4 Comments on “Overcome the Fear of Going Crazy”

Lisa on March 18 said:

What a great way to describe the fear of going mad. I also think that stress, sleep deprivation, and being too hungry causes more emotional and irrational reactions that assists people into thinking that they are going to “go mad” or have a nervous breakdown. Proper rest, exercise, and nutrition are so vital to our psychological and physiological well being. I tend to stress to my clients the importance of self care because so many people tend to neglect themselves for the sake of career and/or others.
Mark Tyrrell on March 18 said:

Thanks Lisa and it’s great that you do help your clients in this way, Mark.
laura gonzalez on July 03 said:

I had a panic attack last year in Aug while my daughter was in the hospital I felt like all the suddenly nothing was real. Well it let to a pure OCD thought that life is not real or might not be real. I know I’m real so I know its an irrational thought but sometimes I believe it or I think I believe it I’m not sure but it gives me a panic attack of derealism again and makes me depressed cause then where does that leave me my family etc. It makes no sense to me. There a re times and days I can dismiss it and I do hold a job and function but cant seem to find my way back to how I used to be without this irrational thought Been through several therapist who this I am worried well. I am so afraid I am crazy or going crazy but yet I am very much in contact with reality, no voices or hallucinations in fact its all in my thoughts. From the outside i appear and function very normal any comment appreciated
Mark Tyrrell on July 05 said:

Hi Laura

As you say you are not “crazy” it’s just that you have latched on to an idea (based on an experience) that frightened you. De-realization happens when we are very frightened. It’s thought that it’s nature’s way of making us feel detached from terrifying situations so that we can act more rationally. For example if we were caught in the jaws of a lion (Heaven forbid) then at the height of terror we might “switch” into derealisation and feel as if none of this is real.

Nature is trying to help us out here by either making our last moments more sufferable and/or giving us a chance to act without fear and possibly save ourselves. De-realisation is sometimes called the “trip switch of fear” because at the height of fear it makes us go from terror to detachment almost instantly. It’s a useful mechanism but what happens is that often people (not realising that this unreal feeling means their panic is actually on the way down) start to panic about the de-realisation itself!

As time goes by I predict you’ll think less and less about it.

All the best

Mark