Feelings of unreality, how do people cope with this ?

[[ro...]]

I know this is a common symptom of benzo reduction and withdrawal, but the last 2 days ive been in a state of almost always feeling unreality, like lifes a dream or i cant focus on things properly, my cognition is confused... just wondering if others have ways of coping with this apart from trying to just ignore it and get on with things... any advice welcome.. .thanks for reading

[[Be...]]

what works for me best is to just acknowledge it,,

 

"ya ok, its you again, I'll take it easy, breathe deep and wait til you go away, in the meantime I'll do the things I gotta do"....

 

it makes it a bit easier, and takes away some of its power that fuels anxiety..

[[On...]]

When it was bad for me, mindful meditation, touching things, staring at something

[[Sv...]]

I've asked this question many times on BB and distraction seems to be the best answer. Exercise helps too.

[[Mo...]]

When you say life feels like a dream.. do you mean similar to psychosis or just some dissociation ?

 

I'm sorry I can't be of much help otherwise,  dissociation is the one withdrawal symptom I surprisingly didn't experience much.

[[Te...]]

I think you're probably experiencing depersonalization and derealization. If feels as if you aren't yourself when you look in a mirror, and walking around home, out in the yard, or out in the community seems as if you are in a daze and there's just something preventing you from being in the "here and now." Everything seems distorted, almost unreal.

 

That's all perfectly normal. The best thing I found was watching silly TV shows. I avoided action shows and dramas, because they'd tend to increase my anxiety. I tried reading, but my focus wasn't right and the words didn't always make sense. I tried walking, but it was as if I was walking in a fog. If someone else was coming toward me on the sidewalk, I'd cross over to the other side of the street because I was afraid to say "Good morning" for fear that they could see my insanity in my eyes.

 

That lasted about 6-7 weeks. It was the most acute phase of "acute withdrawal," which for me lasted right at three months. By the time I hit three months, I could look back and see that I had made progress. Since then, it's been up and down, up and down, but each time I'm up it seems to be slightly better than the time before. I'm just over six months off and at the rate I am going I think I'll be fairly functional by 10-12 months off.

 

 

[[Di...]]

I had DR when I c/t off of fentanyl pain patches.  It was awful, but it did eventually go away.

 

I had never experienced DR before, and hope I never do again.

 

I mostly just stayed at home during that period of time.  Only place I went was to do the weekly grocery shopping.

[[mi...]]

I would lie down and count 200 breaths, telling myself I'd assess how I felt after those 200 breaths. Sometimes I'd have to do it again and again, but this helped me get through the worst of times.

 

Exercise also helped me get through the worst of it.

[[ro...]]

Thanks everyone for all the replies, It is not psychosis but just a feeling of seeing things in darkness and things being distant, like when talking to other people. Hope it goes away soon.

[[pr...]]

the things that helped me most with these feelings of unreality were watching really good movies and some mindless TV sitcom, only one cause i can't with the other's.

 

also, a technique given in "The Course In Miracles" where you sit down and look at all your surrounding repeating a certain phrase and right at this moment i forgot what it was.

 

but the best things to pull me out of this was just time when a window would come at me and my brain was calm. such a nice feeling when clarity hits and it can hit at any time. i pray for it!

[[vi...]]

Hi Rochan,

 

Yes, reading a book(when I was actually able to) helped. Distraction, Distraction, Distraction.

Although, many times NOTHING could distract me. So I just tried to keep in mind that all I have learned from the other benzo buddies tells me that it WILL go away.

And trust me, it WILL.

 

Clyde

 

Keep the Faith!

[[Sa...]]

What about permanent dp dr state? Im so scared

[[Sv...]]

Here is something from another web page that helped me a bit

 

Sufferers of Depersonalisation or Derealisation feel divorced from both the world and from their own body. Often people who experience depersonalisation claim that life "feels like a dream", things seem unreal, or hazy; some say they feel detached from their own body. Another symptom of this condition can be the constant worrying or strange thoughts that people find hard to switch off.

 

People often say that no matter how hard they try, they don't feel like they can interact with the world around them. They feel a sense of detachment from their surroundings, finding it hard to talk and connect with others. Also they feel no love for the people closest to them and even question if they did a certain task or had a particular conversation. The most upsetting thing is they lose a sense of who they are and can't seem to perceive themselves as being normal.

 

Depersonalisation is a common and understandable offshoot of the anxiety condition. Before going further into depersonalisation, let me clear up one thing that I get asked often. “No, you are not going mad.” This feeling comes from being constantly worried about your own problems, it is not serious or harmful in any way and has a totally logical explanation. It is temporary and, with patience and understanding, eventually passes like any other symptom.

 

Depersonalisation occurs with anxiety because you are so used to watching yourself, questioning your illness, day in, day out, that you start to feel detached from the outside world. Your mind has become tired and less resilient through watching and worrying about your symptoms. It has been bombarded with worrying thoughts and becomes fatigued. When our limbs tire, they ache. When our mind tires, we feel these strange feelings of detachment from the world around us, experiencing an almost dreamlike state, convincing ourselves that we are going mad or losing it. You are not; your mind is just so very tired and just craves a rest from all this introspection of oneself.

 

When people are caught up in the worry cycle, they begin to think deeply and constantly. They study themselves from deep within, checking in and focusing on their symptoms. They may even wake in the morning only to continue this habit, “How do I feel this morning? “I wonder if I will be able to get through today”. What’s this new sensation I feel?” This may go on all day, exhausting their already tired mind further. This constant checking in and constant assessing of their symptoms then becomes a habit, but like all other habits this one can also be changed.

 

All this worry is bound to make your mind feel dull and unresponsive, You are so concerned about how you feel, that you are letting nothing else into your day, is it any wonder you have come to feel so distanced and detached from your surroundings? Is it any wonder you find it so hard to concentrate? Some people, when studying for exams for hours on end, get to the point where they can no longer take information in, so they take a break and carry on the day after. For you, there are no breaks and no time outs.

 

What a lot of people don’t know is that depersonalisation can occur in people without anxiety or panic issues. This can occur when someone has lost a loved one, been involved in an accident or maybe a recent shock. It is the body’s way of protecting you from all the worry or hurt you maybe feeling. This is normally temporary and when say the person grieving overcomes some of the hurt, the depersonalisation will fade. The trouble with anxiety is that people suffering have a tendency to worry and the depersonalisation comes along to protect you from all this stress and daily worry. People can then feel detached, empty or emotionless. What happens then though is people begin to then worry and obsess over this new feeling, thinking its something serious or they are going mad. They may even forget their anxiety and focus solely on this new feeling, this can lead to these feelings increasing. The unreality grows as we enter a cycle of worry and fear and so your body protects you with these feelings of unreality even more, making you feel more distanced and detached. It is the very worry and fear over this feeling that keeps you in the cycle.

 

The way to move forward out of depersonalisation is not to worry and obsess about it, but to work with it there, to give it as much space as it needs and not be too impressed by it. To see it as your body protecting you and not a sign that something terrible is happening or that you are going mad. This symptom is like any other and the more you worry or obsess about it, the bigger the problem can become and the longer you stay in the cycle.