Depersonalization

[muzikluvr79]

I admit, yes I have had increased stress due to the holidays, but I have been experiencing depersonalization much more frequently, which I only would have occasionally (once or twice a year). I actually didn't even really know there was a term for the way I was feeling, but I did a bit of research and found "Depersonalization" to be somewhat accurate.

Anyone else experience this? The only way I can explain it is moments where I think "am i really alive".

[alankay]

Muzik, I can only tell you what I understand about this from my docs and readings, etc.
When we are anxious our blood gases are not right. Not that it's harming us but the CO2/O2 ratio is off because of the poor/improper breathing that goes on. Blood pressure/pulse also is higher. Also adrenaline is much higher as well as cortisol. Many blood vessels constrict, etc. So all this stuff goes on and the brain is getting the same blood as the rest of the body(blood gases off/adrenaline & cortisol very high/BP/pulse way up). So this blood is much different than when in a "normal" state, the brain and therefore your conscious self, feeling "something is different/wrong" from this all and interprets it or tries to. Some get a headache as well as other symptoms, some get shakes, some feel just lightheaded, or dizzy. Others feel a "feeling of unreality"(I think what you're referring to). Or that's the way their brain/mind interpret this in addition to the symptoms of racing heart, fear, etc, etc, the list is long.
Now as time goes on and we notice/question these feelings and we may start to worry more and more and may notice these symptoms more and more. Pretty soon the worry, just from the symptom(s), start to work on us and add to the anxiety so we start to worry more about them and wonder if we're 'losing it', etc, etc( but we never do lose it, just worry about it). Kind of like an infection as a result of a dirty cut, NOT a cause in itself. Clean the wound, the infection clears. Reduce/treat/better understand the anxiety, symptoms dissipate. I hope that helps. Message me any time. Alankay

[jon mike]

Its probably more like Derealisation at a guess, not many people actually experien
ce it I've come to see, I had awful times of it for maybe a year at a time, I now know that it stems from just a high level of anxiety and stress, what it actually is, well its hard to explain but when we were say chased after by lions our fight and flight response would kick in for exactly the thing its meant to do but if we were caught by the lion then our brain would try to detach ourselves some what basically to give you a much less painful death. Dosent work in 2011 though does it :-)

[muzikluvr79]

Yeah it is really one of those things that is hard to explain. I started seeing a therapist this week and she told me similar to what Alankay said, that it is a result of the actual panic attack and that it may be due to increase anxiety. All I know is it is strange and very hard to explain.