Dealing with Depersonalisation

[ThatEmoNonbinary]

Hello you lovelies!

I have issues with depersonalisation, which developed after a few years of having constant panic attacks. While it helped my anxiety, it seems to make my depression a lot worse...

So I was wondering if any one you out there have any tips in getting out of that distant mindset or tips on helping it! Because currently most of my core coping mecanisms are, to put it lightly, unhealthy and i want to get better and stay better!

For me when I get it, I feel very floaty, like my limbs are going to float away but im still here, everything I think about feels unreal. Like im in a dream, not a lucid one, just a regular dream and I'm watching through a characters eyes. I feel like any decisions I make won't actually effect me, even though at the same time i distantly know it will.

Do any of you awesome humans ever get this tooo? I know its normal and quite common for those with mental struggles, but everyone gets it differently. So how does dissasosiation feel to you if you want to share?

Aaaanyway i have some tips for you all who have it as well:

• Engage in a contestation with someone. It feels awful to me but i force myself into it. DONT TALK WITH SOMEONE ABOUT SOMETHING BORING, for me it makes it worse. Call up someone or find someone who has the same passions as you and discuss them!
• Have someone sit on you. Sounds silly but my limbs get very light feeling when i have this and pressure helps. Random times at the shops or somewhere in public ive had my sister sit on my lap to ground me. I also have my dog sit in my lap most of the time.
• Get school work/work done. This isnt so much of a coping way but more so that i find it easier to do boring chores or work done when im like this, so try it out as well if youre comfterble and get stuff done.
• Get off electronics. For me its like going further down the rabbit hole. it makes my disassociation feel endless and that often leads to dark thoughts.

Hope these helped or someone can also give me other healthy tips!

[jess334]

Hi there,

Thanks for this post. I think its great when everyone shares ideas for wellness.

Your tips are really good. I agree that electronics can make you feel worse during episodes of dissociation.

If the weight of someone sitting on you helps, you might also like a weighted blanket. I think they are pretty easy to make if you can sew, otherwise you can buy them online.

I also find that having a shower helps. The weight and heat of the water grounds me.

Kind thoughts,

Jess

[Guest6274]

Hi ThatEmoNonbinary,

I am 45 years old and Dissociation has been my life for as long as I can remember. The first thing about it is that I feel numb, both physically and emotionally.

Another big thing is that the world is never really real to me. It’s like I am constantly looking at the world, thinking, “how is any of this even real, are all these people even real?” This is going to sound strange but it’s like, I notice other people acting as if life is real so then I act as if it is real too. It’s not like I have no connection or feeling toward people but everything has a dreamlike quality and I feel like I’m going to wake up and my life has just been a dream. I also tend to feel as though I am not in my body.

All this happens on a spectrum going from slightly unreal to really unreal.

TIPS

-Connecting to nature is a big one for me. I like to garden and look after plants and just connecting with earthly things that are real and living makes me feel grounded and more here.

-Connecting to animals is really important. When I am really dissociated my cat will start acting out and become really naughty. I know then that I really need to stop doing whatever it is that is causing me to be “not all here” and calm down and spend time outside with the animals.

-Sometime I need to completely unplug from people, the internet, tv, music because I am simply just overstimulated by my environment. That’s when I will go and have a lie down and let my mind freewheel and think about nothing until I can feel my body again and feel in my body again.

I’m not sure what causes dissociation but I know it is worse for me when I am anxious and highly anxious.

I don’t know if this is helpful😊

ThinkingAlot