I was exposed to a bad PTSD trigger on Saturday and dissociated for a bit and have been in a state of derealization since. Now that my therapist helped me not panic about this feeling, I’ve found myself curious about how other people have experienced this.
For me, everything seems muted. People and their expressed emotions, colors, general vibes in different situations etc. Everything is just wrong and unsettling. It’s like everything just isn’t existing enough to feel tangible. Iam fully aware that my perception is very wrong because I’ve asked people if things seem off at all and they’ve said no. I was very scared for like two days until I was able to book an appointment with my therapist and now I’m not as scared and the derealization doesn’t feel as disconcerting, but it’s still there. Hoping things will be back to normal when I wake up in the morning.
I’ll try my luck here, because you people are really smart.
As a kid I sometimes had this kind of derealization (never heard about term before this post) feeling, but my surroundings kind of changed form. It was like my surroundings got further away from me or zoomed out. I could sit at a table and suddenly I got this weird feeling that the table and everything around me got smaller and it was the weirdest sensation. I could look at my hands and they looked like they were not a part of me and huge compared to e.g. the table. Maybe it’s derealization, I don’t know. I couldn’t snap out of it, even though I was fully aware of it happening to me. Sounds became distant too and my vision blurred as well.
I’ve perhaps experienced it while being an adult as well. I have being disassociating my entire childhood, so if there is any correlation, it would make sense. Does that sound like derealization??
Edit: the more I read about, the more it definitely seems like derealization. I think what I’m describing is the Dolly zoom effect
Sounds also like Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, since you mention primarily having it during childhood. I had similar experiences but the derealization changed form as I got older.
ETA: Looks like mono can be a cause of it - I had mono as a tot that lasted a couple years. Maybe you had similar issues?
I have something similar, probably AIWS looking at it now. It felt like looking at a table or my hands through a really zoomed out lens for a little bit. I have never associated it with migraines or anything negative before, I kind of just sat there and experienced it until it went away.
That could also be it. I did get the Epstein-Barr virus when I was a couple of years old.