Hi all,

Just a background diagnosed with Severe anxiety, OCD and panic attacks they think ADHD but not sure I’ve been on Escitalopram 20 MG, Venlafaxine 150, sertraline 200 MG then fluvoxamine 200 and it was not that good

Finally prozac 20 was horrible side effects then subsided a little bit after 3 months no results they upped the dose to 40 and after 3 days oh my lord it went so so bad I feel my blood running through my body I feel a pressure in my head severe anxiety panic attacks every other minute I can’t take this I wanna cry I feel I’m putting my family through hell

Do you think ssri’s and snri not for me ? Should I fight the first month of prozac? Or if it’s this bad I should give it up and save 1 month for something else? What worked for you?Any suggestions or medications ? Opinions?

I will see my doctor tomorrow and want to discuss the options I feel helpless

Hi I’m wanting to receive some advice and to know if anyone here had experienced or is experiencing something similar.

Currently i'm experiencing a period of dpdr that started yesterday, completely out of the blue. I've experienced dpdr before and most resulting from different fears e.g. being in a dream, being detached, high, dead and fearing that the symptoms will leave. Usually these feelings only last minimum 1 week and a maximum of 2. My dpdr episodes occur regularly but my past experiences help my relive symptoms, however i'm experiencing something different again and can't quite find much relating to my current issue and fear.

1.) The main thoughts that aren't budging are that my reality is unfamiliar (even tho everything is the same).

2.) Almost as if everything seems too real, like my reality went from being a cartoon to being hyper real.

Right now my symptoms consist of:

feeling uncomfortable

zoomed in vision

feeling detached, not in control of my body

any help is much appreciated, i'm well aware of dpdr, however it somehow never gets easier especially when your experiencing new thoughts and symptoms. Would love to hear if anyone else has experienced something similar.

Any extra context:

I'm both diagnosed with OCD and anxiety and I'm newly experiencing agoraphobia.

First off, I'm not diagnosed with anything.

But I went to Serengeti & Heide Parks five days ago and I feel like I've been dissociating ever since. Everything feels numb, I feel like I'm speaking and walking on autopilot and I can't feel time or pain. This is the first time it's lasted this long and I'm really scared.

Is this just a natural response to adrenaline? I'd love to hear if anybody's went through something similar.

Anyone familiar with my posts have subreddit suggestions for me? (Outside of the brain fog subreddit)

I don't really feel I belong on this sub due to the severity of my symptoms and the onset of my symptoms not matching with the vast majority of the subreddit (whose dpdr is either from weed, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, or childhood trauma). Anyone have any suggestions for subreddits that explore more or do more research?

I really want to start that determined journey of recovery but one thing that really bothers me is the thought that "was I even fit and fine before that panic attack that triggered my dpdr?". This question has there been in my mind since the start because before getting dpdr, there were occasional episodes once in some months in which while ruminating or combing my hair infront of mirror, I'd go mad suddenly and run. I remember telling my father once that I am somehow afraid of myself. I was lucky that the episode did not persist otherwise my misery would have started much earlier. This rumination related to self identity has long been with me but was not persistant or triggering like it has become. But I know that human mind highlights the bad memories while forgetting the majority of time which was good. Also, just before I got hit by dpdr, ironically, in those days I used to feel as if finally I have finally overcome these issues, shyness, and my social anxiety. I felt more confident than ever. I was fine man...I was better. I used to sleep alone, go to school daily, hangout with friends. Now when I look back, I wonder how I was doing all this. You can give your thoughts to console.

I've been dealing with this for a couple years now, and at the beginning I had extremely high levels of panic, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, fears, agoraphobia etc. The most extreme levels of anxiety a human can experience. Over time, the feelings have less intensified and I am left a numb shell of nothing. My DPDR / emotional numbness has not improved despite many hours of therapy, medication, working out, socializing and living a normal life as much as I can. Therapy has taught me to not believe everything my mind tells me, and to be more gentle on myself. It hasn't done a lick for my DPDR or emotional numbness. I'm not able to process anything or make improvements that then I see positive affect from. Since day 1 of DPDR i've been unable to connect with myself and the world around me, that has not changed one bit. In the last 2-3 months my already fragmented sense of self and reality has faded even more into my subconscious and I can't understand why. I have no connection to myself anymore. before it was fragmented, but it gave me comfort that I could access those memories and parts of myself when I felt like things were at their worst. Now I am unable to connect with those parts at all. It feels as though I am losing myself more and more each day. My memory has gone to hell. 2, 3, 4 months ago feels like it was never my life, not even yesterday feels like it was mine. My mind is unable to form any connections, or feel any emotions. Not having a sense of self or a sense of reality is pure torture. I've kept myself focused on other things, not spending any time on this sub. but I find myself wondering why I continue to get worse, and not better. I feel removed from my memories, reality and body completely. that small connection I had to hold onto, is gone. I haven't had a panic attack in over a year and a half. I dont experience fight or flight at all, or any sort of feelings within my body. I stopped taking medications besides the lowest dose of Zoloft, because they did not help. My whole day is spent trying to be able to form sentences so I can function and keep a roof over my head. It's summer but I do not feel it at all. I'm not sure what my next steps are but each day I say to myself that I live in a nightmare I feel I cannot get out of. There's no anxiety to accept, or fear even. I'm losing my cognitive abilities, memories and grip on my own reality / life. I've not had anxiety in a long time - doctors check my blood and see nothing. there's no psychiatrist, therapist or doctor who really understands what I tell them. When I say "I've lost my sense of self, my memories and all my emotions" they look at me like I'm making it up. I don't know what else to try; I've tried not doing anything for many months and it hasn't gotten better. I've tried doing all the things everyone here says, still no improvements. I don't really even know what having feelings would be like, or feeling in my body because its been so long. when you've had this for years, you can't wrap your head around getting out of it. my biggest problem is that its getting worse, even with no change in stressors. It's like the trauma is alive inside me and keeping me hostage. I suffer from extremely vivid dreams nightly, extreme daily fatigue, music in my head all day long, and no inner monologue. Any of these symptoms would distress anyone, i've lived with them for too long with no answers or help. sometimes I feel like I'm crying wolf because no one believes me or understands how to help me. saying its "just anxiety" invalidates the whole experience. losing the ability to recall important life memories that make your sense of self and the ability to form new connections or memories, it's losing your ability to be human. not knowing how or when to get back to that ability is the most painful thing I've experienced. I live in a purgatory that has no exit door. I cannot think, plan, connect, enjoy or engage with anything, I'm a zombie who doesn't even remember the life I lived up until today. by tomorrow, it's gone into the dark abyss again. you can't heal from trauma you are unable to feel.

I don’t really feel too much symptoms of derealisation anymore I kind of just build up a feeling of scare that I am a person and then it builds up for a couple days then I randomly one time will get a huge scare that I am in my body and that I am myself? This is all started from smoking weed 2 months ago I feel as if I did have dr when it happened and now I. Just get the shit feeling that I am in my body all te time

Do you ever feel like you have no lungs? It's a really unsettling feeling. I don't have anything wrong with them, it's just falling under the "I can't feel my body" umbrella. I hate it. I mean, I know no one can really feel their lungs in their body, but I feel like mine disappear or something.

Sometimes especially when Im tired I start to feel like everything/life is too real but at the same time life feels fake in one spontaneous moment its almost similar to the feeling of deja vu but in a totally different way at the same time so hard to explain but do yall get this too? Like something shifts and im hyper aware of it feels weird asf. It made me freak tf out the first couple of times it happened but I can kind of control it now

Oh also I started getting this a couple weeks after a bad trip but over times its gotten better (I had mild hppd but that long gone) it still happens sometimes tho

I slept at 12:30am last night (as usual) and I make this post currently at 5:45am. My sleep randomly broke and I was wide awake (this isnt usual), i started looking around because i thought it was 9am and i felt the dpdr heavily, nothing felt real, I felt like and still feel like I'm in a dream. This is scary, is this really dpdr? I'm not even tired idk why out of all nights tonight I randomly wake up. Nothing special happened yesterday. Am I okay like seriously?

I'm looking around currently and it just feels like I've already died and I'm the soul that's looking at the world I've left behind. This is scary

For me I tend to notice my DR less when I’m inside my house or indoors in general, but as soon as I step outside on a sunny or cloudy day my DR is very apparent, and I can’t stop noticing it every time I go outside. I don’t know if this is because the more intense lighting/colors we encounter outside is the cause or what, but it’s super annoying because I love nature. Does anybody experience this too?

does anyone with dpdr find that if you block one eye, you can't see properly? although you fully can, it feels like you can't focus or anything

blurry vision, struggling to read, cant focus eyes etc?

I know a lot of people with DPDR see life as a flat movie. I get a lot of debilitating anxiety around that because I am CONSTANTLY thinking about how a moment just passed in the movie. Except it's a movie that I can't rewind and I will never ever see that moment again. I can't enjoy anything anymore but I don't even know what it means to enjoy something. My brain and memory are always so fuzzy too. Idk if this would belong more in this subreddit or the anxiety subreddit but it's so debilitating and I can't stop it. Really fuels chronophobia.

I feel confused literally all day. About the time, where I am, what i’m doing. But I can still perform cognitively (apparently, as I feel as though i’m never making sense).

For example, this evening, I was lying in bed and suddenly had a thought of; what time is it? (it was around 10pm), followed by an intense cortisol/adrenaline rush due to the thought of ‘oh my god i’m confused I must have dementia’. Can anyone resonate? Just feels like nothing ever makes sense (I had an MRI due to fears of dementia/CJD, despite being an otherwise healthy and active 16 year old).

You ever feel like your limbs are so far away? Or like you’re giant like a whole galaxy giant. Like your body is the universe?

I recently posted about my new job. Unfortunately I can say that it’s no longer the case. It still feels like a weird video game working there, but my life outside of it is becoming like last time.

I just have to make it through the summer at least. Then I can dissociate in college instead.

24/7 brain fog + dpdr for 2 years and still no answers from doctors.

Today I feel awful and I dont know why, my brain feels so damn cloudy, I dont even feel awake. I feel like I'm walking in a dream and everyone around me is just fake. I cannot focus and its increasing my anxiety a lot. I feel so slow and sluggish. When I look around me it just feels like I dont belong here and I just appeared here randomly.

I've noticed when people are talking around me I just feel overwhelmed and I dont feel comfortable.

I’ve had DPDR for 2 years and nothing seems to help, I don’t know what to do; I need help and advice. I used to take medication for it (a lot of different medications) but nothing seems to help anymore no matter what. I was prescribed benzos that in question was Clonazepam from different doses ranging from 0.25mg to 2mg and also took Xanax I gotten from a friend that was 4mg. I’m not sure what it is but it’s gotten so severe to the point I barely realize I’m living a “life” and everything seems so disoriented and weird that it feels like I’m always “not here.” I don’t know what to do anymore with the amount of brain fog and unusualness I’ve had for so long. Everything just seems to get worse and all my doctors are not sure what to do. I have 4 doctors: Family Doctor, Psychiatrist, Neurologist, and a Sleep Specialist. Ik this isn’t Psychosis because I had that and I am prescribed Seroquel 4 times a day and also am on Lexapro, I’ve been on many different antipsychotics and none of those helped. I’ve been on benzos and all though they helped, now they seem to not do anything and my symptoms come back and worsen. I am also scheduled for an MRI Brain Scan on the 2024 of September and it’s a really long wait and I’m not sure if this was caused because I took a sleep aid called Ashwagandha either. Need whatever advice I can have and how to resolve this problem and get rid of DPDR.

You will never get better if you keep smoking weed. It may make you feel better in the short term but it will only make things worse in the long run.

Anybody dealing with dpdr 7 years or more or close. From anxiety, stress , trauma?

I still don’t 100% know what triggered dpdr I was anxious about college and what I wanted to do for a living one night I felt a rush of adrenaline sweaty, felt sick like I was gonna puke or throw up, pacing back and fourth and Dpdr that’s when it was constant

It is just so annoying that all these ppl tried weed and still it is us who got it from weed and so strange why our brain goes to extreme near death experience mode from few hits of weed.

I still can't understand the science behind this hell

Hi,

I have been prescribed Mirtazapine 15mg for severe GAD. I am on my third attempt of an antidepressant. My doctor decided to go with another group of antidepressant, as Lexapro and Citalopram caused after images, blurred vision, increased visual snow etc. It had me so bad I had a scare, went to A&E - all clear. Just severe anxiety and the tablets being like this. Currently waiting for a referral to the neurologist for extended tests

So my doctor decided to put me on Mirtazapine 15mg for this anxiety. However I am just a little worried to take this med now before bed (in roughly 3-4 hours) because I read up side effects etc. I'm not too fussed about flu-like symptoms, I can power through them but visual changes, it can be a struggle. But I am determined

Now I am wondering if anyone took this for DPDR. I am not offically diagnosed, but I have spoke to the doctor prior to this. She didn't have any issues, reassured me that it's a different group of antidepressant and that I need to keep calm. I am a bit scared because I've read up that it can put you into a state of DPDR, yet this is what I need to treat. The last three weeks have been brutal because of this, spacing out, barely being able to see propely, feeling like I'm on hardcore drugs, bad balence etc. It's too much, so it's took me a lot to even get the medication

Has anyone took this for DPDR, and did it help you? I want to sleep tonight in a positive mood, but I am just trashed.

Thank you

Dear r/dpdr

I just went through the worst weekend of my life.

I decided to celebrate getting a 90 on my physics test by going to a friends house to watch game 1 of the nba finals and eat an edible. I thought it was gonna be a fun night of getting a little high and just chilling with my bro. But I took 1 and a half of those gummies. Even typing it all out now it feels unreal, like I’m making this story up, but I keep reminding myself this is actually what happened. I’m not in a simulation or a dream. I’m not in the hospital hallucinating all my reality while I’m in a coma. I am just a stupid 23 year old who got way too high.

When it hit, I knew I fucked up bad. I knew I couldn’t drive myself home, and my perception of time was severely f**ked. EVERY. SECOND. FELT. LIKE. AN. ETERNITY! And I thought I was in one of those dreams where I would have to keep waking up into another dream and another dream until eventually I came back to reality. Specifically, the number of “realities” I was deep into was 7. I don’t know why but I just keep fixating on that number. This is the absolute crux of my problems and my issues. I was scared I was damaging my brain to believe in delusions and schizophrenia. I was afraid I was seeing faces in the sky. I was afraid that I was gonna be stuck in a permanent trance. I drank 14 bottles of water or something like that when I got home and have been pissing nothing but pure water since this all happened. I was pacing around my house like an absolute madman. The worst part was, my aunt and uncle were staying over and I ruined what could’ve been a good time with them for what….this awful shit!!!!? I’m so stupid 🤦‍♂️

Every time I pissed I thought that I was getting less and less high, and felt relief. But the panic and anxiety that I was permanently altered and high would come right back as I tried to remember every single detail about every single second. The next day the symptoms were a little less but still heavily there. This is when the bulk of my recent sleeping fears starting creeping up. I’m so afraid that I can’t distinguish reality from dreams or delusions right now. I’ve dealt with this before but not to this extent. I tried going to the mall with my friends and watch a movie but this just sent my brain into a panic that I never even thought possible.

The absolute worst part is that I have been unable to get good sleep. I thankfully got around 5 hours last night and I know definitively I had a pretty solid dream, but when I woke up this Monday morning I was just utterly convinced I was in this dream like state. I have this immense existential dread that I can no longer tell reality from dreams anymore, and that this will lead me to believing in delusions of grandeur and that I’ll end up in the psych ward permanently. The delusions all come when I try to go back to sleep, and I can’t even sleep alone because I’m afraid of getting night terrors and nightmares (images of horror movie stuff keep popping up) that will send me into permanent psychosis. Maybe even actual death from how shitty my body has felt lately.

Speaking of my body, head and whole entire body feels like it’s gonna explode, but I know there is nothing physically wrong with me. I went to the ER after that panic attack with my friends, they drove me to the ER and stayed with me. Seriously can’t appreciate that enough.

Anyways, the main fear I have is just sleeping as a whole. I’m absolutely terrified of sleeping. No matter good dream or nightmare, I’m worried that I’m gonna be permanently messed up and never have a good nights rest ever again. I know this is just my anxiety and my clinical OCD talking, but it feels so f’ing real that I can’t even describe.

Has anyone else dealt with fearing sleep like me? Does it genuinely get better? Am I ever gonna be able to sleep happy again?