Depersonalisation/Derealisation

[LSsupercar]

Shall be booking a doctor's appointment in the morning, but in the meantime I thought I would ask here about a certain problem I have been having.

Perhaps for a month or two now, I have been having a problem with feeling spaced out. It's hard to explain, I can think just as well as ever, and I can move well enough. But sometimes in the day, everything in my head will feel just a bit heavier than usual, kind of like a foggy feeling, and my vision feels like it is ever so slightly blurred.

Now it isn't a constant feeling. Some days I will only feel it for about 20 minutes a day, other days I will feel it about 90% of the time, when that happens it is horrible.

I've noticed that being active, physically and mentally can make it go, but there is a rare case where it won't.

Anyway, I was wondering if any one else on here has any experience of this feeling. Google is telling me all the usual cancer/lupus thing it says for every other symptom that exists, but are they off the mark or onto something with this? Any knowledge or opinions?

[Fozziebear]

I tend to glaze over from 10am till about 2pm, I run and train in the mornings and I find it happens whilst I'm relaxing from 10 onwards. I've had the fuzzy head, blank mind but no blurred vision. Are you under any stress?

[LSsupercar]

I definitely was when it started happening, the cause of my stress has been lifted somewhat since in the last couple of weeks but the feeling remains.

Speaking of which, I was at a car event one week and that was perhaps the first time in days I didn't feel it once.

[goldblum]

Fitness? Sleep patterns? Diet? Any idea of your heart rate and blood pressure?

[Lotus Notes]

Sounds like stress, when the mind is occupied, you forget all about it. For example when driving or doing something that needs concentration.

There are exercises that you can do, tensing up and then relaxing to a reassuring voice.

If this continues, go and see your GP and get referred to a psychologist - This will help.

[mu0n]

Hi OP – been having this since around I was 18 (10 years ago now) and it never really goes. Maybe it will for you, but for me it hasn’t. Times life feels more real than others, but I can relate to where you are coming from & I definitely felt it a lot worse all those years ago now. I use to describe it as being stuck in a bubble or like there is a pane of glass between you and the outside world. When you talk, you sound alien to yourself and it doesn’t feel like it’s you who is doing the talking/the actions. It’s very self-destructive.

It’s funny you mention about blurred vision as I am short sighted, but I get something called Visual Snow too (look it up). I think the 2 are related for me.

I’ve just learned to live with it the best I can I guess. I’ve been on various meds (none at the moment) with no real differences – nothing noticeable anyway.

Good luck with the doctors. They will put it down to stress and/or depression. Basically some generic answer, tell you to take a few days off work maybe & offer to prescribe you some drugs. Maybe it’ll work for you, maybe it won’t.

[LSsupercar]

I don't have the best diet, I do tend to usually get less than 7 hours of sleep each night.

mu0n said:

Hi OP – been having this since around I was 18 (10 years ago now) and it never really goes. Maybe it will for you, but for me it hasn’t. Times life feels more real than others, but I can relate to where you are coming from & I definitely felt it a lot worse all those years ago now. I use to describe it as being stuck in a bubble or like there is a pane of glass between you and the outside world. When you talk, you sound alien to yourself and it doesn’t feel like it’s you who is doing the talking/the actions. It’s very self-destructive.

It’s funny you mention about blurred vision as I am short sighted, but I get something called Visual Snow too (look it up). I think the 2 are related for me.

I’ve just learned to live with it the best I can I guess. I’ve been on various meds (none at the moment) with no real differences – nothing noticeable anyway.

Good luck with the doctors. They will put it down to stress and/or depression. Basically some generic answer, tell you to take a few days off work maybe & offer to prescribe you some drugs. Maybe it’ll work for you, maybe it won’t.

So did it just come on for you too, without anything seemingly sparking it off?

When you say it used to be a lot worse, do you mean it was fading away, or you were just getting used to it?

Thanks for answering everyone, I'll keep in mind everything said. I've hardly felt it today, if at all.

[btdk5]

Sounds like hayfever. Try antihistamine.

[jonah35]

Sounds like stress/anxiety.

Cut down caffeine, sugar, alcohol and relax more. Baths with oils, candles, massage, reading and relaxing. Get more sleep too.

[Jamirecluse]

Are you actually feeling removed or disconnected from reality aswell as being spaced out? Derealisation is a very scary thing in my experience.
Be careful with who you see and what they'll tell you. Some professional opinions are way off the mark.

[mattnunn]

I had a full out of body experience once at a moment of very high stress, it freaked me out and I read up some things at the time, it's not that unusual apparently, certainly suspect it's stress related. Pretty sure my missus suffers something similair as well.

Good luck.

[StevieBee]

I know exactly what you are talking about.

I occasionally get this too. It's never caused me any problems other than a sense of slight detachment from the immediate reality of my surroundings. I can't say that I've noticed any triggers other than thunderstorms so maybe it's a pressure thing and it also tends to occur when I'm on my own for any period of time.

Since I binned the fags and paid a bit more attention to my general fitness, I would say that instances of this have become rarer.