Help for someone experiencing depesonalization

Hi there @AlwaysHappy

As someone who experiences depersonalisation I wish I could give you some answers. It is still a very confusing and disorineting experience for me and can be scary even. especially for others who are around me.

I think the fact that you know the difference between depersonalisation and derealisation is a real testament to who you are as a support person. These are tricky to navigate and understand. It really shows how much you care about this young person in your life.

In my experience, I love when people take the initative to research my conditions but it is always most helpful for me when someone approaches me and tries to work with me to find strategies together that work best for me.

OH! Something else, as a young-ish (lol) person myself I have found memes and internet jokes really good ways of connecting and learning about my depersonalisation. Maybe you could encourage them to follow some hashtags or meme pages on the topic? Just a thought! haha Like I said, everyone is different. 🙂

- periwinklepixie

@Former-Member

Where have you found the memes? Do you have any good ones to share? I’ve searched but not really found many when it comes to depersonalisation/déréalisation.

For me the most helpful thing was understanding what was happening and why. Once I knew it was my brain trying to protect me from being overwhelmed it was a lot less scary. It can be frustrating when I can’t ground myself enough to function properly but learning over time to tolerate that feeling has helped. The most useful thing has definitely been working with a psychologist who specialises in trauma because they often have the best skills for dealing with depersonalisation and derealisation.

Oh my @Wintersweet I am so sorry for the late reply! I completely missed this notification.

I'm a big user of Instagram. Instagram can be a great resource for informative mental health content but also memes 😛 Which are infnormative in their own. way, like I said.

I find following particular hashtags on Instagram like #dissociation #depesonalisation can help me find memes but also discover new people.

Hope that helps!
- periwinklepixie

What you are describing sounds more like a Dissociative Identity Disorder. It is in the DSM5 if you want to read about symptoms and see what you think. There is a lot of prejudice regarding this disorder among psychiatrists unfortunately. However if you want to explore it and talk to a psychiatrist/psychotherapist about it I would highly recommend Dr Ratna Ratna 0433536554. She has rooms In Campbelltown and Hurlstone Park in Sydney. She is very experienced in trauma, PTSD and de realisation and DID

Hello @AlwaysHappy

I know this is quite some time later, I experience both depersonalisation and derealisation. There is a podcast called Traumatized Motherfuxxers. I understand that the name might be off-putting. The young woman who runs the podcast tends to come at these forms of dissociation from an academic and lived experience background. I have found her podcast immensely helpful. For most of last year I thought that my depression was ramping up. It turns put it was a slightly different form of derealisation which was explained at length in one episode. She also provides what has worked for her in the past, or is working for her in the present. I was only able to access the podcast through Patreon because i use Android rather than iPhone. From some of the stuff she says it sounds like her podcast is available for free on an Apple podcast app.

Something else that really helped was a medication that I'm not allowed to type here, at lunchtime. The med sounds like quiet in a pine forest. The worst of my disappearing was in the afternoon. I don't know how that worked, and it's definitely off label, but it really worked for me until I was able to get a handle on things myself. One of the things that helped me get a handle on this stuff was committing to the bi-lateral stimulation part of the EMDR therapy with my psychologist. Going through some of those memories has been terrifying and really grounding.

Can't think of anything else this late at night. If more comes to me I'll post about it. Hope the young person has been able to get a handle on this stuff. Cheers