Sarah,

I really like your last sentence even though you are not sure what it means....you are correct. It is true that feeling good or at least different (in a better sort of way) only lasts for so long. The symptoms & feelings are still there because they are part of us too, but at least we know where to go for some relief. And allowing ourselves a time for relief is what we owe our mind. Being able to sense the good feelings again is the step we all need to take towards healing.

I know that spending time with my horses & concentrating on my riding techniques & memorizing my dressage tests doesn't allow anything else into my mind...it gets full of the information.....however when I am not concentrating of other things, sometimes the depersonalization comes back & the nightmeres are there nightly. I think until the problem issues can be put into their place, it is good to feel some of the bad...it reminds us that we still need to work on those issues too, but not to dwell on them all the time.

I am reading a book by Bourne which seems to help put a little perspective on our feelings too, kinda saying the same thing I did. I read it after I wrote these things....geeze, I should have gone into psychology since I know the right words to say even though I can't put it into practice often enough.

However like you, when we find those things that will release us from those bad feelings in order to know what the good, or even better, feels like again, it helps us know what we need to strive for.

I am glad you have found a way to feel better. With practice hopefully we can be able to move farther & farther away from the bad feelings.

Debbie