Welcome back, warriors. Today I am going deep into one of the most misconceived and frightening symptoms of anxiety, something that I know so many of you are dealing with in silence.
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My Raw Experience With Depersonalization
I recall the feeling of being in a bubble, looking at life through a misty window. Ordinary things were frightening: Am I getting dementia? Is it a brain tumor? Why am I not able to focus? I would leap at any noise-a backfiring car would plunge me into disastrous thoughts. It was as though I was on a rocking boat, light-headed and out of touch, and that my mind was playing tricks on me. This was not mere stress. This was depersonalization- a robber taking away my contact with reality.
Why This Out-Of-Body Feeling Hijacks Your Life
So what causes this nightmare? After years of research and personal battles, I uncovered four key triggers:
- Total depletion – your body running on empty.
- Stored emotional trauma – your subconscious reliving past pain daily.
- Repressed emotion – anger, fear, and rage with nowhere to go.
- An overworked nervous system – stuck in fight-or-flight, never switching off.
Google will not tell you this fact: depersonalization is the emotional emergency reaction of your body. Not a physical imperfection-a survival device.
The Freeze Response: Ancient Wisdom Meets Neuroscience
This was referred to as soul loss centuries ago by shamans. They knew what science has since proved: When trauma strikes, the mind is overwhelmed by freezing, rather than fighting or fleeing. Chemical defense overwhelms your system and disables what is considered non-essential. That is why emotional numbness is a companion of:
- Memory lapses
- Body zaps and tingles
- Heart palpitations
- Crippling brain fog
Your nervous system dims the lights to keep you functioning.
My 3-Step Battle Plan Against Depersonalization
Ready to reclaim your life? These aren’t theories, they’re tactics I used to break free.
Step 1: Calm Your Nervous System Now
Seek those moments of calm in the spikes of anxiety–use them. Take a magnesium salts bath. Practice meditation every day. Have a massage. This is not decadence, this is re-programming. Bring your sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) systems into balance. Health dwells in that equilibrium.
Step 2: Reframe Past Trauma
The childhood hurts? They are calling the shots. Do not confront them alone. Consult an emotional reframing therapist. In case of solo, imagine a new ending to painful memories. Parents fighting? Look at them embracing, giggling. It is unnatural, yes. However, memories change with our moods anyway. Why not guide them to healing?
Step 3: Neutralize the Disconnected Feeling
Stop catastrophizing depersonalization. Rebrand it:
“I’m just drunk without the hangover.”
“This is a free floatation session!”
“I’m high on life’s weirdness.”
Perception is power. Pair the sensation with neutrality, not doom.
Warrior Wisdom to Carry With You
Dizziness may be caused by anxiety and anxiety may be caused by dizziness.
Keep this in mind when the fog comes. You are not broken, you are adjusting.
You are not just anxiety: Never forget. These actions took me out of the pit–they can do the same to you. Next time tell me about your victories. United we stand.
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Comments (3)
You are amazing l
Omg I swear I needed to see this I have been in a state of depersinalisatiin for 3 weeks now it is the most scariest feeling ever thank you
I’m 63 years old. My first DP episode occurred when I was about 10 years old. As a kid–this was about as frightening as it gets. I have continued to have DP throughout my adult life. Terrifying isn’t even the right word. Unless you have experienced it you won’t understand when it’s described as being outside of your body, people and environment look unreal like you’re on a movie set. Your voice feels like it’s 5ft away from your body. Sounds are amplified, visuals are exaggerated. But at 63 I’ve lived through the worst episodes of my life (and still have them). thanks for advice, Dennis. Blessing to any of you who live with DP.