What do you do to help bring yourself out of derealization or depersonalization?

Hi all, I’m a therapist here at NOCD. I read the original post asking about depersonalization and derealization. I wanted to add something you might find helpful. When you are having obsessive/intrusive/unwanted thought, I recommend not going to the compulsion. Stick with the thought, example -is this real or the feeling - I feel disconnected from others. Like the earlier post, accept that you feel this way or have this thought. Don’t let your mind wander away and go to the next thought or the next behavior. Accept it and then you can do an exercise to stay present. I call this exercise a “factual observation”. Look around you, state what you see, what you hear, using your senses can be like a reset. Bringing you back to the present. Give it a try and I hope it is helpful.

If mine is really bad then I have a song I listen to or if I can go for a walk outside that really help make me feel more grounded.

I feel your pain!! This was me for the past 2.5 years. The best way I found is to just accept how you feel at this moment and realize it will not last forever. Accept all the “what if’s” and other scary possibilities, and you’ll realize that it’s not as bad or as scary as you think it is. Try not to seek reassurance and definitely stay off online forums, etc. regarding DPDR. There’s a lot of negativity there and it can be really difficult to break out of dpdr if you continue to research it. Try your best to accept it and in time, little by little it will go away.

What’s dpdr?

Just a short cut for depersonalization/ derealization!

The last time I experienced this I ended up using a game on my phone and it literally took all the horrible feelings away and I started to feel myself again and just content. Even if your not into games on phones just take a look at what they have and you’ll probably find something ☺️

Hi lulu23 sorry I wasn’t online yesterday and this is a late response but I wanted to answer your question. It’s difficult to say because I don’t know what your symptoms look like before and now. I hear what you are saying in regards to struggling with the depersonalization - dpdr. In my experience of working with OCD clients, some struggle with these types of obsessive thoughts. In my work with these clients, treating these obsessive thoughts like any other obsessive thought and practicing your ERP to stick with the thought until the anxiety passes - not going to the compulsion which can be checking, seeming reassurance and the other examples given through out the posts here. In summary, whether your obsessive thoughts are about the symptoms of depersonalization, exentensial, derealization, or any other thought, it still has to be treated like an OCD thought. Your coping mechanisms can be the ERP skill set to move past these obsessive thoughts. As mentioned here in many posts, thoughts can change, abruptly or slowly, but they can change and we just have to stay focused on doing our ERP no matter what pops up and gets in our way. Please let me know if that helps at all to answer your question and see if it works for you and keep us updated. We care about your progress!

Hi FOCD123. Saying your thoughts out loud and vocalizing they doesn’t necessarily mean that is a compulsion. Sometimes saying your thoughts out loud can help keep you focused on the thought and keep your mind from wandering to the checking or compulsion. However, if saying your thoughts out loud is something you feel like you have to do and it brings you relief, it can be your compulsion. Seeking reassurance from your partner by telling them your thoughts can be a compulsion. Pay attention to how it makes you feel, if you feel the urgency of telling your thoughts or the urgency to get a reply, most likely can be a compulsion. It’s difficult for you to know until you get really good at separating the trigger from the obsessive thought and from the compulsion behavior. So, it can a challenge for me to answer that question unless we were working together and I knew better what your patterns look like. I’m sorry, I’m sure that wasn’t the answer you were looking for. Try to separate like I talked about. Using the worksheets will bring clarity as well. Wishing you much success! You can do this!

That’s great to hear! Good for you and I know you will do great! ?

Hi lulu23. I’m not sure what you mean, could you give me a little more information? Can we treat derealization and depersonilization the same way we treat OCD symptoms using ERP?

Meant to say do you not so you* sorry about that.