Wow,I'm so glad I found this discussion! Liz, you are totally reading my mind. Even when I'm eating I wonder if I'm really eating and where does the food really go.. and all these crazy wonders. If I look back though, I notice that it may have been caused by drastic changes in my life. Maybe the Europe trip got you really high and now you are missing it. It is definitely a struggle when were are in this situation but I am just counting on time. I believe patience will get us there, back to who we were, plus someone strongerer, and I am trying to accept that it will take a long time.

Samantha and Derrick, You`re right, you are not alone. There are a number of individuals that struggle everyday, and that`s why we encourage you to work through the program, and to see the support that you need. Sometimes all we need is to talk to someone understanding with similar experiences. Take things one day at a time, journal your thoughts and lets talk about them! Sylvie, Bilingual Health Educator

hey.. im derrick and im twenty one.. and apparrently im not alone!! i too deal with severe thoughts of derealism and losing my mind.. losing my memory.... but the fact is... we deal with these thoughts and episodes on almost a daily basis.. and do we ever lose our mind.. no... we jsut keep torturing ourselves it is hard to explain to people who dont experience it.. but it is a very scary thing.. the more you focus on it, the worse it seems to get.. when in all actuality.. its jsut the same, its jsut in our heads that its getting worse fact is.. were fine.. i find when im occupied with something i enjoy , it barely comes to attention..it comes moreso when im alone or thinking..right now im fine and i think.. how do i get in those situations over a silly fear.. haha but when im feeling anxious..its a differnet story.. but it will pass.. we can live our lives... we just need some support.. i always found the best cure was jsut talking about it to others.

Hey Everyone. I just want to say that I have been having anxiety attacks for as long as I can remember. A few years ago I got a small glimpse of the feeling of unreality. Since I didn't know what it was at the time I just figured I would eventually lose my mind. Needless to say I have not lost my mind yet but those feelings are now constant. There are even times were I look around and wonder where I am and who am I. I wish I could give someone advice on how to fix it but I can't. I have just realized that I am not going to let my life slip by. I pretty much force those thoughts out of my head. I just tell myself that I know who I am, I know where I am and I am not going to lose my mind.

Hiya! I just wanted to say my heart goes out to you and hang in there you can beat this! And welcome to the forums! -Diva

Hi lindzardz, Please take the time to check out the free online program. You may find that as you work through the exercises that you are able to address and overcome many of your posted concerns. It teaches you things you may not understand about panic and agoraphobia, your own panic, your own panic cycle, and as you learn and get involved, you begin the journey and the process of taking back control from a fear that at the moment is controlling you. The Program guides you through the process of getting back this control. It prepares you for this, one single step at a time, and gives you some homework to bring you along from session 1 to session 2, and onward, in a series of 12 sessions over a period of twelve weeks. We wish you all the best and look forward to hearing from you again soon, Casey __________________________________ The Panic Center Support Team

Hey Lizz, Im in the same boat right now, I have had anxiety since I was 16 aswell and am now 21. I also have conquered it and was anxiety free for almost 2 years. But last monday I had a terrible Panic attack and for the past 2 weeks I have felt the same. I moved alone to Ottawa on a work coop for 8 months from University and at first felt storng, confident, and sure of myself aswell and then all of a sudden everything crashed. I have had the same type feelings of depersonalization and not being able to establish a purpose right now aswell. It's really hard but I understand what your going through, I keep thinking about things like that as if everything is surreal and it just helps to provoke this viscious cycle. I also have a mild case of agoraphobia where Im using it as an excuse to not to things but Im still trying as hard as I can to force myself to do stuff no matter what. Im optimistic this will pass and Im sure it will for you to, You just need to not get down and keep fighting. I've been extremely discouraged as of late to but you can't let that get you down. Try seeing a therapist, I haven't seen one yet but im going to start going in order to help deal with this. I understand what you feel like hopeless and alone. But you are not alone and we are all here to support you.

Hey! I am new here so hello! My name is Lindsay and i have had anxiety disorder since i was 16. i am 22 now and i have had about 4 real "episodes" of anxiety where i basically have a panic attack and it messes with me for a few months after. this time around i feel worse than i have ever before for some reason and its very difficult for me. i thought it was going to be a quick bout of anixety and be done with it but its been almost 2 months now...and its been a bit hard to handle. the thing that really triggered it was having existential thoughts that really drive my mind to a place that it doesnt seem to want to come back from...questions like, is this real? is this happening?? i know somewhere in me it is real but i question everything...like why am i here? how are we here? what is the point?? the way i see the world has literally changed and it really placys a trick on my anxiety. the world seems unreal and distorted. i cant quite get a grip that this is the world we live on and this is where im stuck for awhile....does that make sense to anyone??? the hardest part is that i thought i conquered my anxiety this past year that i spent living and backpacking all over europe. i felt so sure of myself, so strong, confident, independent and passionate about life. now im back at uni, back in the states and i dont know what im doing here....its affected me so deeply i literally dont know why im on earth. i feel completely depersonalized this past week and it just doesnt go away...and im afraid it wont and maybe thats why it isnt letting up ive had it before but thats what scares me the most only when im having a panic attack..it doesnt stick around like this and if it has, it wasnt as scary as this. im trying to go with it and not be afraid of it...but it starts to irk me and make me anxious by the end of the day when it just hasnt let up yet....it makes me want to sit around all day and do nothing. this may be a huge part of my problem...that now that im back i feel i have nothing really interesting and worth doing and it isnt europe and i feel suddenly...weak and helpless. i dont want to get out and challenge myself. i feel slightly agoraphobic or im using the fact that i felt agoraphobic as an excuse to not be out, because i dont want it to happen again. i just