Posted by SLS on November 7, 2016, at 7:30:36
In reply to Best Medication for Derealizing, posted by Prefect on November 6, 2016, at 19:02:53
Hi Prefect.
> My anxiety most often causes me to zonk out and disconnect, which I HATE. During these times I have trouble concentrating, thinking, feeling, or even following a conversation. It's like my brain shuts off parts to avoid panic.
>
> I prefer the fight-or-flight reaction, because it eventually relieves anxiety by working through your system, but I rarely have this luxury. I just check out.
>
> Most anxiety meds are designed to reduce the right-or-flight reaction. I would like something that targets the mechanism that causes derealization.
>
> Thanks,It is sometimes hard to diagnose a dissociative state like derealization.
1. Did you ever experience a traumatic event or chronic trauma during childhood?
2. How old are you now?
3. When did these states appear relative to the onset of depression and / or anxiety?
4. Have you had psychotherapy?
Severe anxiety or depression can themselves precipitate dissociative states. You might be right about your brain / mind wanting to shut-down as a defense mechanism against anxiety. My doctor likes to frame derealization as being a result of a combination of ahnedonia and anxiety. My personal experience with chronic derealization is that an effective antidepressant minimized it. I was also able to process psychological issues easier in the absence of depression. In my case, the depression was the driver of the anxiety. In other people, the anxiety drives the depression. Finding a medication treatment that addresses both can come in the form of certain antidepressants. Paxil and Effexor are the first two that come to mind. Nortriptyline might help if depression is the underlying precipitator of the anxiety. Some antipsychotics can be used if nothing else is currently helping. Low dosages of Seroquel seem to be effective for anxiety. For me, Nardil worked well for awhile. When I relapsed into depression, the anxiety and depersonalization emerged again.
RJs suggestions are interesting and worth exploring. Amphetamines can produce what are considered to be paradoxical effects - even being effective to reduce mania in bipolar disorder and hyperactivity in ADHD. Taking propranalol right before exposure to an axiety-inducing event might be an option until you find a more effective and sustainable treatment.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1092978
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160928/msgs/1092984.html