DO i Have A Mental illness?

Question

Im about 18 and for the last year or so i've been feeling different.. i dont feel 'real'.. my life seems to feel like a 'dream' and for some times i confuse things i have dreamed about with things i have done in real life. e.g. my dreams and real memorys seem to blur into one...

anyone got any idea

I have not taken any drugs as in crack etc and i dont drink heavly.. I think it could be caused by stress, and someone mentioned being dehydrated as i dont really drink that much becuase i hate the taste of water.. anyway thanks for your ideas..

Answer 1

Depersonalization Disorder is a Dissociative Disorder and it's characterized by a profound sense of detachment that makes you feel as though you're going through the motions of life, but not really living the experience. People describe it as feeling like they are in a fog, or almost as though they are in a dream and there's often a sense of unreality about things, although you consciously know what's real, it just doesn't feel that way.
Depersonalization can exist alone or as part of another disorder, most notably Panic Disorder and PTSD, but it may also be connected with depression, especially in milder form where people describe feeling numb or like their emotions are blunted or flat lined. However, actual depersonalization is usually more extreme and represents a significant sense of detachment from oneself more than just the chronic numbness that often accompanies depression.
It is also has a relationship to “trance” and can be brought on by significant periods of sleep deprivation or other “trance-inducing” activities that require extreme and prolonged focus and concentration, like addicting computer games or monotonous and routine activity, both of which I believe are related. “Trance-inducing activity” leads to an altered state where there is reduced sensitivity to your surroundings. (Just think of "highway hypnosis"-this is pretty common and normal, but lasts briefly, though it shares many of the same features)
There's a good chance that Depersonalization will resolve on its own without intervention, particularly if it’s brief and hasn’t become habitual. However, a longer duration suggests that treatment aimed at helping you reconnect with yourself may be beneficial. Often times, depersonalization becomes a chronic way of coping with overwhelmingly uncomfortable or painful feelings and disconnecting from the experience of them, hence its frequent occurrence in response to trauma. Depersonalization is a frequent and common symptom associated with PTSD and also extreme anxiety and functions as a defense against the intense feelings people experience during abuse, life-threatening circumstances and extreme anxiety and panic and protects a person from becoming completely overwhelmed. People often "trance out" when under stress, and it functions to decrease their awareness of and sensitivity to distressing experiences, like the "freeze" response seen in trauma victims. (Just think of the teenager who "tunes out" when a parent or other person is berating them with criticism-they hear it, but don't really react to it). Therapy can be especially helpful if there is a history of emotional abuse that depersonalization helps you escape as it can become a familiar and almost automatic process that gets triggered by emotional arousal. In that way, it becomes a disorder as it serves to keep a person detached from their own experiences and disconnected from their sense of self. Therapy aims at making this a less automatic process and helping people reconnect to their emotions, their body and their sense of self and learning other ways to cope and self-soothe so that dissociation is no longer a “knee-jerk” reaction to emotional triggers.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I have experienced the same thing, from time to time. I'll have very *close to reality* type dreams, and then while doing my daily routine, think back upon them, and wonder....did that actually happen or was that a dream? I don't think you have a mental illness. You just need to get outside of yourself a little more. Get more involved...in this moment, in this life, right now. I also sleep way too much, however, and I've been kind of depressed lately, but i still classify myself as sane! And you most likely are as well. Anywho, Good Luck.

Answer 3

hey im 19 , have you taken lsd? if not your life feels "not real" because you have gone numb with your mundane life routine. dude your not krazy , all tho I know it can defenitly fell like you are. Its just that your life has become so dual for you , that u cant tell if its a dream or not , because your thinkin no way is my life actually this gay. lol , I suggest to spice your life up a , with extreme mesures. I dont mean sighn up in a salsa class at your local community college , I mean you need action. go get in a fight , or ask the person out that u always wanted ,
take risks , go sky diving get hurt . fell love, fell excitment , fell physical pain , that will snap you out of it.

p.s dont u dare talk to a shrink. thats just a huge waste of money,that could go towards a motorcycle or something , just get out there and live life , do what you always wanted to do. and that will wake you from this numb felling you have take if from another teenager.

Answer 4

it sounds more physical then mental. drinking water is key to good health. leave the alcohol alone for a while and see if just drinking other stuff helps. if not then see a doc. goofy blood sugar levels can make you feel dreamy and confused. alcohol messes with that. Watch what you eat and try to do more protein and good foods to see if that can change things. if not, then it didn't really hurt anything. good luck!

Answer 5

Do you do drugs like pot or hallucenogens? If so, I would stop because they wont certainly help you. It seems that you could be suffering from delusions. Perhaps it's early symptoms of Schizophrenia. I'm no doctor though. It it progresses and starts to really interfere with your life, then it's time to consult a professional.

Answer 6

The symptoms you have described are strongly suggestive of a dissociatve disorder. I really encourage you to pursue a thorough evaluation by a psychologist.

Best of luck,
~M~

Answer 7

I think your becoming to lose awareness of your perception, maybe reality. Try talking to a doctor or someone, I'm sorta having this problem also.

Answer 8

I wouldn't necessarily say you have mental problems.......but if you are having trouble distinguishing dreams from reality then you should probably seek out professional help.....that doesn't mean you have a mental illness......it just means you're having a little trouble......seek out professional help.

Answer 9

Have you been really stressed out lately? If so, that could be the cause. You might also be depressed and not realize it.

Answer 10

give an example. the fact that you recognize that you are doign this is impressive and I would say it is not a mental illness perhaps an adjustment. Are you just graduating high school.>