How To Stop Checking In On Depersonalization
After looking at tips and tricks and reading personal stories, you may have realized that the best option for coping with depersonalization is not to worry about it.
This was true for myself, and still holds for dealing with many unwanted thoughts and emotions.
The problem with this idea is that you can’t force yourself to stop worrying. As soon as you decide that you don’t want to care about dp being there, it gets easy to get upset when you do catch yourself worrying. Then what is the solution?
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. If you are looking to speak to a medical professional, we recommend Online-Therapy: https://onlinetherapy.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=2&aff_id=1549
Table of Contents
Why You Can't Stop Worrying About Depersonalization
The best way to come up with a plan of action for yourself, is to deeply understand why this is happening. Although the experience of dp is unique, the phenomena of being unable to forget something, is certainly not.
In fact, it is a very common topic in psychology, spirituality, and philosophy.
The reason you may always catch yourself thinking about depersonalization, is because you care about whether it is there or not. It is a very simple concept that goes by many names in different fields, that points out the cause of stressful emotion. In Buddhism, it is called attachment, because you may be attached to whether or not you think about dp, you have an emotional reaction to the outcome.
Worrying About Depersonalization Is Not A Problem
The way to stop worrying about the problem, does not come from stopping caring, however. Caring is natural, and can have numerous causes that cannot simply be shut off like a light switch.
The solution is to treat the worrying in the same way you treat dp, by not pushing it away. The more you associate dp as a problem in your head, the more anxiety and unnecessary stress comes along with it. These accompanying emotions may make it more difficult to fade on its own.
In the same way, if thinking about dp is a problem to you, then you may develop an adverse reaction with it. This negative relationship may make the worrying come back stronger, just like it does to dp. The good news is, building a positive relationship with dp is easy.
Giving Up Worrying is Easy
This is not to say that the experience of dp and worrying is always carefree. Rather, it is just to point out that the skills required to develop these positive habits are present in everyone.
The one difference between stopping worrying and stopping dp, is the worrying tendencies will fade quicker.
Since worrying is just a thinking pattern, or a mild habit, it is much easier to let it fade away.
As soon as worrying is not looked at as a problem, and can just be observed, it will cease to be a habitual pattern.
How Do I Know If I Am Worrying To Much
If you think you might have a bad relationship with worrying, but are not completely sure, there is a good way to test this.
One indicator might just be that you are looking for ways to stop worrying. A clearer indicator, that will directly point out how you treat worrying, is the emotions that follow when you do catch yourself worrying.
If there is frustration, stress, fear, or other unsatisfactory emotions that follow, then it may be that you don’t treat that experience in a positive light.
Is It Bad If I Can't Stop Worrying?
Worrying in itself, does not have to be a problem to seriously address. Continuous worrying however, will not have a positive impact on dp. This is because stress and anxiety are deeply connected to dp. For more on this, check out: How Depersonalization/Derealization Affects Anxiety
You might find yourself in the situation where you think you can’t stop worrying about dp, or worrying about worrying.
First, it might be helpful to remind yourself that thoughts and emotions always fluctuate, and this will soon pass. All there is to focus on, is treating all the thoughts and experiences in the way that is beneficial. In other words, to support a mindful relationship with yourself.
The dp, the worrying, the worrying about the worrying, the stress, the panic, all can be treated with the same open presence.
For more on this, check out: How Do I Stop Depersonalization?
Conclusion
As you may have guessed, worrying does not help with dp. Like many other things, extra stress is not something that is always welcomed and appreciated. The way to approach this worrying, may be surprising, in the sense that it’s the same way to approach dp. Through a mindful relationship.
It can be very beneficial to learn about what exactly are the anxiety factors in your life that you could let go of. Thank you for reading!
