Social Anxiety Support

TheGMan · 10-31-2009, 12:57 AM

It's a very strange feeling. I am aware of having it before. Perhaps I have it all the time, but I am aware of having episodes where I just don't feel like I exist.

I was just sitting here looking in the mirror. It occurred to me that I didn't know this person looking back at me. I am in a house with people, but I don't know them. I mean I do, but it's not me that knows them. It's this person in the mirror. The person that I watch interact with people. But it's like watching a bad movie. I just observe the character.

I'm not really here.

Maybe it's always this way, but every so often I become suddenly aware of it.

shadowmask · 10-31-2009, 01:01 AM

Depersonalization Disorder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder

www.dpselfhelp.com

TheGMan · 10-31-2009, 01:18 AM

Thanks,
Do you feel this also?

FlickeringHope · 10-31-2009, 02:54 AM

I've felt it before.

epril · 10-31-2009, 05:19 AM

I knew there was a clinical term for what you're experiencing. Yes, I've felt this before. It's not uncommon. Ex. I feel it a lot when I'm shopping alone, and previously at work.

AudreyHepburn · 10-31-2009, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowmask

Depersonalization Disorder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder

www.dpselfhelp.com

I definitely have this.

millenniumman75 · 10-31-2009, 11:47 AM

It is also called derealization. It's the spacey feeling the body gets that tells the mind "whoa....too much anxiety to process! I need to shut down to catch up".

shadowmask · 10-31-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGMan

Thanks,
Do you feel this also?

Yep. I developed it suddenly at the age of 13 and haven't gone a moment without it since.

yellowpaper · 10-31-2009, 12:15 PM

I don't think I really have THIS... but lately I see a huge separation between mind and body. I feel like my body is like an unnecessary extra baggage that I carry around. It's vulnerable and at risk for literally everything. I'm trapped in my body, and I'm at its mercy... idk how else to describe it. People are just an organism, like a bunch of colonies of bacteria, all over the earth. Everything we do is for the survival of the species. I really hate looking at someone and thinking how they're trapped in their body.. they're just a weird gross organism.

I wish I could be in a more "fantasy" state of mind... a happier reality.

glarmph · 10-31-2009, 01:04 PM

I have had this happen quite a few times recently. It's a very weird feeling.

pokeherpro · 10-31-2009, 01:12 PM

For about 2 or 3 weeks last year, I felt this way. It was the scariest feeling I've ever felt. With depression and the social anxiety, I always felt ashamed and embarrassed, weak, but I never felt actually....crazy. But then I did. Luckily for me, it went away and while I occasionally get that feeling again, it usually comes if I'm high, where I've gotten better at reminding myself that it's just the weed making me feel that way.

If this feeling is recurrent, or you start to get scared...I hope there is someone in your life you can ask for help, because depersonalization is terrifying.

I can vividly remember going to the bathroom, and on my way out, placing my hands on the counter, placing my face close to the mirror and just looking into my own eyes...and it felt so strange...like I was expecting the face in the mirror to act independently of my real face...that's when I got real scared.

epril · 10-31-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pokeherpro

For about 2 or 3 weeks last year, I felt this way. It was the scariest feeling I've ever felt. With depression and the social anxiety, I always felt ashamed and embarrassed, weak, but I never felt actually....crazy. But then I did. Luckily for me, it went away and while I occasionally get that feeling again, it usually comes if I'm high, where I've gotten better at reminding myself that it's just the weed making me feel that way.

If this feeling is recurrent, or you start to get scared...I hope there is someone in your life you can ask for help, because depersonalization is terrifying.

I can vividly remember going to the bathroom, and on my way out, placing my hands on the counter, placing my face close to the mirror and just looking into my own eyes...and it felt so strange...like I was expecting the face in the mirror to act independently of my real face...that's when I got real scared.

It can also work the other way, where you look in the mirror and do see yourself, like you're seeing you for the first time, like you're looking past your skin and into your soul, and you feel vibrantly real and alive. It's eerily amazing.

pokeherpro · 10-31-2009, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epril

It can also work the other way, where you look in the mirror and do see yourself, like you're seeing you for the first time, like you're looking past your skin and into your soul, and you feel vibrantly real and alive. It's eerily amazing.

Felt that way too. It's such an indescribable thing. You can try to describe it, but you're always left feeling as if you didn't really describe how it truly feels. Words aren't enough.

TheGMan · 11-04-2009, 04:25 PM

Fortunately this episode only lasted a couple hours that night. I have felt alright since.

Fuzzy Logic · 11-04-2009, 04:28 PM

Yeah, I've experienced that quite a few times. It's like stepping outside yourself and your place in the world. Very trippy.

MavenMI6Agent009 · 11-04-2009, 04:51 PM

I get that detached feeling too. i think thats the source of my hallucinations when I start to panic.

xredsoxfan101 · 11-04-2009, 05:34 PM

i have this feeling sometime, for a good month in a half i was in a haxe and dont remember anything
i also have another. idk if it id a coping mechanism or not but i feel likemy life is a tv show, tht me and my friends are stars and our life events are part of a story line. i think of the beginning of a school year and the end as a premiere or a finale. when my friend moved i thought of it as her getting her own spinoff, its very weird and confusing. somebody please help

TheGMan · 11-04-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xredsoxfan101

i have this feeling sometime, for a good month in a half i was in a haxe and dont remember anything
i also have another. idk if it id a coping mechanism or not but i feel likemy life is a tv show, tht me and my friends are stars and our life events are part of a story line. i think of the beginning of a school year and the end as a premiere or a finale. when my friend moved i thought of it as her getting her own spinoff, its very weird and confusing. somebody please help

Thats exactly what I'm talking about. I believe it is a coping mechanism in response to anxiety.

Someone posted a link here for dpselfhelp.com - might be helpful

Jimminy_Billy_Bob · 11-18-2009, 03:00 AM

I was just reading through this thread and have to say that this is how I feel 24/7. Unless I consiously try and snap out of it, I always feel detached from everything, like my mind isnt actually inside my own body, but out flying around some where thinking about anything and everything except where I actually am and what is going on around me in my immediate area. I also have distorted, dark and unorganised thoughts, particularly when the weather is cloudy.

lde22 · 11-18-2009, 03:43 AM

I feel like this sometimes. When I do, I get this scary feeling that my life isn't real, like my whole life is just someones dream or something. Or sometimes I feel like I am an alien from a different dimension or planet or something. I just feel like I have no sense of reality and no connection with people.

10-31-2009, 12:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
TheGMan Status: Remarkable Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,068	I am Detached from my Existence- Don't feel here, someone else It's a very strange feeling. I am aware of having it before. Perhaps I have it all the time, but I am aware of having episodes where I just don't feel like I exist. I was just sitting here looking in the mirror. It occurred to me that I didn't know this person looking back at me. I am in a house with people, but I don't know them. I mean I do, but it's not me that knows them. It's this person in the mirror. The person that I watch interact with people. But it's like watching a bad movie. I just observe the character. I'm not really here. Maybe it's always this way, but every so often I become suddenly aware of it. __________________ My name is Graham Couzens. I have had social phobia my entire life. I am a radical left-libertarian anarchist with a "'big tent" political philosophy. I am mostly concerned about civil liberties. I have attended many schools and have 1 useless degree. I am self employed in marketing. I am married and have 2 children, 4 cats, and 1 rabbit. I am interested in embracing my social anxiety and welcoming positive energies. facebook.com/couzens twitter.com/grahamcouzens

10-31-2009, 01:01 AM	#2 (permalink)
shadowmask Status: Seeing stars Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: TN Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 1,082	Depersonalization Disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder www.dpselfhelp.com __________________ Basically, I'm complicated I have a hard time taking the easy way I wouldn't call it schizophrenia But I'll be at least two people today

10-31-2009, 01:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
TheGMan Status: Remarkable Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,068	Thanks, Do you feel this also? __________________ My name is Graham Couzens. I have had social phobia my entire life. I am a radical left-libertarian anarchist with a "'big tent" political philosophy. I am mostly concerned about civil liberties. I have attended many schools and have 1 useless degree. I am self employed in marketing. I am married and have 2 children, 4 cats, and 1 rabbit. I am interested in embracing my social anxiety and welcoming positive energies. facebook.com/couzens twitter.com/grahamcouzens

10-31-2009, 05:19 AM	#5 (permalink)
epril Status: sa challenger Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: arizona Gender: Female Age: 45 Posts: 2,646	I knew there was a clinical term for what you're experiencing. Yes, I've felt this before. It's not uncommon. Ex. I feel it a lot when I'm shopping alone, and previously at work. __________________ "Nobody's ever asked me to a party before, as a friend! Is that why you dyed your eyebrow, for the party? Should I do mine, too?"

10-31-2009, 11:47 AM	#7 (permalink)
millenniumman75 Status: Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dayton-Cincinnati, OH Gender: Male Age: 34 Posts: 38,625	It is also called derealization. It's the spacey feeling the body gets that tells the mind "whoa....too much anxiety to process! I need to shut down to catch up". __________________ millenniumman75 You are a success story waiting to happen! Live and let live VACUUMS more than a Hoover.... Live and HELP live is better!

10-31-2009, 02:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
FlickeringHope Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: U.S. Gender: Female Age: 22 Posts: 20	I've felt it before.

10-31-2009, 12:15 PM	#9 (permalink)
yellowpaper Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Gender: Female Age: 20 Posts: 696	I don't think I really have THIS... but lately I see a huge separation between mind and body. I feel like my body is like an unnecessary extra baggage that I carry around. It's vulnerable and at risk for literally everything. I'm trapped in my body, and I'm at its mercy... idk how else to describe it. People are just an organism, like a bunch of colonies of bacteria, all over the earth. Everything we do is for the survival of the species. I really hate looking at someone and thinking how they're trapped in their body.. they're just a weird gross organism. I wish I could be in a more "fantasy" state of mind... a happier reality. __________________ You're beautiful In an asymmetric kind of way Your face is not a cliche And you complicate In a helpful kind of messed up way But you have good intentions

10-31-2009, 01:04 PM	#10 (permalink)
glarmph Status: Hiding in my basement Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Gender: Male Age: 25 Posts: 243	I have had this happen quite a few times recently. It's a very weird feeling. __________________ Life sucks, then you die.

10-31-2009, 01:12 PM	#11 (permalink)
pokeherpro Status: Previously Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canada eh? Gender: Male Age: 25 Posts: 1,375	For about 2 or 3 weeks last year, I felt this way. It was the scariest feeling I've ever felt. With depression and the social anxiety, I always felt ashamed and embarrassed, weak, but I never felt actually....crazy. But then I did. Luckily for me, it went away and while I occasionally get that feeling again, it usually comes if I'm high, where I've gotten better at reminding myself that it's just the weed making me feel that way. If this feeling is recurrent, or you start to get scared...I hope there is someone in your life you can ask for help, because depersonalization is terrifying. I can vividly remember going to the bathroom, and on my way out, placing my hands on the counter, placing my face close to the mirror and just looking into my own eyes...and it felt so strange...like I was expecting the face in the mirror to act independently of my real face...that's when I got real scared.

11-04-2009, 04:25 PM	#14 (permalink)
TheGMan Status: Remarkable Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,068	Fortunately this episode only lasted a couple hours that night. I have felt alright since. __________________ My name is Graham Couzens. I have had social phobia my entire life. I am a radical left-libertarian anarchist with a "'big tent" political philosophy. I am mostly concerned about civil liberties. I have attended many schools and have 1 useless degree. I am self employed in marketing. I am married and have 2 children, 4 cats, and 1 rabbit. I am interested in embracing my social anxiety and welcoming positive energies. facebook.com/couzens twitter.com/grahamcouzens

11-04-2009, 04:28 PM	#15 (permalink)
Fuzzy Logic Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: United Kingdom, Northern Ireland Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 307	Yeah, I've experienced that quite a few times. It's like stepping outside yourself and your place in the world. Very trippy. __________________ “There is but a thin line between madness and genius. I have been trying valiantly to cross it, but I don’t think I’m mad enough yet.”

11-04-2009, 04:51 PM	#16 (permalink)
MavenMI6Agent009 Status: Cook Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: EL Crapo, Tx Gender: Male Posts: 13,633	I get that detached feeling too. i think thats the source of my hallucinations when I start to panic. __________________ "The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares." (Henri Nouwen) -------------------------------------------------------

11-04-2009, 05:34 PM	#17 (permalink)
xredsoxfan101 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2	i have this feeling sometime, for a good month in a half i was in a haxe and dont remember anything i also have another. idk if it id a coping mechanism or not but i feel likemy life is a tv show, tht me and my friends are stars and our life events are part of a story line. i think of the beginning of a school year and the end as a premiere or a finale. when my friend moved i thought of it as her getting her own spinoff, its very weird and confusing. somebody please help

11-18-2009, 03:00 AM	#19 (permalink)
Jimminy_Billy_Bob Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Age: 24 Posts: 127	I was just reading through this thread and have to say that this is how I feel 24/7. Unless I consiously try and snap out of it, I always feel detached from everything, like my mind isnt actually inside my own body, but out flying around some where thinking about anything and everything except where I actually am and what is going on around me in my immediate area. I also have distorted, dark and unorganised thoughts, particularly when the weather is cloudy.

11-18-2009, 03:43 AM	#20 (permalink)
lde22 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Southern California Gender: Male Posts: 66	I feel like this sometimes. When I do, I get this scary feeling that my life isn't real, like my whole life is just someones dream or something. Or sometimes I feel like I am an alien from a different dimension or planet or something. I just feel like I have no sense of reality and no connection with people.