How can I move my awareness outta my head?

April 10, 2008 1:21 PM

Social anxiety and depersonalization...How do you get out of your head?

So for the past couple of years, I've been experiencing some symptoms which I think might be close to depersonalization, as a result of my social anxiety. I get this very spacey feeling, sometimes have difficulty focusing my eyes on things (everything can seem sort've hazy), and can get very weirded out by the fact that I'm "inside my head". I also find myself doing a lot more daydreaming, having trouble concentrating, and generally staring off in the distance more than I should. Basically, I feel like the DP symptoms have made me hyper-selfconscious, and have really increased my social anxiety/generalized anxiety over the past couple of years.

Have you ever dealt w/ these feelings before? Did working on the anxiety make the DP symptoms disappear? How can I get out of my head and stop being so damn self-conscious in everything I do?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

I can definitely relate to this. I really do enjoy spending time "in my head". I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with this, but as with most things, too much is bad. I find that going out and doing a physical activity is good. I played road hockey with some friends on the weekend and it was a great experience. I was in the game the whole time, my mind really got in tune with my body. Even doing a mind puzzle may help (sudoku, etc.)
posted by AvailableName at 1:28 PM on April 10, 2008

Therapy and medication worked for me. Anxiety and that depersonalization feeling go hand in hand.
posted by Kloryne at 2:38 PM on April 10, 2008

Start using your mouth and body to get out of your head, and by this I mean start experimenting with your daily life and talking and going places in order to have something to reference that occurred outside of your head. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, stop self-diagnosing.
posted by rhizome at 2:54 PM on April 10, 2008

Working on my anxiety is really helping me with that feeling (I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it depersonalization, but I was definitely spacing out too much.) I started therapy and medication a few months ago, and I've been trying to get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. Getting over the social anxiety really just required me to force myself to talk to people as often as possible and realize that they're not paying nearly as much attention to me as I am to myself.

I've seen Feeling Good mentioned here before, and my therapist recommended it as well. I'm doing the CBT exercises in When Panic Attacks by the same author, and it's pretty much the same.
posted by kiripin at 3:18 PM on April 10, 2008

You know, I get that depersonalization sensation when my blood sugar drops too low. Could that be a factor for you?
posted by sugarfish at 3:29 PM on April 10, 2008

Try to keep your awareness in the immediate present and cut way back on the daydreaming and the haziness in social situations will diminish.
posted by bunnytricks at 4:43 PM on April 10, 2008

I used to have depersonalization issues, too; what worked best for me was what others have mentioned, to get up and actually DO something, or talk to other people. Sometimes it can be as simple as going to a department store to wander around by myself; all of the colors/textures/etc. pull me out of my head, and distract me from just working my mind in circles.

Also, when you're in that mindset, avoid mirrors and photos of yourself. It sounds stupid, but at least for me, a minor depersonalization feeling could turn into a full-blown panic attack if I looked at my own image for too long; something about it really amplifies the "what the hell, it's weird that I'm inside of my head" thing.
posted by sarahsynonymous at 4:48 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Diaphragmatic (or abdominal) breathing works really, really well for most people (me included).
posted by docpops at 8:19 PM on April 10, 2008