My biggest fear during DR was that it seemed like the onset of psychosis. This disconnection serves as a protective mechanism. Simply put, the body and mind disconnect either from each other or from reality. This is sometimes necessary to prevent feeling emotionally overwhelmed. When we experience significant trauma or stress, our body and mind can dissociate. None of my worst fears ever materialized. I am recovered and living a fully functional life. However, I’m happy to report that, even after all these years, nothing dreadful happened to me. Naturally, people experiencing chronic disconnection from reality may fear for their safety and their futures. For others it may be chronic - either experiencing intermittent episodes that come and go or experiencing feelings of unreality consistently for a long period of time. ![]() ![]() I (and many others who have been in my position) assumed that this feeling meant I was in serious danger.įor some, the derealization can be a “one-time” event. ![]() The experience can feel so strange and isolating. When I first began experiencing derealization, I was worried that my symptoms must be the start of something terrible. I’d like to share my understanding of this symptom to help those who may be experiencing something similar. Over the next few weeks, this evolved into a full-blown DR episode that lasted a few years. Rather, everything felt intensely odd to me. After ordering my food, I suddenly felt as though something was “off.” Everything and everyone around me looked strange, but I wasn't experiencing any visual hallucinations. This feeling of “unreality” would grip me without warning.Ī few days after I experienced this intensification of my strange feelings, I was having lunch with my co-workers. Over the next few days, the dreaming sensation returned several times. While there have been several cases in which people have consumed marijuana and felt unable to control its psychoactive effects - and this can lead to panic attacks and reports of feeling derealized - I believe that my DR had begun before I consumed the edibles. In retrospect, I do not believe the cannabis was the trigger for my derealization. When I woke up the next day, the feeling remained. I attributed this escalation to the effects of the cannabis and decided to sleep it off. After consuming the edibles, these inexplicable feelings intensified. For weeks, I had been feeling disconnected from reality I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was just a dream. One night, I ate some cannabis edibles recreationally, something I had done without incident many times before. I would be walking down the road, caught up in my thoughts and, suddenly, the outside world would feel “off” and unfamiliar. When I experienced derealization, I distinctly remember experiencing my reality as if it were a dream.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |