How long do eye problems last?

[[Li...]]

I have been off of Xanax for 16 months and I'm still sensitive to light and seeing floaters.  How long does this last?  I've also been having ear and joint pain. 

[[do...]]

I'm 15 off Klonopin and my floaters are still a major issue. Add the floaters to DP/DR and I swear I'm seeing things at times 

 

They seem to get worse when I'm completely exhausted, so if I lay down I get a little relief.

[Guest [We...]]

The connection between DP/DR and floaters is interesting to say the least.

 

I started seeing floaters immediately after I got DP/DR in December 2010, that was nearly 4 years before I tried any benzos. I never saw them before getting depersonalization. I've talked to many people who suffer from dp and also to those who have recovered from it, and they too claim to have had all kinds of visual issues (with floaters being the main one). Sufficed to say that once dp goes, the floaters go away as well.

 

It seems that this depersonalized state does makes our visual system hypersensitive, which makes us notice floaters and cause all kinds of visual problems. I think I could write a book about the visual issues I'm facing. But at the end of the day, they're all anxiety-based. When the anxiety from benzo withdrawal subsides, they should subside alongside it, since they don't have any reason to exist in a normal, non-anxious state.

[[do...]]

That was really insightful Weishaupt! Thank you  I've been trying to understand DP/DR since this whole nightmare began and I just CANNOT understand what it is/how it works. The part the freaks me out is when I get intrusive images that don't make sense WHILE being in a state of DP/DR. Then, of course, my mind tries to make sense of it and the answer is always: "PANIC!"

 

It's exhausting. Thanks for you input.

[Guest [We...]]

That was really insightful Weishaupt! Thank you  I've been trying to understand DP/DR since this whole nightmare began and I just CANNOT understand what it is/how it works. The part the freaks me out is when I get intrusive images that don't make sense WHILE being in a state of DP/DR. Then, of course, my mind tries to make sense of it and the answer is always: "PANIC!"

 

It's exhausting. Thanks for you input.

 

Depersonalization and derealization are in essence protection mechanisms in your brain – or should I rather say a protection mechanism instead. Those two sensations are categorized as separate, but they're very similar and it depends on the person (and their genes, I presume) how they perceive it. Some people experience just derealization (the world feeling unreal), others feel both (the world being unreal and them not being in their body and it being unreal).

 

It is really difficult to rationalize dp/dr on your own by constantly thinking about it, since in this state, you generate a humongous amount of unnecessary and anxious thoughts. However, look at dp/dr from an evolutionary perspective. Let's say you walk outside and suddenly a huge nasty-looking dog would charge at you out of the blue. In this situation, your brain activates the flight-or-fight mechanism and shuts down your emotions (activates dp/dr) so it would be easier for you to resolve that dangerous situation. As you can see in this situation, that sensation can be extremely beneficial.

 

Now it becomes a problem when the sensation itself becomes a source of danger and your own fear will start feeding it. That phenomenon is very common since many people develop dp/dr after a prolonged time of stress and anxiety (that's how I got it), trauma or consuming drugs. I believe that the reason why so many people experience dp/dr in benzo withdrawal is the relentless high-anxiety that comes with it.

 

Another problem with dp/dr is that it can be more episodic for some people, and chronic for others. For the latter it can linger for a while after its initial stimulus (anxiety, withdrawal etc) has passed, which in turn may generate more fear and panic. I think the best way to deal with this sensation is to simply accept it and actually see it as a positive thing (your brain protecting yourself, albeit not in a way you want at the moment) – that should reduce the fear towards it.

[[do...]]

Interesting! A protection mechanism... I never would have known as it scares the living crap out of me. That's a funny way for the brain t protect me 

 

I wonder what it's protecting me from? A do have a background of trauma too, so perhaps that's one thing.

 

Thank you so much 

[Guest [We...]]

Interesting! A protection mechanism... I never would have known as it scares the living crap out of me. That's a funny way for the brain t protect me 

 

I wonder what it's protecting me from? A do have a background of trauma too, so perhaps that's one thing.

 

Thank you so much 

 

It is scaring the hell out of you because we are designed to experience anxiety in short bursts (and that includes dp/dr).

 

There is no use in ruminating what it is protecting you from -- it'll only make it worse.

[[Li...]]

 

 

Well, I'm not having DP/DR problems now but I did in the first few months after coming off.  What I'm left with now is light sensitivity, floaters and ear pressure/pain.  The floaters started about 30 days after coming off of Xanax and I've had them since that time.  Sometimes they are worse than others but I don't know what causes that. 

[[do...]]

Interesting! A protection mechanism... I never would have known as it scares the living crap out of me. That's a funny way for the brain t protect me 

 

I wonder what it's protecting me from? A do have a background of trauma too, so perhaps that's one thing.

 

Thank you so much 

 

It is scaring the hell out of you because we are designed to experience anxiety in short bursts (and that includes dp/dr).

 

There is no use in ruminating what it is protecting you from -- it'll only make it worse.

 

Good advice. I'm going to take it.

[[Mi...]]

I have been off of Xanax for 16 months and I'm still sensitive to light and seeing floaters.  How long does this last?  I've also been having ear and joint pain.

 

I was essentially blind for 1 year. The second year things got better, but I still had issues. I think you'll be fine withing a few months. Your at the final stages of the eye issues. The last thing that went away was the floaters.