Home > Anxiety > Unreality, Depersonalization, and Derealization

Do you sometimes feel like you or your environment are unreal? Or that there is a disconnect between the two? This dreamlike sensation can be rather disturbing, especially if you interpret it to be the onset of serious mental illness. However, it is much more likely that what you're experiencing is the common anxiety sensation of unreality, often referred to as depersonalization or derealization.

HOW IT HAPPENS

In most cases, sensations of depersonalization result from the introversion that anxiety cultivates. Anxious people tend to become so preoccupied with worrisome thoughts, body sensations, and adverse emotions, that their awareness becomes increasingly directed within themselves, rather than on the outside world. And this inner focus increases as inner turmoil grows. With time, you may become so consumed by your inner mental/emotional world that the outer world begins to take on an air of unreality.

When this sensation of unreality is encountered, a typical anxious response is to become fearful that you're going crazy or losing your mind. But that increased anxiety just fuels the introversion causing the sensation.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

First, know that there is a vast difference between the simple sensation of unreality, and true insanity. When you encounter this sensation, remind yourself that it's a common anxiety symptom that will disappear once you've resolved the anxiety itself.

If using the MC2 Method, apply the method to these sensations of unreality to quickly dissolve them.