I've experienced DRDR, and I've been dissociating for a while. Having OCD and Dissociation sucks because sometimes I think there's something wrong with me. I get anxious. Does anyone have tips?
Not sure if this is my experience but I feel unreal n extremely fearful that makes me feel like I’m literally stuck crazy
yeah I know that feeling and it's so annoying. :(
@leti05 Yeah I literally feel this way now.. like my brain is damaged n stuck in fear n paranoia
Fear going into mania or phyxosis
@paisa Fear of going into mania or psychosis are my number one fears
@bebe.g32 Yeah this is so debilitating and scary.. to be feeling like u are just scared shitless that u feel like you’ll never come back down from the heightened anxiety and fears
Having something physical to ground with can help (ex fidget, bag of ice, essential oils, coloring pages, etc)
I used to get it real bad, still comes around sometimes. Talking to people, watching a show or doing something that you would normally enjoy (maybe not in the moment due to DPDR) has been what I found helps. The main thing I would say works long term would be to try not to think about it. I know that’s easier said than done, but putting your focus on the dissociation, thinking about how you NEED to stop dissociating and trying to find ways to stop just tends to reinforce the cycle and make it worse. To make it go away you have to not try to make it go away, which is sort of par for the course with OCD
Thank you for the tips. So I’ll distract myself? Like doing things that I like to do?
@leti05 I’d say in the short term that helps, but I think the ultimate goal is to accept that it might be there sometimes, but to not give it more attention than it deserves. Not forcing yourself to ignore it and distract yourself, but instead passively not paying attention to it and doing other things instead, even if it feels terrifying. But definitely if it’s really overwhelming in the moment, coping skills/beneficial distractions are good tools
Yes and it’s the worst. I had it last week and was able to come out of it thanks to my husband and God. Finding something that grounds you is important. The moment will pass.
I had DPDR for a number of years. Radically accepting life with it is important and really did me good, you can’t force your way of it of that experience, your body does it subconsciously. I changed my focus to doing exposure therapy with other things that made me anxious, doing so regardless of how uncomfortable I felt with my dissociation. Over time things got much better, and I’m significantly healthier now than I was then.
Congrats!! This gives me hope!!
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Yes please
@leti05 - Happy to share! One thing that's worth knowing going in: dissociation and DPDR can actually function as an avoidance compulsion in OCD — a kind of "checking out" when anxiety gets really intense — and the habit of monitoring it ("am I still feeling unreal? is it getting worse?") is its own compulsion that tends to keep it going. That's why the anxious "something is wrong with me" checking often makes the fog thicker rather than clearer. "Can OCD cause you to dissociate?" https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/info/ocd-stats-and-science/can-ocd-cause-you-to-dissociate Explains the link you're describing between OCD and dissociative experiences — including why rumination, memory checking, and an inward focus on your own body and mind can produce that detached feeling, and why treating the OCD underneath tends to reduce the dissociation itself. "Can OCD cause derealization?" https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/info/related-symptoms-conditions/can-ocd-cause-derealization NOCD therapist Tracie Ibrahim, LMFT, CST describes what derealization actually looks and feels like and how it shows up as an avoidance compulsion, which is useful context for the DRDR piece specifically and what ERP does with it. Are you working with a therapist who specializes in OCD specifically, or more of a general therapist? 💬 Was this response helpful? Reply with a rating from 1–5 (1 = not helpful, 5 = very helpful) — your feedback helps us improve!
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