I Feel LikeA Stranger In My Own Home

[RustyIce]

Its a surreal feeling, it feels like my anxiety has manfiested itself into something else, i dont feel the same anxious like i did before, It now makes me feel strange to the world, and to myself, its quite scary, i seem to be able to do things on a normal basis with no fuss. Yet i feel like i am turning into a different person, and the people round me feel different also.

Please tell me someone else has felt like this?

[danstelter]

I'm sure this is not unusual. I have felt this surreal dissociative state before in my life as well and it is quite scary. This is a pretty intense anxiety level. Seeing a professional and engaging in very rigorous work to reduce your anxiety would be a very good idea if you want to avoid these unpleasant feelings.

Diet appropriately, exercise, see counseling (HELPED ME A TON), and talk to supportive friends in real life or on this website, and you will slowly but surely notice decreases in your anxiety, and eventually, after a couple years or so, you will get to the point where you no longer experience this very high anxiety level you are experiencing now!

Good job identifying this as anxiety and get to work on it right away!

[Topcat]

[quote="danstelter"] after a couple years or so, you will get to the point where you no longer experience this very high anxiety level you are experiencing now!

[quote]

Yes, this is true although it may not take years so don't let that sound scary, I was at a point in my life where I honestly thought I would never lead a normal life again and I too experienced a weird feeling like nothing was real, the only way I can describe it is if I had been placed into my life where I didnt fit, my head always felt like it was floating, in a dream state and I felt NO ONE had a clue what I was a going through, I felt I was alien to everything and I couldn't think clearly and when i did think it made me panic more - but I came through it, you need to remain positive and tell yourself this is not going to last forever, counselling may help and as danstelter said, diet and exercise will help together with plenty of sleep (if you can get it) and staying hydrated.

Good Luck

[RustyIce]

Thanks Alot guys, the only other thing i can think of really, is that maybe on a positive that i am returning to my normal self, yet maybe its a surreal thing due to the fact i havent felt 'normal' for such a long time, My anxiety levels itself dont seem that high, i dont really get worried about half as much as i used to do. You think its possible that it takes time to adjust in being 'normal' again, and that the surreal feeling is maybe that ive not got hardly any of the symptoms i had before, such as head blockage, dizziness, fast heartrate, etc.?

[Wayfarer]

hey what you've described sounds very similar to what i experienced from about the age 17 to 21. i had on-and-off episodes of pretty serious depression, although at that age it's not unusual to experience emotional problems. but a lot of the time i had this really strange feeling of kind of existing inside my body yet being detached from myself and from everything else around me, and also of being quite numb. it was kind of like my life was just a virtual world like quake or halo, right? anyways i don't think it helped that i listened to a lot of depressing music like radiohead and kind of got into that whole teenage bleak outlook. i can't really remember exactly how or why i stopped feeling that way, altho i suppose it comes back in very brief, very small doses every now and then. i'm 25 now, by the way, and still dealing with depression and what i now realise is most likely generalised anxiety disorder. but just wanted to say that you're not alone, i've felt what you're going through and i'm sure plenty of others have too.[/list]

[RustyIce]

Thanks man, Im 22 so it seems like a similar time, i do get bouts of depression also, I also believe its otherthinking things, and putting myself into a state like that, It sounds selfish but its good to know that people are feeling the same.

As for Radiohead, what were you thinking man?! :lol:

[Evilbob333]

Hi,

What you're describing is known as Depersonalization/Derealization and it is commonly thought to be one of the most distressing symptoms of anxiety. It affected me to such a level that i kept getting repetetive thoughts that the world we live in isnt real which resulted in me taking two months of work and becoming housebound. Thankfully, less than a year later i'm now in a position that i'm functioning normally alongside these thoughts, recognising them as just such. My turning point came after i had a HUUUUUUUGGGGGEEEE anxiety attack and had to get my mum to come and get me...i was in such a state, i kept saying 'How do i know that any of this is real? But what if it isn't?'...got really really wound up, told my mum i thought i needed to go to hospital, the job lot...but after a while i calmed down and went to sleep and then woke up in the morning. I kinda figured at that point that this is the only world i have ever known...so its real enough for me.

I can still put myself into this dissociated state or find myself into it, especially when i'm tired or hungover (alcohol may well be my worst enemy on this planet!!!!) however through CBT i have learnt to begin to reevaluate this sensation as something a lot less important and so pay it less attention and over time you'll notice it less. Lots of rest also helped me, as i'm sure taking a vitamin B complex did...not sure why but i'm sure that it helped!

Cheers