feeling as if in a dream

i have also dealt with this. i am scheduling to see someone about it this month. but i have been there too. it is a terrible feeling. you feel like your heads clouded and that everything going on around you isn't really happening. and that maybe your asleep. its a terrible feeling.

It's a symptom. She might also be lonely.

Hi, I have and am suffering from anxiety disorder..started of with panick attacks and am now having obsessional thoughts...such as your daughter! I think..Is everything a dream, everyone around me? what is when i wake up and everything is different. It bothers me a lot when i am alone. not so much when i am busy with work. If someone has a good advise on what to do about this...pls I am happy for any help!!

This is my reply from a similar thread, ignore the marijuana part:


If you're still reading this thread, these feelings are totally normal. I went through anxieties when I felt that too and I thought "oh no, what if I won't feel normal again?"


It tells you to just accept the feelings, and you'll just forget. It sounds easier said than done but just accept they're normal, and then you'll feel normal (because you won't be thinking about it).

A good example is if you think of your socks... you don't notice them at all, but when you think about them, you can't help noticing the feeling of it on yuor foot. It's the same as wearing glasses.

Obviously stop the weed, I've done it quite a few times in my mid teens and late teens.

But yes, it's just a form of anxiety and it'll go away. Read the link! It helped me.

i dont know how to explain the feeling i get but it comes over me all of a sudden out of no where i start feeling light headed and i feel like im in a dream but u also feel nauseated at the same time and if i just lay down or sit down it will slowly go away and i will feel like myself again i dont know what it is but it scares me. im 19 years old i also notice when it does happen to me and someone is talkin to me i dont pay attention and then i realize im going through another spell i dont know i just feel wierd when it happens does anyone know any answers for me.

I am 22 and that "in a dream" state has been happening to me since I was 14. I have been diagnosd with GAD and mild OCD and I take Zoloft 100mg. The medicine cuts the dreamy state drastically.Now i only feel like that maybe once a month.Feeling like that can be a little scary at first but you get used to it and you just have to keep telling yourself youll be ok and before you know it, it wont bother you anymore. Try putting your daughter in a support group with kids her age. It helps!

It is called derealization - it is very hard to describe and relate to if you have never felt it, but it is just a less common symptom of anxiety. Don't worry, let her know that it is just something that will pass if she tries to realize shes not the only one that feels that way and it is a normal, if uncommon, human feelking

Im 14 and i started getting these around 10 becuase i was dumb enough to try this thing that passes you out and ever since then its happend its went away for about 2 years and it only comes back when i drink any type of caffeine i dont know what it is but its a feeling like you do somthing then you think about and it feels like it didnt really happen ....i would like to know what it is
it came back like a week ago but now with head aches and it really affects the fun i have,,

i cant give you advise because i need it. i feel the SAME way she does. I feel like my life is a dream now. and that im sleeping in the hospital or something. idk why but my mind is convinced that this is not real. i feel detached and i want it to go away already. im really really sorry she has to feel that way. im 17 and i cant even take this. imagine a 10 yr old . i hope you get and answer.

Hi,I hope my view on all this stuff helps.I'm 48yrs old and I think all the letter writers about feeling like your in a dream at times is probably far more common than most would let on.Life is abit like a journey,but each one of us in the end goes it alone.Thats the sort of feelings we get when even in a crowd,we can feel very alone and insecure.I have'nt mastered it yet,but now I'm older and know each person carries their own fears through their life,I believe that only each one of us can put a stop to this torment.Don't do drugs,alcohol,pills etc,and do heaps of positive thinking about how lucky we are to wake up each day.I think alot of the negative talk we do to ourselves makes us scared and boxes us into a corner.It's like a higher power is willing us to fail and not cope,cause that would renders us useless to live our lives productively.So for children experiencing these sort of troubles so early in life,just give them lots of hugs,kisses,kind words,recognition,their self esteem and self worth need to be guarded and develop with lots of love to help get them through their tough times,so they can carry themselves through to adulthood as a well adjusted individual and hopefully help those along the way of their life journey.By the way if you don't agree thats fine.I had a drug,alcohol,pills,weeded out 20 odd years and this is just a persons views after the worst finished in 1984 it's certainly can destroy you, it's so important to wake up and take responsibility and direction of our selves or something else may do it for us.So time to stand up best you can and add your two bobs worth and remember no-one is better than you ,we all just have different parts to play in our lives

i am 23 yrs old was diagnosed bipolar at age 14 and been through several several different dr's and therapists counselors hospitals and meds to no avail. i had a mildly screwed up childhood divorced parents and a dad who is extremely narscisistic with twisted views and who was mentally and at times physically abusive i had an equally screwed up step mother and my biological mother is just very high strung and handles situations in a completely irrational illogical manner i am not complaining and know there are others who have/had it much much worse than i. throughout my teen yrs i smoked a little pot and drank occasionally never any hard core drugs had some what normal relationships mostly with guys (im female btw) never gotten along too well with other girls i have ALWAYS felt socially awkward like i had to force my self to fit in i am not shy or self concious or insecure with my self in any physical sense but just seem to have NEVER found ANYONE that i feel i deeply connect with as others seem to with at least one other human being i watch other people and observe relationships and how others act in different social settings and most people seem so content so sure about them selves what they believe so ok with how things are going and what is even other bipolar people schizophrenics and people with severe depression ive met seem to have a group or niche. i married and have a 2 year old daughter who is my world and makes me happier than i could ever have imagined anything making me i am currently going through a no fault divorce and my ex is a great person i just felt like i was bringing him down i just honestly dont think ill ever experience any greater happiness in life than my daughter which SHOULD be enough and is for most people with children but for me (and maybe others idk) it is bittersweet because in the back of my mind i just feel she wil grow up to hate me or i will screw her life up and sometimes i feel she would be better off without me i really feel that way about everyone in my family i feel like a burden like there is no hope and regardless what people say i feel like it would be a relief to all if i just disappeared all together. symptoms i have include but arent limited to racing thoughts THINKING ABOUT ALL KINDS OF CRAZY THINGS CONSTANTLY like why this is that way, what causes this or that, why are people like they are, the world, the universe, what the hell is the point of existence...? insomnia a "breaking heart" or heavy chest feeling mostly when i think about how i just want to cease to exist (not necessarily commit suicide all though i have tried once and entertained the idea several times since) there is a "spot" in my mind that at one time made up the majority of my mind through the yrs its shrunk but its what kept me wondering "what if?"
which is why after my first attempt i never tried again to off myself but that "spot" gets smaller and smaller every year it seems... feelings of absolutely hating myself and wanting desperately to be "normal" or someone else but then again i think im pretty cool and just wish i had some one to share the way i view the world with. its just a horrible feeling to go through life and everyday at some point think about what death is like and feel totally alone even when hundreds of people are around. im getting tired and just dont know how much longer i can go on like this i think i am developing a drug addiction pills mainly which i know is just a temporary fix and really makes things worse but guess its just part of it. any way for what its worth this is my last cry thanks to anyone who took the time to read its late sorry for all the jumbled mindless droning about how shitty life is... peace

totally got off subject forgot to add i feel that dream like state alot and it is very disorienting especially when it is intense it comes and goes but i seem to notice it more when i am uncomfortable with something i have said or feel vulnerable... markgowers i like the sock thing thats good never thought about it like that its kinda like when you first get really stoned you just gotta except the fact that everything is the same as when you werent high its just the way you preceive things is warped you have to just "accept your high" that dream like feel i get is kinda like a mary jane high and i have expressed this symtom to many and never had anyone say they felt or understood what i meant (being sober of course) thats what caught my eye on this site...that dream like state of mind can also be dangerous it can make you do things you normally wouldnt and be almost outta touch with reality at least for me... lexroxjax i TOTALLY understand the "not really a person and no one is really here" thing i have actually said those exact same words... im not so sure we will ever figure this life out and dont mean to be doom and gloom but ive just been through so much and nothing has seemed to help me so i cant help feeling that way i think ANYTHING in this world that can help you to feel worth something is grand wish i had something anything whether it be religion a definite unchangeable belief in any god or higher being anything at all! im with angelbabiix i cant give advice cause i am in DESPERATE need of it but maybe my posts will let someone else know they arent alone... its good to feel somewhat connected with you guys.

I've had similar symptoms before, sometimes lasting several hours. It is a miserable experience, but often those observing you don't notice much of a difference in your behavior. It may not seem to others like you are suffering, but you are. Some people going through depersonalization or derealization will worry that they are somehow deceiving others by acting normal, and are concerned that others will be angry with them if they discover that they are "not there" and their body is on a sort of autopilot.

I commonly worried about getting stuck in this mode and not ever snapping out, but I was surprised how quickly my symptoms disappeared when I started dealing with my anxiety. A few minutes of deep breathing every day was enough to turn an every-day hours-long nightmare into an only occasional concern.

Someone mentioned marijuana earlier. I'm not sure what research has been done in this, but many of those who suffer from depersonalization and derealization have complained about marijuana triggering or worsening episodes.

If you can stand Matthew Perry, I highly suggest watching the movie Numb for an inside look at what these experiences are like.

I have rear and read all of these hoping that it would give me more hope as to what is going on with me. I have all the same feelings. Not feeling real, cloudy, why are we here is all this real it is scaring me to death. I keep wondering if the rest of my life will be like this or am I really typing this. Im 29 yrs old I have 2 kids. I started on Zoloft 100mg about 8 weeks ago. I seemed to feel good over Christmas but all the sudden its like it is back again and now all I want to do is cry or sleep. Im so scared. They also have me on buspar twice a day. I dont see that it is helping at all. anymore suggestions

I have suffered from anxiety most of my life however I recently had therapy that armed me with tools to cope with the thought>feeling>emotion>behaviour cycle of thinking. Using these techniques gives me a greater control of anxiety.

I'm have the same dream like state of mind I'm just not sure how to change it beacuse is started with panic attacks and now I have the dream feeling but its getting worse

hi, i am 32 and have same feeling, like you are in a dream and nothing is real. Most of the time i am numb. I was a high scorer in college/university, but now i am not able to concentrate. I told my husband about this feeling, but he is not getting it. I feel alone most of the time. Also had a screwed childhood. My parents sent me to live with my aunts and grand mother. My aunt mentally, physically, and sexually abused me, but i am in a country where these things doesn't matter. When i came back to my parents, my mother never liked and use to beat me up to death. I hate her but still not able to talk to her about what she did to me. The only person who cares is my husband, but still he is not able to grasp the real depth of my problem.
I dont know, how i am gonna wakeup? I really want to, but i cant. I also tried to commit suicide twice before marriage, but now i want to live and enjoy my life with my husband. I hope someone will help. Thanks.

Interesting... i've had this problem from the day i was around 8yrs old. The spacey feeling comes and goes, especially if there is a sudden unexpected change in my sorrounding like meeting someone or something i didn't expect, a sudden crowd of people etc. I tried explaining to people but no one really understood. Am now 38 yrs old, with 2 daughters and i still have the problem. However my wife called today to complain about how she was feeling light-headed and when she explained, i totally understood and even explained to her more how it feels (she had no word for that 'spacey'feeling). She was shocked that i have managed to live with the condition all these years and behave normal. Well, i used to think i was alone in this situation but after googling today was surprised to find that am not alone. Guys, it's a situation that you can handle. When it strikes, i just continue acting normal, and i look for a change in environment or change my line of thought to something totally different or if with people around, i change topic of discussion so that my mind snaps out of it. It has helped me all these years...