[ElCambio]

idon'tLIKETOTITLETHINGSIFIDON'thaveagoodtitle.
Okay, I'm really sorry y'all. That is probably REALLLLY ANNOYING!
Anyway, let me tell you my story. So, if y'all saw my other threads, you'd know that I have a bit of a drinking problem. My boyfriend at the time (this was beginning of last year) wanted me to stop drinking alone, so I wasn't drinking at all. I was in a long distance relationship too. I was so unhappy and empty. I remember feeling so sad and suddenly realizing that day that everything seemed unreal. The walls around me felt distant like I was watching a movie. I felt disconnected from everything around me. I looked in the mirror and felt like I should have looked different from what I was seeing. I still experience this a year later from time to time, especially with myself in the mirror. I hate looking at myself in the mirror. It's so weird. It's not me.
How come no one else experiences this???? It's so confusing.

[possum220]

Hiya,

Other people do experience this. I don't know if is depersonalization or if it is derealization. I just wanted to respond to let you know that you aren't alone.

Have you approached a therapist who deals in these areas?

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by ElCambio

idon'tLIKETOTITLETHINGSIFIDON'thaveagoodtitle.
Okay, I'm really sorry y'all. That is probably REALLLLY ANNOYING!
Anyway, let me tell you my story. So, if y'all saw my other threads, you'd know that I have a bit of a drinking problem. My boyfriend at the time (this was beginning of last year) wanted me to stop drinking alone, so I wasn't drinking at all. I was in a long distance relationship too. I was so unhappy and empty. I remember feeling so sad and suddenly realizing that day that everything seemed unreal. The walls around me felt distant like I was watching a movie. I felt disconnected from everything around me. I looked in the mirror and felt like I should have looked different from what I was seeing. I still experience this a year later from time to time, especially with myself in the mirror. I hate looking at myself in the mirror. It's so weird. It's not me.
How come no one else experiences this???? It's so confusing.

do you mean how come no one here in this board (dissociative Disorders board) experiences this... the answer may be because here in the USA problems associated with alcohol use knocks out the diagnosis of dissociative disorders....

I know many people who have obtained sobriety and are left with damage to their central and peripheral nervous systems and other brain injury problems associated with alcohol use, to the point of having the same left over side effects that you have. these problems are addressed with medical treatment , with some people its just a matter of letting the body have time to heal from all the damage the alcohol has done to their body, how much time well that depends on many factors like how much alcohol was consumed, length of time that person drank over their life span and may other factors. for some people the physical damage to a persons body due to alcohol can be permanent because of the damage to brain cells that may not be able to regenerate, that said sometimes medication can also help combat\treat\heal the residual side effects left over from alcohol use...

my suggestion if this continues to bother you contact a medical doctor who can order tests to assess what kind of alcohol damage you have in your body and help you get treated for those problems, so that you can feel better as soon as its possible for you.

[avlady]

i also feel like that too.

[ElCambio]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

do you mean how come no one here in this board (dissociative Disorders board) experiences this... the answer may be because here in the USA problems associated with alcohol use knocks out the diagnosis of dissociative disorders....

I know many people who have obtained sobriety and are left with damage to their central and peripheral nervous systems and other brain injury problems associated with alcohol use, to the point of having the same left over side effects that you have. these problems are addressed with medical treatment , with some people its just a matter of letting the body have time to heal from all the damage the alcohol has done to their body, how much time well that depends on many factors like how much alcohol was consumed, length of time that person drank over their life span and may other factors. for some people the physical damage to a persons body due to alcohol can be permanent because of the damage to brain cells that may not be able to regenerate, that said sometimes medication can also help combat\treat\heal the residual side effects left over from alcohol use...

my suggestion if this continues to bother you contact a medical doctor who can order tests to assess what kind of alcohol damage you have in your body and help you get treated for those problems, so that you can feel better as soon as its possible for you.

I meant as in most people outside of the forum wouldn't understand. I had no idea that alcoholism would affect a diagnosis. I never have had a physical dependence on it, but it just became all that I wanted to do. I get cravings and impulses to drink too, but that's more mental. These symptoms came because I felt like I lost everything...I don't alcohol caused it. Alcohol just made me want to be "high" all the time.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by ElCambio

I meant as in most people outside of the forum wouldn't understand. I had no idea that alcoholism would affect a diagnosis. I never have had a physical dependence on it, but it just became all that I wanted to do. I get cravings and impulses to drink too, but that's more mental. These symptoms came because I felt like I lost everything...I don't alcohol caused it. Alcohol just made me want to be "high" all the time.

Alcohol in general (it doesnt have to be to the extreme of having alcoholism) affects many things including diagnosis. which is why most if not all mental disorders recognized in the USA carry the requirement that the problem is not because of alcohol or drugs....

let me give you an example... one beer for some people can cause a persons mood to change, can cause someone to feel numb, a bit spaced out, and a bit disconnected. the doctor now doesnt know which the person has ...a sensitivity to alcohol or any number of mental disorders or any number of medical problems...solution take alcohol out of the situation, have the person come back after they have not had any beer for so many days, and send the person to allergy testing and other medical and mental tests once the alcohol is no longer a factor. I know many teens and adults, that ended up getting diagnosed with all kinds of mental and medical problems simply because they had a beer with their friends.

just a bit of information here where I live your statement......

it just became all that I wanted to do. I get cravings and impulses to drink too, but that's more mental.

is considered being addicted / being an alcoholic\ having alcoholism... not saying you are, only your treatment providers can say this of you, just saying .....if you were here where I am.... thats what it would be called.

Sometimes teenagers (and some adults too) dont realize that being addicted to something doesnt have to be physical it can be physical or mental or both.

I understand it hun, I think. I have moments that seems like the real gets sucked out of reality. I feel disconnected, and objects seems to be fake.

I usually go "here we go again" and sit it out. It often happens when I'm hit with too much sensory stimuli, like walking into a busy grocery store with all the lights, colors, people. I just walk around in a daze till it fades away, or ground myself by picking up items and reading the labels.

It doesn't bother me anymore because it happens too often. The only times it does bother me is like when I'm driving going over a high bridge. The overhead girders produce a strobe affect which triggers it which triggers my anxiety because I'm going 70 mph which then leads to a panic attack which leads to depersonalizing which almost causes me to pass out. I have to cross the Mississippi bridge everyday sometimes. It's like 300 ft in the air and 1/4 mile long, usually by the end of it I'm a wreck, and it takes a mile to calm down, but the shock lasts hours.

[ElCambio]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

Alcohol in general (it doesnt have to be to the extreme of having alcoholism) affects many things including diagnosis. which is why most if not all mental disorders recognized in the USA carry the requirement that the problem is not because of alcohol or drugs....

let me give you an example... one beer for some people can cause a persons mood to change, can cause someone to feel numb, a bit spaced out, and a bit disconnected. the doctor now doesnt know which the person has ...a sensitivity to alcohol or any number of mental disorders or any number of medical problems...solution take alcohol out of the situation, have the person come back after they have not had any beer for so many days, and send the person to allergy testing and other medical and mental tests once the alcohol is no longer a factor. I know many teens and adults, that ended up getting diagnosed with all kinds of mental and medical problems simply because they had a beer with their friends.

just a bit of information here where I live your statement......

it just became all that I wanted to do. I get cravings and impulses to drink too, but that's more mental.

is considered being addicted / being an alcoholic\ having alcoholism... not saying you are, only your treatment providers can say this of you, just saying .....if you were here where I am.... thats what it would be called.

Sometimes teenagers (and some adults too) dont realize that being addicted to something doesnt have to be physical it can be physical or mental or both.

No! I agree with you completely! I'm not being very clear, am I? I have been sober for a while now, and this always happened while sober. It has nothing to do with alcohol.

Originally Posted by AlwaysChanging2

I understand it hun, I think. I have moments that seems like the real gets sucked out of reality. I feel disconnected, and objects seems to be fake.

I usually go "here we go again" and sit it out. It often happens when I'm hit with too much sensory stimuli, like walking into a busy grocery store with all the lights, colors, people. I just walk around in a daze till it fades away, or ground myself by picking up items and reading the labels.

It doesn't bother me anymore because it happens too often. The only times it does bother me is like when I'm driving going over a high bridge. The overhead girders produce a strobe affect which triggers it which triggers my anxiety because I'm going 70 mph which then leads to a panic attack which leads to depersonalizing which almost causes me to pass out. I have to cross the Mississippi bridge everyday sometimes. It's like 300 ft in the air and 1/4 mile long, usually by the end of it I'm a wreck, and it takes a mile to calm down, but the shock lasts hours.

That sounds pretty similar to me. It also happens to me when I'm stressed out internally. I'm sorry about the driving experience. I get really anxious when I'm driving too. Blah, I love it and hate it at the same time