There is a similar symptom that is due to depression that feels like one is in limbo or detached. The common intense thought depression is different. I experience this lack of awareness depression 30 plus years ago. My psychiatrist explained it as cognitive fatigue from overload. As he described it, the brain gets clogged with toxins from a emotional or physical stress and just stops functioning.

Has your psych considered anything like a depression due to finishing school ? Sort of a post partum depression ? My brother suffered a depression episode when he finished an intense year long project at work. The adrenaline from the pursuit of the project became his existence. When that adrenaline trigger was ended, he collapsed. People, especially men, often experience this when they retire. It can be a malaise or worse.

Google Post College Depression or Post Graduation Depression. Both terms are used.

It would be worth trying to find something to do that creates a routine.

The defense industry deals with this same issue as Top Secret programs get finished and security clearance employees need to sit in the freezer for days and weeks ( a room with just books and magazines ) so their clearance level is maintained until the next program starts. The stress of going to work to do nothing is problematic.

You could try a 5-HTP supplement. The serotonin that 5-HTP provides helps with some depersonalization issues.

Good grief,

I know of what you are speaking. I know this is old advice but be patient.

Things do come back around.

That blank feeling was around for a good bit, I felt like a different personality, blank and absent.

I am for the most part comfortable in groups and conversations again but it took awhile. The good thing about this is when I don't want to answer the phone or talk to someone in public now I don't.

Bud

There is another poster here on NT who had a head injury and developed depersonalization symptoms. He now posts on another forum here.

Suicidal thoughts always there in the back of my head

Eventually his neurologist tested him for seizures and found seizure activity in his temporal lobe. He now takes an anti-seizure drug with some benefit. He is only 16 yrs old.

I experienced absence or petit mal siezures when I was young. People say I would become vacant as it I was in a different world. Doc could not find anything in EEG that was conclusive.

More recently, a qEEG showed that my brain was not properly processing information in the uptake cycle. This is where information is recognized and processed. Sort of like trying to put a pen to paper but the pen is skipping and not leaving much of an impression. The neuro was shocked that I could function so well.

I wonder if these depersonalization episodes are similar. The brain is not connecting perception and personhood with reality.

I've seen articles that make such a claim. Some say that this is because neurotransmitters are inadequate so there are not enough messages getting through.

That is why I take 5-HTP and L-Theanine in the AM. I tried taking L-Tyrosine but it had a negative effect. Neurotransmitters need to be maintained in balance or equilibrium to function properly.

You might want to look at taurine. Lots of new information coming out about it.
The Forgotten Longevity Benefits of Taurine - Life Extension
Works at 1000mg a day for my long term tinnitus.
There is a poster at TN forum who says it helps her facial nerve pain.

Also l-glutamine. One poster on Bipolar opens a capsule under the tongue to facilitate glutamine getting to the brain. Glutamate is the highest concentration of a neurotransmitter in the brain.
Oral glutamine restores the GI mucosa if it has damage, but less gets to the brain orally than under the tongue.
Glutamate
While glutamate released from cells that are damaged, is toxic to brain cells, as a neurotransmitter carefully controlled, it is important for brain signaling.

GoodGrief -

I know exactly the feelings you describe. Mine was really intense for a long time, but it does begin to subside after a while. Do you have any vision and/or vestibular problems? For me, I think a lot of the feeling came from vision and vestibular problems - my perception was distorted so much that it was giving me all types of strange "psychological" sensations. Vestibular and vision therapy helped with that along with acupuncture. I still experience it, though not nearly as bad.

Mark & Mrs. D -

How does one know how to balance neurotransmitters? For instance, I have been taking taurine 1,000 mg for a while now and have not noticed much change. I actually have tried different amino acids and never really notice much difference from them.

And how does one get a QEEG?

Thanks

In regards to amino acids:

It is best to take them on an empty stomach. They are often slow to show benefits. But after 2-3 months if you notice nothing different, then, there is no reason to continue.
They often compete with each other so spacing them may help if you only take 2 or 3 kinds.

I used to take taurine for my gall bladder and it did work to improve bile flow. I was only using 500mg a day, but when I upped to 1000mg a day, after reading the new information, that is when I noticed the tinnitus improving. That took a week or so.
It is also improving blood flow to my feet, which are not as cold as they once were.

The glutamine is new for me. I am trying this at 1000mg a day to see what it can do for my recent severe heartburn. This is working out really well too... so I am pleased with that, and not needing to use RX drugs for it. It took just over a week to reduce my heartburn, and now I don't even think about it anymore!

So non response may be due to low dosing, as well. It is recommended to not go above 3000mg a day of taurine. Bodybuilders use alot of glutamine for muscle fatigue. I wouldn't recommend their high gram doses for the average person.

What sort of acupuncture were you getting? Where were they focusing it?