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A book that has a cure for depersonalizaton neurosis


Claire Weekes' book HOPE AND HELP FOR YOUR NERVES has a chapter titled "Feelings of Unreality" that is a guide on how to cure depersonalizaton neurosis.

I heard a doctor lecture about depersonalization neurosis, and he said such sufferers are introspective sensitive people who were raised by a domineering mother and an emotionally distant father. He said he's seen that parental pattern again and again among his depersonalization patients. The child thinks he's (or she's) unloved because he's not worthy (not realizing his parents aren't loving him as much as they should), so a guilt and low-self-esteem develop, and the depersonalization neurosis eventually springs up as a defense mechanism against those feelings, "acting like a circuit breaker." He said the cure is to be active in life as though the symptoms weren't there (the Claire Weekes book is a good guide for this stuff). He does prescribe his patients some OCD drugs to reduce the symptoms (he believes DP and OCD are related), but the cure to eradicating the symptoms altogether is to "go forward." He said that when his patients followed his advice, "The symptoms can lift as suddenly as their onset occurs." The improvements come abruptly, a layer lifting, and then, after a time, another lifting, until a cure. He said once the symptoms leave they leave forever. He did say, "They took a long time to happen, so they take a long time to get over." But he said "When you get your leg chopped off, you don't get your leg back. But as extreme as the depersonalizaton symptoms are, you can be completely cured of them." He recommended romantic involvements as part of becoming active in life, (the Claire Weekes book isn't that specific). He also said that people who feel smoking pot caused their depersonalization usually had the neurosis lurking ready to descend, anyway. The drug was just a trigger. Something else could have triggered it. The cause of the depersonalization is still rooted in childhood issues.

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Thank you!


//Numb

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Whos the doctor?

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please tell me the name of the Dr.

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Dr. Claire Weekes

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Well, some of these factors were present in me (highly sensitive, deep thinker, fragile psyche, OCD) and others were not (I was raised in a loving and close family, not a domineering mother, not an emotionally distant father). A horrifying experience on drugs triggered the crisis and probably uncovered what was already there. I was already busy with life when the DP hit and was busy after, but it did not go away. I have read many stories similar to mine that don't fit this theory. It's only one of a number of theories to address DP.

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That book does NOT contain a "cure for DP". That's an inaccurate and sweeping statement. I've read it and did everything recommend, and got no results at all. I've tried psychotherapy, Recovery Inc. (similar to Weekes approach), psyche meds, meditation, diet and exercise. Nothing made any difference and I'm going to have it for the rest of my life. Don't give people false hope like that.

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I've been doing all that for decades. Acting like it's not there, leading a busy life, romantic involvements. Perhaps some people recover, but I'm sure for others it's chronic and hopeless. I've never found any effective treatment dispite false claims to the contrary. But he is right about the psychological profile of the typical sufferer. That fits me completely in every way. Domineering mother, aloof father, very existential and abstract thinking. All of the above.

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