soap. I knew I was safe with her but had no idea where I was or what was happening.

Very scary stuff :(

[Olive Yew]

When you are in the middle of a panic attack, what's going through your head? For me it was "this is it. You're dying and you'll leave behind everything you love." What goes through your head?

[Shaun]

I have this all the time this is the root cause for everything for me to be honest this is what came first them my panic then OCD then eventually agoraphobia it's unbearable I always worry and think I haven't got no anxiety disorder this is to intense for that I've got something else and been miss diagnosed that's what I always think, I've had this before for two years and got better for 2 years and hit rock bottom again but this time feels worse and different like it's it's been amplified just wished my whole life feeling would just go back to normal I just want to get on with my life, I got better before with no dr do or OCD for ages I couldn't believe it my mind was clear I felt amazing and that's what keeps me going knowing it's possible to feel that good again it's just waiting for the mind the readjust itself and put feelings back on the right things etc it's horrible