Posted by SLS on March 18, 2009, at 6:19:33
In reply to Dissociation Frustrations-Long post., posted by Tamara Beezley on March 18, 2009, at 3:37:22
I guess you have already figured out for yourself that stress and anxiety make depersonalization and derealization worse. I experienced this symptom pair earlier during the course of my bipolar depressive illness.
It was a very scary time in my life. I felt like I was an observer, hovering over myself viewing my interactions with my environment as if I were an alien from outer space. Nothing seemed the same anymore. Nothing was real. I still get hit with mild to moderate derealization when my depression gets worse.
You must try to get your anxiety under control to optimize your chances of emerging from the D&D nightmare. If you can do it psychologically, that's great. However, anxiety can get in the way of therapy. You might want to take a medication to reduce your sense of stress and anxiety so that you can reduce the severity of the D&D experience and begin processing issues more effectively in therapy.
Do you suffer from anhedonia?
Anhedonia is a lack of the sensation of "reward". Nothing makes you feel good about anything. It is a sort of numbness to otherwise pleasurable experiences.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:885865
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090227/msgs/885876.html