Anxiety and feelings of Unreality
Often people who have anxiety or panic disorders say that the strange feeling of unreality, depersonalization, spaciness, or dreaminess are the most frightening. Of course these feelings are not as violent as the throat clenching horror of a full blown panic or anxiety attack. Feelings of unreality are considered frightening for a different reason.
After you have had a panic attack or two you probably know what to expect. That doesn’t mean it becomes any less nasty necessarily, but at least you know where you are. Feelings of unreality on the other hand don’t seem to have a definite start or finish, you don’t know when they will go away. What’s more they don’t feel like anxiety, they feel like you are going completely mad!
And that is the scary thought. Is this Schizophrenia? Bipolar? What’s going on?
What is going on? Well, you are feeling spacey and it doesn’t matter half as much as you think it does. Like the rest of anxiety and panic, if you worry about it you just get more. Work on going about your normal business allowing the anxiety and feelings of unreality to be there. The sooner you accept them the sooner they will pass. Dr Clare Weekes (eminent Australian Anxiety expert now deceased) says feelings of unreality are a good sign, as they show you are dealing with the anxiety. Read here for more about her. And for a wealth of anxiety information visit Anxiety 2 Calm.
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Hello,It’s good to see some of the things that I go through listed here. I have suffered with panic and depression, anxiety for about27 years now..I have had the strange feelings alot…I have felt completely crazy from the deep feelings of Spaciness and looking at things like trough a magnifying glass too.Sometimes things and people don’t look normal to me. I get so messed up sometimes with this. I feel noone in the world could possibly feel some of my symptoms.:( I hope that Others know what I am talking about..Write me if you want to!..Brian “Drumbeats2@aol.com “
I do understand the way you are feeling bigtime. I often wonder if I am the only person to feel this way or how strange it would feel to actually describe my symptoms. It is like watching a distorted video game of life. This is especially bad when I get anxious about driving. My perception seems to be off, but I know it is just anxiety and it passes. It is easy to feel crazy over it too, except that I know I’m not (not too crazy anyway:)
For the past 7 weeks i have been feeling spacey, as if i’m not here. I have had dizzy spells and it’s very worrying, i get a fast heartbeat and i get hot asnd my skin feels strange. This seems to be swamping my life, i’m frightened to do things incase when i’m out i come over all strange. No one seems to understand. My Nan id dying from cancer, i am living with her and caring for her, i wondered if this was a result of stress? KOASTLE1@chi.ac.uk (Kayleigh)
wow! Its is so reassuring to see someone feels the way I do. I take 40mg of Citalopram every morning, but I don’t feel like it is working anymore. I am constantly getting that “unreality” feeling and I cant even explain the feeling. All of a sudden I will feel like im not a part of the world or I will just start panicking and thinking I’m about to go crazy. I also feel weakened and fatigued alot!! It will come on when I think about it, and ill feel like i just want to go to sleep. Sometimes I feel my mind makes me think I’m tired… I just dont know?? help??
I’ve been feeling a lot of unreality for a couple years now, and I felt like it wasn’t anxiety. I just felt like I was slipping into a dull insanity. My emotions seem numbed and my happiness is dwindling, and every day felt like a new ‘vibe’ underlying the overall illusion of a nightmare. It was so dull that I wasn’t sure if it was really happening– if I was even real. And I do understand what you mean about people and things not looking normal! They feel different, like maybe they look the same, but if you peeled back their cover, you’d find that underneath there was something else making them up, something scary. I have this problem with environments. My apartment seems like a new place nearly every day, and sometimes it’s hard to adjust to new surroundings, fearing certain rooms that just yesterday I was comfortable in.
I have been suffering with this derealization for about a year. My home feels and looks different, and I feel like I am losing my mind. They say that it is just anxiety but I don’t know how to get rid of it, or if is possible. I have been on every medication there is and nothing helps….PLEASE HELP ME.
Sincerely,
Sue
i have strange feelings as if im not here.. i have feelings like evry week is just zooming past or kinda feel like thay havent happend i get starange feelings like when i sit in a room nothing elts exsists but that room and evry day seems just as its the same like there is only 1 day in a week or some thing i feel like im propa mad
Oh man, this hit the nail on the head! When my derealization occurred, I thought I was becoming schizo, bipolar, or worse. Derealization is indeed the most horrifying symptom of anxiety, IMO far worse than the racing heart and shortness of breath.
When i was 10 i used to have wierd feelings like I wasn’t real and when i would be in my room alone at night it would get worse. And then i would go to bed and wake up in the morning feeling normal again, that happened every day almost. And then when i turned 12 I was out with my sister and we got home and then I got that crazy feeling like I’m dreaming and felt out of place, but this time it never went away. It stayed with me for a couple months. It was the worst months of my life i told my mom about it and she said that i had some fung shui problem. But it seems like the more i thought about the crazy things that i was feeling it got 10 times worse. But I finally became better and now i’m 14 and feel way better. But it does go away i promise you. Just hang in there and u will be alright.
Finally, I could have an answer to what I have been experiencing. When any of you have this derealization (hope this doesn’t sound crazy) do you get an olfactory (smell) or sensation sort of like you do when you get water in your nose. The overall feeling is like a draining rush that just leaves me completely spent, clammy and sweating. On ocassion I will picture things in my mind that perhaps have people included that I know but are in places they normally would not be? Crazy stuff. I can feel it coming on when it does occur and there is no stopping it. Can happen right in the middle of a conversation. I maintain my composure and function, but it is quite difficult. Would love to hear more.
I been having the same feeling for 5 years now it stinks I just want it to go away
Hi, after a year of stress i had a panic attack,that lead to a few months of anxiety. Now im left with this feeling of unreality. feelings like, i dont feel any emotions,dont recognise my own voice,feel very strange around my daughters and grandkids, dont want to be involved in family meals, too uncomfortale im always making excuses , my family are feeling very worried for me. im just not the same person, i dont know who i am anymore. also i have lost 8 kilos because i have no appetite. My mind is overloaded with jumbled thoughts. These are a few of my symptoms. I have started a mindfulness course and seeing a therapist. So i hope i will get over this sooner than later.
wow. I am having this unreality problem right now. I just cancelled a lunch date with a great friend because of it. I have nervousness driving as well, I am afraid to have a panic attack behind the wheel. I had this as a teenager but then it stopped. I am now 40 and I don’t understand why this has started up again…
You are most definitely NOT alone! Millions of people suffer similar features of Panic and anxiety. Probably why so many commercials feature anti-depressant medications (the same drugs that are used for anxiety disorders) these days. I first developed these same feelings of unreality or depersonilization briefly as a teenager. But then it ocurred while I was in the Gulf War quickly followed by the onset of some wicked panic attacks. I could not shake it; period! The unreality brought on the panic and the panic and anxiety worsened the unreality. It was a vicious cycle. When I got state side I finally sought treatment. The physician I saw had a knack for this kind of thing and prescribed me an”old school” antidepressant and a benzodiazepine similar to Xanax or valium. My symptoms improved very quickly and I went from feeling like I was going mad back to my old gregarious self. Most experts will tell you the symptoms are purely biochemical in nature and usually brought on by a variety of stressors. As horrible as these symptoms feel they are very treatable!
I have been having horrible anxiety and depression lately. Today was the first day I experienced this depersonilization. I don’t even know if that’s what it was but I felt like I suddenly was in a fog. Very scary feeling.