Feels Like I’m Living in a Dream

Reader’s Question

Lately (the past few days) things have seemed like it’s all just a dream, even though I KNOW that it’s not…well…I kinda don’t anymore, I’m so confused, but anyway… I tried seeing what people thought on a forum and told them about it, but I have yet to get a response that will help me. The latest thing that happened to me (I seem to go in and out of these major periods) just a little bit ago: I was sitting there and I heard people, but no one was outside. It was screaming people and though I think this is impossible I still thought they were my parents, and I was really in the hospital, unconscious and they were crying for me to wake up. Then I kinda zoned out and came back in thinking “I’m…dead…” over and over until I was like “oh what am I saying?!” and then stopped. And to make things worse my arm was hurting and I was convinced that it was the needle they had in me from the hospital. (I wasn’t asleep, so I couldn’t be dreaming in sleep. This is just one of the things in detail that’s happening through the day today.) And after that a few minutes later I went back into the thoughts again, and I traced back to when I was feeling like this then I remember waking up a few nights ago hearing a plane coming by that sounded like it was coming down fast, but it never crashed. But then I got to thinking what if it did…and now I’m stuck in this dreamlike world where I’m awake, but yet I’m still feeling like I’m dreaming and the abnormals seem normal.

I’m kinda hoping for something to look into for this, but I don’t know what…in the past I was categorized with bipolar (very mild), anxiety, and some sort of borderline personality disorder or something (but my counselour said she didn’t see it in me…if anything she saw agoraphobia or something like that).

Please? Any info would be good.

Psychologist’s Reply

Your experiences may be related to hallucinations, illusions, episodes of dissociation/depersonalization, hypnogogic experiences, or other conditions. The most important aspect is the fact that the experiences are recent. Sudden onset of just about any symptom is important and often tells us that something has significantly changed in our brain chemistry. Your experiences, for example, are often associated with changes in Dopamine and Serotonin neurotransmitters. You may want to review your past few weeks — have you added/deleted medications? Have you changed medications taken for nonpsychiatric issues such as pain, diabetes, etc.?

I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist to evaluate these symptoms. They might be related to changes in your Bipolar Disorder and may need immediate treatment.

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