Intrusive thoughts/ disconnecting from reality

Hey been going through some stuff the past few days and I just wanted to know some tips. I have been struggling with terrible intrusive thoughts about many different thing I feel like it’s something new every few weeks and I feel like a slave to my own brain. The new thing that has been happening that has been so mentally exhausting and has taken over me is constantly thinking that I’m not real and that I’m living in a dream and I just feel disconnected from reality. I can still socialize and stuff with people but it has been hard to focus and honestly just enjoy my day to day life because I’m constantly in my head

Username: ChetVFragChetVFrag

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y ago

I am not at a place in my recovery where I should/could offer advice. I can tell you though, that I had a stretch of this for a few months, near the end of last year into early March. I would feel like I was underwater and moving at a slower pace than everyone around me. Sometimes music would help ease it slightly when I got particularly worked up. Beyond that, I have a very supportive family and that helped to keep me a little closer to the ground. You aren’t alone and it won’t last forever. I am still coming to terms with a lot of this so, believe me, I can say the words but it doesn’t mean I am good at doing the things I’m saying 🙂. One thing I can promise though is that you (we) will survive every time. We have been for so long and I am learning so much about it all that surely it can only get easier and more natural to overcome.

Username: MatthewLewis33MatthewLewis33

Date posted: 2y ago

Hey thanks for the feedback, I do have a very supportive family that I’m so grateful for them I jsut don’t want to feel empty anymore and feel like I’m not real because literally just a couple weeks ago I was doing so good and I had a strong sense of self and then out of nowhere I’m jsut in my head all day long and feel like I lost myself

Username: mcpopkinmdmcpopkinmd

Date posted: 2y ago

Just take a deep breath and out. Realize that the source of your panic is IRRATIONAL and derived from OCD and not your rational brain. Then do the following: 1) RELABEL the thought as OCD and say "It's not me, it's OCD ". 2) REAFFIRM that OCD obsessive thoughts are powered by doing the compulsions. DO NOT DO THE COMPULSIONS. Just observe the presence of the thought/anxiety but don't identify with it by exploring the thought or completing the compulsion. This will remove its power over you. 3) REFOCUS on the task at hand and act is if it is not there. 4) By doing this over time your brain will REVALUE these thoughts as unworthy of your time and will diminish over time. Here is a link to some videos I found helpful as well. Watch "Turn off Anxiety in Your Nervous System: 4 Ways to Turn on the Parasympathetic Response" on YouTube https://youtu.be/FPH5CFSmYEU Watch "OCD Treatment - How Do I Stop Intrusive Thoughts" on YouTube https://youtu.be/Q-bjYCJNzm0 I hope this helps.

Username: MatthewLewis33MatthewLewis33

Date posted: 2y ago

Hey what do you mean by not doing the compulsions I don’t know what the compulsions are I’m just in my head all day long and I’m jsut confused and feel empty

Username: username255username255

Date posted: 2y ago

sounds like you’re going through derealization/depersonalization. it sucks! i just got out of it few days ago but i still have periods where it feels weird. know that this is a symptom. you’be prolly had a hard time with your intrusive thoughts and your brain thought you were in danger and thats what brought dpdr. again, it’s not an illness. it will go away on it’s own with time. as hard as it is the less you focus on it the faster it will go away!!

Username: MatthewLewis33MatthewLewis33

Date posted: 2y ago

Thank you I appreciate it I’m jsut nervous because I have a trip planned for my birthday in like 2 weeks and now this just started happening so I just want to get back to feeling like myself again

Username: coreydcoreyd

Date posted: 2y ago

100% just went through the same thing. Just left that subtype a week or so ago and now I’m back to harm ocd. You are not alone. It will pass. Are you in therapy?

Username: username255username255

Date posted: 2y ago

our subtypes went the same way. mine went back to harm after this too. weird

Username: MatthewLewis33MatthewLewis33

Date posted: 2y ago

Hey thanks for the feedback and I’m starting therapy this week does it actually work? Because I have waves where I feel fine and I don’t deal with it at all and don’t feel like I need therapy and then it all hits at once and I’m in my head all day long

Username: username255username255

Date posted: 2y ago

i learned to live with it and i think thats why it went away pretty quick. it took a few weeks but it did.

Username: coreydcoreyd

Date posted: 2y ago

Same.

Username: cmaconochie

Date posted: 3y ago

Hey Guys, after a traumatic event I had a feeling/thought if things around me are real or that I am not real. Ever since I have been obsessed with that thought. I have felt detached from my environment. But I know disassociation and derealization are triggered with anxiety. But I still feel this way when I'm not anxious. Can my thought obsession about feeling disconnected make me feel disconnected? Thanks!

Username: BetterDays

Date posted: 3y ago

I woke up today terrified cause I didn’t feel connected to my body. I looked in the mirror and thought I was watching someone else and that was scary. Feeling depersonalized fueled my intrusive thoughts. Like “what if I’m going crazy”, “what if I have shifted personalities” or “what if I’m bipolar.” The fear of turning crazy also fueled the intrusive thoughts of me acting mentally crazed or like a child. These intrusive thoughts also tainted me into believing that everything I did was something a mentally crazed person would do. Now I have become more hyper aware of how I feel when I do simple things. This also fueled my OCD subtypes like harm/ suicidal because I think that if I’m not connected to my body then I have no control or might do irrational things. This feeling of not being connected to yourself is really scary and I hate the feeling. How do I get connected with myself again.

Username: rye00

Date posted: 1y ago

Racing thoughts / fear of insanity

I’m wondering if anybody else deals with an intense inner dialogue. It seems like my thoughts overlap each other and sometimes don’t make sense. Whether it’s a song stuck in my head, a million thoughts at once or both. It seems to never stop, even my dreams are super vivid. More recently I’ve been noticing random words or sentences that somebody has said before that has no meaning to what I’m thinking about, it will just pop in my head for no reason. For example I’ll be in the shower and “hear” a sentence one of my friends said. It sounds like their voice but it’s just in my thoughts if that makes sense. My core fear is losing my mind, so this spirals and my ocd tries to convince me that I’m hearing voices. Can anyone relate? If so what are some things that you have found to be effective when it comes to staying present. I hate not being as involved in conversations or not giving my 100% attention to things happening around me

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Intrusive thoughts/ disconnecting from reality

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