Dissociation, Depersonalisation, and Derealization - How to Come Back When You Dissociate

I spent the majority of my teenage years and 20s feeling very detatched from reality and myself. Between getting a great therapist and my lovely cats working to bring me back to the present, I'm now usually living in the present and am able to do more and most importantly, I can live vibrantly and feel emotions again. If you're dealing with this, I see you, and you can get back to being present too. <3

To everyone experiencing dissociation, depersonalization or derealization right now- accept it. The best you can do for now is accepting it, not being afraid of the feeling itself or of being "crazy", trust me, you're not :) i believe that thinking of dissociation as a threat that desperately needs to be pushed away makes it worse. I have dealt with depersonalization from time to time, had a very intense phase for the past two weeks, and simply reminding myself that it's just an uncomfortable feeling that can not hurt me helped me A LOT. When I suddenly felt "real" two days ago, I happy-cried, I thought it would only last for a few seconds but it remained until now. You won't feel like this forever! Thank you so so much for your videos, for helping tons of people, THANK YOU!

Sensory processing issues can also push you to dissociate. If you are extra sensitive to light or sound (or other senses) you may have learned to dissociate in response to normal life conditions. You can try wearing sunglasses or earplugs regularly to test if this is an issue. This is a common issue for neurodivergent people.

I remember years ago nonstop researching depersonalization/derealization. It took years of working on relaxing my body and not fearing symptoms before it vanished, and I just never thought about it again really. It is wild to think I used to spend every day feeling like I was in a dream and fearing everything about existence and I just can't relate to those feelings anymore. It certainly was not all at once but day by day in 2021 I thought about it less and less and now has just been gone. I remember also hearing recovery stories and not believing them, I would think that my case was special and that I was doomed to suffer from it forever. All the people that say you can recover are 100% correct. I had hundreds of DP/DR symptoms in the past but none of them bother me anymore. Be patient friends, you will recover!

I’ve suffered from chronic depersonalization / derealization for 12 years. It’s literal hell at times. Others it’s manageable. It definitely stems from my bloodline and trauma. It makes it hard to believe you’re a real person or that reality is what we think it is. It’s almost like psychosis but you know shit is real. It comes with visual symptoms too like visual snow and ghosting

“Let’s get better at feeling” is the best line for a therapy video.

It makes me feel so happy knowing that your patient who was struggling in the lobby had you there to just wait it out with her. The world is just a cruel place and I can't think about how many times my family, or a partner, or a healthcare provider just treated it like over-reacting attention seeking from me when I would go numb and not be able to respond.

We need more therapists addressing this very important topic. We are all numbing ourselves in today’s society, but I have dealt with disassociation quite a bit as an adult. I feel like I’ve lost chunks of time and when it’s been extremely bad, I felt like I was in a video game. It was creepy. I understand why my body was doing it, but am scared of going back to that place. Again, thank you for addressing this/

THANK YOU for pointing out that dissociation can be as simple as distraction. Certain triggers for me will make me feel like my body is shutting down, like I'm falling asleep, I struggle to hear and to focus on what people are saying, and I do get distracted. I never really had a word for it, I felt like the word "dissociate" was reserved for people who were in dire straights. This is very validating, and I think it will help me to be more compassionate to others who get distracted. Thank you.

for anyone experiencing this, it can get better. i was in non-stop dp/dr for about 2-3 months, it was was triggered by my anxiety and ocd. looking back, i can't remember much but panic attacks and constantly being paranoid. it severely impacted my functionality and i genuinely thought i was losing my mind. it's the scariest feeling I've ever felt. with the help of my therapist, starting medication, and my coping mechanisms (journaling, meditating, drinking tea, etc...), i was able to get so much better. I'm able to function now, i even got a new full-time job! and while i can't say that I'm "happy," i am doing a lot better and can enjoy moments of my life now and i rarely experience dissociation anymore. it can get better, i promise you, no matter how scary it seems. keep going.

I've been struggling with this A LOT lately. I'm noticing myself not even being able to fully be present in the moment or i look back after my whole day and i can't even remember i was even in those moments 😭 I cry about it all the time, i hate that i disassociate a lot, it's a bit concerning 😪

I used to live in a state of almost constant dissociation before I went on thyroid medication. It also still sometimes happens if I allow my blood sugar to get low (fixed by eating a nutritious meal with protein in it). Not trying to negate or discount the type of dissociation caused by trauma or mental health issues, but it could be helpful to some people to see my comment and realize that maybe they should get checked for hypothyroidism and/or hypoglycemia (both of which I have).

I had a diagnosis of DID due to childhood trauma. I am fully integrated now (which is a quite the journey in itself). I underwent years of trauma counselling. It was incredibly difficult, but also a beautiful time of healing. I still struggle with triggers, occasional dissociation and get pretty low at times. I see all of these things now more as a symptom of a greater internal issue that my body is attempting to make me aware of. As part of my ongoing processing/healing I do mindfulness, yoga, walking, sitting in gardens (observing nature), prayer n art. My art is incredibly therapeutic, my mind enters a deep place of mindfulness; helping me become mind/body aware n process things. Even after integration I don't think I really started to become more of my whole healed self, until I left the toxic environments that caused the most damage. I live a fairly introverted/isolated life as a result (maybe to my detriment), but the few friends I have are deep friendships. Catching up for coffee with them can be incredibly uplifting.

I dissociate during medical procedures, so I can definitely advocate for it being extremely useful in select circumstances.

This is my current reality, and I’m desperately trying to find my way back to me. I’m grateful to come across this video, and I’m hoping that I can get back to normal soon. Last year, I lost my job. 2 weeks later, I lost my baby (a stillborn), and 1 month later I lost my youngest brother. So, I definitely experienced a great amount of trauma leading up to my current state. However, I noticed that I would have random moments like this since I was a child. Right now, it has become a constant state for me. I know that I need help, but I haven’t known how to be helped because whenever I explained it to people they looked at me like I was crazy and didn’t understand what I was saying. I have definitely experienced the amnesia part, and that’s very scary!

I’ve pretty much been living in long states of dissociation for the past 20+ years. It’s only been getting worse 😔 it’s overwhelming and lonely.

I live my life on the outside looking in. Like being at a concert and listening to it from the lobby. I've had cptsd for most of my life. I turn 45 next week. I feel I've never amounted to anything. I've tried the gym for years. Therapy. Psychiatry. The last four years I been trying to become a journeyman electrician. My dissociation disorder attached itself to trying to learn anything. I dissociate every day at work. I can't learn what I'm supposed to. I can't remember anything. Even people's names. People I see often. I sometimes get scared of my own body and how strange it is. I can't comprehend how people have jobs, families, plus all the other things they do. In in a constant fog. Sometimes it just gets way worse than others.

I had an experience Derealization a few months ago, and it was a very frightening feeling. I felt like I was dying from fear, and I felt it after I was struck by a physical illness, but now I am better and have recovered, but now I realize that my body was trying to protect me from pain stay strong y'all and don't give up 🙏🏻🙏🏻

I derealize very easily in overstimulating environments, and when it first started happening, it would send me into a panic attack. I still hate how it feels to my very core. It's the reason I can't do any kind of drug like weed--I need to be firmly rooted in reality. Now that I know the feeling itself isn't dangerous, I don't tend to panic, but I feel extremely upset because derealization totally ruins fun events like concerts and conventions for me. It prevents me from properly encoding memories and engaging with everything going on around me. I feel resentful toward my depression, anxiety, OCD, and ADHD, but derealization really takes the cake on being a life-ruiner, because it's actually what gave me my first panic attack, which in turn caused panic disorder, agoraphobia, and depression when I was 14. You could say derealization has indirectly destroyed my life. Edit: I didn't have any trauma when all this started, either. If anything, the derealization and all the mental illness have traumatized me more than anything ever could have.

I experience autistic hyperacusis, misophonia and numerous other sensitivities that cause ordinary experiences for an allistic person to be overwhelming for me — resulting in semi-perpetual dissociation. Neither cognitive behavioral therapy nor psychiatric meds completely resolve it.