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The best way to end this loop is to stop fighting these feelings, sit with them and try to accept them. This stress produces more feelings of derealization, and your coping mechanism actually becomes a vicious feedback loop. But little did I realize that it was my fighting these DR feelings that allowed them to last longer.Īs I’ve learned through personal experience, when we fight and resist the way we are feeling, we unnecessarily stress our body and mind. Understandably, you may want to stop feeling “strange.” I felt similarly, at first. Your first instinct may be to fight and resist the way you are feeling. It is important to note that people with schizophrenia can also experience derealization, but awareness of symptoms is key to help differentiate between the two conditions. They are also more often aware that something is “off” and may have an easier time describing their symptoms as inconsistent with reality. Individuals with DR may feel strange about themselves or their surroundings, but they do not typically experience hallucinations or delusions. People with schizophrenia or psychosis commonly experience hallucinations or delusions that are difficult to distinguish from reality. However, DR is not the same as psychosis, and experiencing DR does not mean that you will develop schizophrenia. I worried that this state was actually the beginnings of schizophrenia or something more serious. 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. Consistent stress, beyond one’s capacity to cope.Severe trauma, resulting from an accident or childhood abuse, etc.

Experts are still learning the underlying mechanics of derealization, but it can be triggered by several causes: Have you ever felt “weird” and disoriented - like the world around you wasn’t real? Did your surroundings feel like a dream? Were you scared or disturbed by this shift in reality? This disconcerting experience may be an instance of derealization (DR).Īnyone can experience DR.