Brain Fog versus Depersonalization

[gbells]

Two different problems I have dealt with are difficulty concentrating and depersonalization. Difficulty concentrating involved being unable to read more than a few pages of text. It was elicited by the psychometric test where they ask you to name as many of something as you can beginning with a random letter. Animals, A= aardvard, ant, antelope, apaloosa, etc.

Depersonalization for me was a stress relieving method where I would zone out to avoid social stressors with other people. I would feel sedated and numb.

Psychology has good methods to treat depersonalization so if you have that I recommend seeing a psychologist.

Difficulty concentrating seems related to underlying neuro- inflammation of active SEIDS so it is resistant to current therapies.

 

[percyval577]

To me depersonalization means
that I cannot carry on with what I needed to do for fullfilling and developing myself.

So I didn´t like any short cuts of say psychologists
if they don´t understand what I am apparantly faced with:
a technical incabability. Therefore in some sense
the illness might be even a chance to develope a personalitiy,
because you are forced to search for (uttermost) possibilities for getting to fullfill yourself (to small, "last" degree).

 

[Pyrrhus]

A surprising number of ME patients that I have talked to have used the word “depersonalization” when describing their symptoms.

I don’t know if they all are using the same definition of depersonalization.

Psychology has good methods to treat depersonalization so if you have that I recommend seeing a psychologist.

I’m not so sure that’s correct. From what I’ve read, many psychologists view “depersonalization” as a natural coping mechanism to deal with situations of “learned helplessness”. But then again, it’s Psychology, so who knows.

 

[gbells]

A surprising number of ME patients that I have talked to have used the word “depersonalization” when describing their symptoms.

I don’t know if they all are using the same definition of depersonalization.



I’m not so sure that’s correct. From what I’ve read, many psychologists view “depersonalization” as a natural coping mechanism to deal with situations of “learned helplessness”. But then again, it’s Psychology, so who knows.

I am sure it's correct because I have been treated for it.

 

[PoorlyPixi]

Well this is an interesting topic to me. I've suffered from anxiety disorders for most, if not all, of my life, and the last few years I have written a lot about depersonalisation, and feeling like a floating ghost in my body. I'm told I have great self-awareness, but at the same time I feel like I don't have a firm grip on myself, I feel sort of separate from myself and like I'm just observing myself a lot of the time. I have been told this is depersonalisation to a degree, an effect of long term depression, anxiety, and helplessness. That's what the term means in mental health... feeling disconnected, not really there with yourself, as though you are not real. However... this feeling is for me very recent. I'm 29 now, and I had anxiety and depression all through my teens, and never felt disconnected from myself, or like a ghost observing myself. This feeling started within the last 6-7 years, and I suddenly became ill and lost my health in the autumn of 2011, really noticing its affect on my life at the start of 2012. Somewhere down the line after 2012, I developed depersonalisation, and 'brain fog.' So the question is.... How much of it is rooted in my mental health and psychology, and how much, if any, is rooted in physical illness and system dysfunction?

 

[Wolfcub]

I'm not sure I know what depersonalisation is.
But I get an awful feeling when I am going through crashes. This is a thing I never had before, and has only happened since my physical self became unwell (over a year ago)
I can't feel properly.
Things that would mean something to me -even as simple as the taste of some food, or the sound of some music are flat and seem to have no meaning. I can't derive any simple joy from anything.
For me, this is similar to the way I might feel if just awakened out of a deep sleep....it not being possible to connect in a meaningful way with surroundings or my inner feelings.

I find this extremely unpleasant and alien. All I tell myself is that the feelings (or lack of them) pass....sometimes in a few hours or a day or so.
It is always linked to physical malaise when it happens to me.

Could that be a form of depersonalisation?

 

[gbells]

"Things that would mean something to me -even as simple as the taste of some food, or the sound of some music are flat and seem to have no meaning. I can't derive any simple joy from anything. "

What you are describing sounds like anhedonia not depersonalization. Anhedonia occurs when a person's brain is overstimulated so it decreases the signals. Depersonalization is usually a response to stress where a person when a person under stress puts themself into a trance and walks around in a detached state. Treatments for anhedonia would be to locate the source of stimulation and decrease its intensity and duration so that the brain will adjust back. Depersonalization treatment requires psychological exercises and also stress reduction techniques.

 

[PatJ]

Things that would mean something to me -even as simple as the taste of some food, or the sound of some music are flat and seem to have no meaning. I can't derive any simple joy from anything.

This article by Cort on Health Rising may interest you: "Are All the “Feel-Good” Pathways Blocked in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?"

 

[Wolfcub]

"Things that would mean something to me -even as simple as the taste of some food, or the sound of some music are flat and seem to have no meaning. I can't derive any simple joy from anything. "

What you are describing sounds like anhedonia not depersonalization. Anhedonia occurs when a person's brain is overstimulated so it decreases the signals. Depersonalization is usually a response to stress where a person when a person under stress puts themself into a trance and walks around in a detached state. Treatments for anhedonia would be to locate the source of stimulation and decrease its intensity and duration so that the brain will adjust back. Depersonalization treatment requires psychological exercises and also stress reduction techniques.

Thank you very much @gbells What you said is very helpful for me.

 

[Wolfcub]

@PatJ That is an extremely interesting article that I hadn't seen before. It explains a LOT. Thank you.

 

[BeADocToGoTo1]

Have you looked into any form of nutrient deficiencies or malabsorption issues?

Sometimes those symptoms are not just mental but physical (or both), and can be due to nutrient deficiencies causing metabolic pathways to not function well. Also bacterial or yeast overgrowths and dysbiosis can cause those symptoms through multiple ways, e.g., releasing toxins, utilizing nutrients your body needs, creating malabsorption through a biofilm, etc.

 

[Hufsamor]

@PatJ
Thanks a million for the link