[venusss]

I have been feeling pretty surreal lately. Dream like, like surrounded in invisible fog.

And I have been flipping in and out of body. It's not first time it happened to me (and I can do it at will), but I thought I had control over it. But it just happens... I am sitting in a class and all of sudden I see myself from above.

I have been quite hypersensitive lately.

[lonegael]

Have you been sleeping alright lately, stress ok?

[eskielover]

I have that happen to me (called depersonalization) when stress gets bad & I'm not sleeping good.

It never happened to me before I went through the trauma with my Mother when she was dying.....then it hit really hard.....after that, it seems like it hits when I am more stressed.

It was interesting in my DBT group on Monday, the leader explained that depersonalization & dissociation is part of the Pushing Away distress tolerance crises survival strategies. Not something to be used as a first technique. It's not something that I have ever been able to do on demand....it just happens with me & it's a very scary feeling for me....but it's been happening more to me lately & I have seen my stress lever is much higher than it has been for quite awhile & my sleep is horrible other than when I crashed for almost 24 hours the other day my DBT group.....was completely exhausted....fell asleep & when I woke up had no idea what day or time it was....another really strange feeling.

When it first happened to me, it really scared me, but the pdoc I had at the time was the one that told me what was happening & knowing what was going on helped some......but still didn't make it really feel any better.

[shezbut]

Hi VenusHalley,

I have had many incidents of depersonalization and dissociation. Always due to intense stress. I don't enjoy it at all, but I do accept when it occurs. I just understand that I have a lot going on. The dissociation kind of just eases away as the stress decreases for me. Thankfully!

Gentle hugs to you ~ hope that your stress becomes more easily manageable soon.

[nice girl]

Might be happening cause of stress. . . . tc of urself. . . .

[Yoda]

When I have had that kind of experience it was to protect me from overloading my brain with the stress in my life. Are you dealing with your stressors in a therapeutic way now? How is your therapy going?

[venusss]

Thank you everybody.

Yoda, no, I am not in therapy and I am not in extreme stress either. It's not first time I have this spontageous experience either. But I am working on my issues.

[lonegael]

Sometimes it could be that. I know that even if I don't feel like an issue is a big deal, some part of my brain might feel otherwise and might trigger the depersonalization to get a little space to work on it. One of the tricky things about it is that you might normally be able to control it, but it does have a way of living it's own life at times. I've noticed that myself and with friends who have trained self hypnosis to deal with chronic pain.
Good luck with the issues work, Venus. HUGGGGS, if needed.

[Can't Stop Crying]

Perhaps it would be helpful to consult a psychologist if this continues to be bothersome

[venusss]

Originally Posted by Can't Stop Crying

Perhaps it would be helpful to consult a psychologist if this continues to be bothersome

I am questioning if a psychologist would be really helpful with this particular problem though. It does not seem to be stress related.

[Can't Stop Crying]

Maybe help you learn to control it? I used to have full control of dissociation and the more I used it, the more it gained it's own control. Grounding techniques have helped me.

[venusss]

I don't live in Northern America. We do not dissociate here... at least not officially...

I know grounding techniques and I can return back once I realize it happened... it's the randomness of it happening that distresses me a bit. One minute I am there and than... I am floating and see my body from above.
There are other strange things... I had once my head chakra opened up in Tesco (yes, it seems as last place for spiritual experience).

I wonder what triggers it. If I am picking on some vibes... why the super-sensitivity all of sudden, ausgerechnet now.

Maybe, I should just try to go with it next time it happens?

[Can't Stop Crying]

If you feel like you should go with it, then by all means do. Ultimately, we decide how to deal with our own issues and if you feel like you need to experience it...well, only you can be the best judge of that

[lonegael]

Head chakras opening up on their lonesomes does sound disturbing....

[venusss]

Originally Posted by lonegael

Head chakras opening up on their lonesomes does sound disturbing....

Yes... and I don't know how I made it back to the dorm through the town. It was quite cool feeling, but at the same time... weird. It's hard to describe.

Not sure what to do with such occurances.

[shezbut]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

I am questioning if a psychologist would be really helpful with this particular problem though. It does not seem to be stress related.

You've piqued my curiosity now.

The other possibility that jumps out to me is epilepsy. Have you had an EEG done, to rule out any abnormal brain activity?

I, myself, have epilepsy. DID is automatically ruled out for people who have epilepsy. So, while I frequently suffer dissociation and depersonalization, DID is an inaccurate diagnosis for me. Doctors presume that I am experiencing auras (also known as simple partial seizures) when they occur.

If you are experiencing the sensation rather often, and don't feel that stress is a likely candidate, then looking at your brain (physiologically) would be an important step in discovering and physical cause for the experience.

My epilepsy was mis-diagnosed as an anxiety disorder when I was around 21 y.o. My auras often involved intense deja vu, as well as the depersonalization, and occurred at all kinds of times and places. It took several years of panic disorder treatment before the abnormal brain activity secondarily-generalized and became tonic-clonic (aka ~ "grand mal"). And that is when treatment really began for me.

As a result, I highly recommend looking into all possibile diagnoses. The sooner you find the cause, the better the outcome. Trust me on that!

Very best wishes to you!

[venusss]

No, I did not have a brain scan.

Now you got me bit worried. It comes and goes though... I have times of higher sensitivity, than I go back to "normal" and it has been going on for years actually.

[mgran]

I used to get this all the time. Of course, I thought I was psychic... now I'm not that sure. It still happens occasionally, but seems to do so at times of heightened stress... could that be the case?

[venusss]

I am not really in extreme stress at the moment. It has been worse.

I apparently have some psychic traits, actually.

[shezbut]

((VenusHalley))

I don't mean to scare you ~ I really don't.

I am merely passing on my personal experience (which is actually very common for those with epilepsy). General society isn't very educated on the many different types of seizures. Heck, a lot of doctors don't recognize them! That is a fact ~ and it's something that needs to be fought throughout the world. Millions of people around this world have epilepsy...and a significant percentage of those millions aren't diagnosed yet.

A very common result of the unrecognized disorder (especially common for those with temporal lobe epilepsy) is where the patient seriously questions their sanity and believes that they can see into the future. I cannot emphasize that deep belief enough. The deja vu feels so strong, so intense, one could swear that the entire experience was dreamt of years before. When these dream-like experiences are occurring very often, we become convinced that we are psychic. Seriously!

I hope that my post makes better sense to you now. Please do get your brain checked out. While I began having seizures in early childhood, I wasn't diagnosed (or treated) until age 26. By then, significant damage had been done to my hippocampus. (The area responsible for storage of memories ~ both hippocampus are affected by complex partial seizures, which is why we have no memory of half of the seizure. We are only aware of when the seizure is starting and ending ~ nothing in between gets recorded into the memory. Years of frequent experiences like these do add up to a lot of missing memories!) That is why I say, the earlier the epilepsy is caught, the better!

Just get it checked out. Hopefully, my experience doesn't apply to what you're experiencing. But, if it does apply, you'll be a lot better off the sooner you catch the abnormal brain activity. Please believe me. I have extensive experience in this department ~ and I try very hard to teach others, so they don't experience what I (and so many others) have had to deal with.

[venusss]

wouldn't I be bothered with lights and stuff if I had epilepsy? This seems to come randomly, but rather when I am relaxed, I think. And it's exactly the same "view from above" as when I do willing astral projection. The exact same. It all started after I started experiment with AP stuff.

I am not doubting your experience in a least. But mine is not deja vu like. It can be controlled the moment i realize it's happening. There are not black outs, I am pretty sure of that.

[moonglowdancer]

Originally Posted by Yoda

When I have had that kind of experience it was to protect me from overloading my brain with the stress in my life. Are you dealing with your stressors in a therapeutic way now? How is your therapy going?

What she said... I do this in therapy sessions as well... things get to overwhelming and "I leave the room"... completely zone out, can see myself sitting... have know clue how long I've been there... except when my therapist tells me "I temporarily left the room." Brain over load!! Come out of it and I'm so tired... almost fall sleeping on the floor!!

[schitzoaffective]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

I have been feeling pretty surreal lately. Dream like, like surrounded in invisible fog.

And I have been flipping in and out of body. It's not first time it happened to me (and I can do it at will), but I thought I had control over it. But it just happens... I am sitting in a class and all of sudden I see myself from above.

I have been quite hypersensitive lately.

Perhaps its your medication i know mine makes me have similar episodes

[Can't Stop Crying]

Personally, I would take Shez's advice and consult a doc..if it is epilepsy, be thankful you caught it and if it's not, well at least you ruled that one out...

[venusss]

Originally Posted by schitzoaffective

Perhaps its your medication i know mine makes me have similar episodes

I am not on anything.


And it is not the "autopilot" thing I do when I am stressed and dealing with something.

well, I might see a doctor (though I am avoiding them plague). I am just coming to conclusion that it might be nothing physical (since I wrote this it did not happen... figures), but just result of my ubersensitivity.