By Professor Kevin Gournay
Feelings of unreality de-realisation are very common among anxiety sufferers. These feelings can vary considerably between different people, and sometimes it is the world around you that feels unreal, in other cases it may be that you yourself feel unreal. You may even suffer both of these problems.
Many sufferers of anxiety will associate these feelings with a fear of going mad, and ask whether these experiences are the first signs of mental illness. At this point, It must be said, without hesitation, that anxiety states, phobias and panics do not develop into serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or manic depression, therefore No Panic members should feel reassured!
Where then do these feelings come from?
Feelings of unreality are often influenced by hyperventilation and simply focusing on slowing one’s breathing down, or cupping one’s hands to re-breath carbon dioxide may be very helpful. One experiment which I often try with patients is to get them to artificially over breathe (this is not a dangerous thing to do!). This then often brings on the feeling of unreality, demonstrating to the patient very clearly, that the problem can be caused in this way. In turn, one can then show the patient how to breathe slowly, and diaphragmatically, and thus reduce the feeling.
Unreality, like many anxiety symptoms, is a condition which often becomes part of a vicious cycle, and the more one worries about it, the more the feeling comes. Unreality feelings can often be triggered by external stimuli, such as loud noise, bright lights, or the motion of a train or the underground. One of the most common triggers for unreality feelings is going into a bright, crowded supermarket with bright fluorescent lighting and people milling around in a hurried way. Feelings of unreality are then often linked to feeling alienated from the world, and this can then lead to feelings of further detachment. Quite often, unreality feelings may be linked to depressed mood, and once more the vicious cycle operates.
The message therefore, for the sufferers of this distressing experience is to be reassured that the feeling itself is not dangerous, does not lead to mental illness, and in many cases will respond to simple breathing exercises.
In closing, it must be said that many sufferers keep these feelings to themselves. It is often quite helpful to disclose how you feel to a health professional, such as your GP, who will reassure you, or talk to fellow sufferers. This obviously is where No Panic comes into its own, so please use your contacts within our organisation to share some of your feelings and experiences.
Professor Kevin Gournay is an Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry. He has more than 40 years of experience, is the author of more than 130 articles/books and is the president & Co-founder of No Panic.
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8 thoughts on “Unreality and Anxiety”
I think its important to be clear about the term “feelings of unreality”. Its very loose & can mean different things to different people.
For me its a feeling of being detached or disconnected from the situation I am in. Instead I am often “in my head” with recurring anxious or negative thinking. I think it needs a lot more than breathing to rectify this. As the Prof says maybe treating the depression……not an easy task. Mindfulness can also be useful for a more “on the spot” remedy. It can help you be more aware of what you are exactly thinking or feeling and so give you the chance to not over identify with theses thoughts or , even better, think of something mote positively
Awesome article, thank You !!
Oh my god yes. I thought I was completely alone in this. I’ve had this feeling for the better part of 20 years. It’s directly linked to my panic attacks and generalized anxiety, and sometimes I’ve had it last all day, making me feel as if I’m not actually living the experiences of the day. It’s like I’m in a dream, or a tunnel, hearing echoes, and when I talk I’m not actually talking, and when people talk to me they’re not real. It’s terrifying. I’m so glad this is an actual symptom of anxiety, and not just some weird unique thing my brain does.
I feel outside of myself constantly. I feel like I’m living in a dream. It can be caused by trauma.
Thanks for sharing
All these years I thought I was the only one. It’s good to know that I’m not going mad! Thank you for writing this article.
This has happened to me recently, it’s helpful to know why it happens, and how to help ease the feeling. It also helps to know that others have experienced this awful feeling!
I think it’s really hard to believe that it’s true! Even now when I’m writing this comment I feel I’m dreaming and it is supposed to be happen. I knew that i was overthinking all these days, anything happens around me I starts to overthink it and now it’s so hard for me to believe this. Back my anxiety hit me first time when I tried weed for third time, I had a panic attack followed by another next day , I was alone at home and thought I’m gonna to die! For supporting this feeling I thought this is happening because my body is weak due to the water fast that I did for 22 days and 6 hours. Hence I thought I m really in trouble now when this anxiety hits me.
I still don’t know what is happening to me every time I had anxiety I thought I had a serious Brain problem or something like one of my organ is on road of failing……. I really wanna to breath in full consiousness….
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