Hello NT,
I understand that anxiety after a TBI/Concussion is almost guaranteed, but does this lead to derealization/depersonalization in your experiences?
I'm having a hard time differentiating between:
A.)Short Term Memory Loss or Anterior Amnesia as explained in the TBI Survival Guide (that MarkInIdaho was so kind to share)
VS.
B.) Derealization/depersonalization from anxiety.
Nothing seems to fit the criteria, I don't feel like I'm watching a movie, or things are behind a veil. I just know that something isn't right. Things I did 5 minutes ago, feels like 5 days ago. What I did last week, feels like years ago and not 100% in my mind. This feeling worsens with anxiety of course; had 1.5 anxiety attacks. First one was full blown at work, the second I felt it creeping up but luckily my fiance was nearby and stopped by my job, took me down the block in his car, and we listened to a meditation podcast which helped me come completely out of it, however leaving me feeling very numb!
Just wondering if anyone else was diagnosed with this, what they did, what helped them and what didn't, or if this is just the TBI manifesting.
Additional symptoms:
-Vertigo
-Occasional nausea
-Light sensitivity
-Noise sensitivity
-Loss of focus when people are speaking to me one on one
-Inability to focus on my studies
-Fatigue
-Constant anxiety, random bursting into tears, switching between being okay one minute to the next.
-Incredible sensitivity to being off balance - example: if the road I'm walking on is uneven, I feel it 100x more than I used to and it throws me off completely.
-Disinterest in pretty much everything
-Binge eating to complete lack of appetite
Any insight would be really useful, I appreciate everyone's previous kind words when I was first figuring this out. I've been prescribed zoloft 25mg and I don't believe I'm seeing any difference. This used to bother me a lot more a few weeks ago, but now I seem to just be dealing with it - unsure whether things are improving or not - I feel as they aren't. Besides this, I'm trying light exercise, and all the vitamins that Mark listed as well as Green Tea Extract for when I'm dying at work from fatigue mid shift.
Also...the podcast I mentioned above is this one:
http://www.themeditationpodcast.com/episodes.html
^^^ It has been a GREAT tool in helping me calm down and fall asleep when my mind is racing, especially since my doctors have told me to cut out all sleeping aids - my previous best friends. Episode 28 is a good one, I recommend headphones as it lets you truly hear the binaural? beats well.
I hope and pray so hard every day that this will go away. I miss "normal" me. I now fear picking up the phone when a friend calls, going to the grocery store alone, I haven't driven in 2 months, and I pretty much have a mental break down every night before work. Considering quitting my job and going to a less stressful one but the opportunities of a lifetime would be completely out the door. I also hope one day to be able to help people out the same way that the lovely people here on NT have helped me, especially in my darkest moments.
Thank you all.
-Lily