- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
I second the advice from PeggySantiago: remind yourself that you’ve felt this way before and it’s also gone away before. There’s no reason to think it won’t eventually go away again. Breath and find ways to ground yourself. There are lots of great mindfulness techniques for simply getting into your body and paying attention to your sensations and that can help bring you back down to earth or at the very least stay a little calmer in the midst of the depersonalization storm.
- Date posted
- 5y
thank you all greatly for your help, and I send all my love to y’all as well! watching painting videos now to ground myself. I will take all your comments into consideration: I learned I definitely catastrophize situations and think I will never go back to feeling “normal”! but I’m trying to remain positive and, like you said, remind myself that there will be good times too. again, I appreciate it. be good to yourselves friends :)
- Date posted
- 5y
Yes, I watch Bob Ross and he helps with my anxiety and spirals SO much!!
- Date posted
- 5y
@kittie what a calming man!!! sometimes he makes me want to cry because of how sweet he is lmao (I’m such a crier !!!!)
- Date posted
- 5y
I just talked to my bf about something like this the other day— I get depersonalization and derealization sometimes and I get all existential about it! I told my bf about these thoughts and he was actually so understanding about it and talked me through it. He said: whether it’s real or not doesn’t matter, because you have to experience it anyway. So just be in the moment! Sending love, if you need help pls don’t hesitate to reach out <3
- Date posted
- 5y
I find that it helps me sometimes to remind myself of other times I felt (in your case depersonalization) a certain way and got through. Everything passes, it's just a matter of waiting it out sometimes. I know this can be very challenging. Much love to you! ♥️
- Date posted
- 5y
*now, not new! sorry folks!
- Date posted
- 5y
Sometimes I’ll be at work and I’ll have a thought that tells me “none of this is real, reality is an illusion,” and it sends me into full blown panic mode :\ I also get a weird feeling that reality is a “curtain” that I can rip through, and then my brain feels really 2 dimensional for a while, if that makes sense. I hate it ?
- Date posted
- 5y
that’s exactly how I feel sometimes! that is one of the reasons I feel much calmer about it: I know that these are just OCD thoughts in a different theme. I often catch myself throwing myself into dissociative states just because I’m questioning if I’m real/if I’m feeling the “correct” things/etc. So I’ve been trying to work on just acknowledging the thoughts and not engaging... That’s what causes the panic, which then sends me into actual depersonalization. it’s been getting better recently, but the past couple days have been rough (hence my post)! however, as I know it’s gotten better for me, I know it will for you too!!!! I hope that won’t feed a compulsion, btw!! I haven’t really recognized my mental patterns as OCD until recently, so I’m learning too. best of luck!
- Date posted
- 5y
@jessicabellomy I’m glad it’s getting better for you! Honestly making jokes about it is what’s helping me cope with the thoughts, like when I feel like I’m dissociating I just announce that I’m “transcending,” because that’s what it feels like ? my dissociation lately has been really rough and it’s actually making me feel like I have DID or am developing schizophrenia :\
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
For the past 3 months ish I’ve been struggling on and off with this anxiety and fixation over my relationship. To wondering if i still have feelings for an old friend, wondering if i actually love him, wondering if the thoughts are all real and im just trying to cover it up with ocd. It sucks, when im talking to my boyfriend i feel fine. The words i love you and talks about the future come naturally. I can’t imagine myself with anyone but him. But this constant rumination on my relationship is KILLING me and I’m scared it’s going to ruin what i have. It makes me numb and disconnected which therefore makes me believe the thoughts even more. They just feel so real sometimes and it’s so scary like why can i not just enjoy it. We’ve been together for a while so i know there’s periods of like feelings ebb and flowing but this is so much more. It’s just constantly sitting on my chest with anxiety. My compulsions are coming on this app, looking at photos of us and confessing it to him. He’s very understanding and helpful. I love him so much. I just need help / I’m also just starting new meds as well ..
- Date posted
- 17w
Lately, I’ve been feeling so disconnected from my boyfriend, and I don’t understand why. When I look at him, it feels like I’m looking at a stranger, and my mind keeps telling me that I don’t like him, that I never really loved him, or that I was just attached and comfortable. It feels real, and that terrifies me. I know logically that ROCD makes me overanalyze every little feeling, but it doesn’t make this any easier. I keep waiting to feel something—love, excitement, even relief—but instead, I just feel numb and distant. When we talk, I feel weird. When he kisses me, I don’t feel much. I keep thinking, ‘If I really loved him, wouldn’t I feel something?’ And the fact that I don’t just fuels my anxiety even more. It scares me that I can’t remember how I felt before ROCD took over. I look at old pictures, and my brain tells me, ‘That wasn’t real, you were just excited to have a relationship.’ And because I can’t access those feelings right now, it makes me doubt everything even more. I also feel guilty because my boyfriend is so loving and patient, but I feel like I’m hurting him. He tells me he doesn’t feel loved by me anymore, and I hate that I can’t just snap out of this and be the way I was before. It’s exhausting. I don’t know what’s real anymore. I keep checking how I feel every second, and it just makes me feel worse. I know that’s a compulsion, but it’s so hard to stop. I keep searching for certainty, but no answer satisfies me. Even when I try to accept the uncertainty, my mind screams, ‘But what if you don’t love him? What if you’re just lying to yourself?’ I want to be present with him. I want to feel love naturally again. But I don’t know how to get there, and it’s terrifying.”
- Date posted
- 7w
I believe I have ROCD — at least, that’s what many people here have told me based on what I’ve shared — and I really need help, because I feel like I’m falling apart. I don’t know what I feel anymore. I don’t know what’s real. My thoughts come as loud, cold statements — not questions. They say things like: “Nothing is the same.” “You don’t love him.” “You’re just staying because you’re used to him.” And even though I know I’m supposed to let the thoughts pass and not engage with them — I can’t. I get stuck in them. I try to find answers, I ruminate, I check, I cry, I panic. Everyone says “love isn’t just a feeling” — and I know that. But… I still want to feel something. I want to feel warmth, or connection, or even just peace. It’s been so long since I felt anything like that. Now everything just feels empty or terrifying or cold. My brain only gives me negative interpretations. No memory brings me comfort anymore. Nothing feels like it used to. And the worst part is — it all feels true. Sometimes I think: “What if I’m just denying the truth?” “What if I’ve finally realized that I don’t love him, and I just don’t want to admit it?” This feels like the worst version of myself. I’m so confused and scared and tired. Even therapy didn’t help — my therapist said things that made it worse, and now I don’t know who or what to believe anymore. I just want help. I want to know how to face ROCD — if that’s what this really is. I want to believe I can feel love again. I don’t want to lose myself in this forever. Has anyone else felt like this? How did you start to get better? i cant even remember past good memories with him, my head tells me that i didnt love him and i was just “excited “ to have someone. We have 2 years together and i have been dealing with this for a year and a half.
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