Absolutely I have had this happen. Believe me, many many people go through the realization and I know how horrible it can be.
you said one thing that was interesting. When you called your mom, it stopped.
in other words, when even for just a minute or two your brain was calmed down, the derealization subsided.
this is the power of our minds! Anxiety and stress starts in the brain. When we are feeling anxious about something our brain sends out the hormone adrenaline because it thinks we are in danger and it's trying to protect us.
adrenaline has many effects on the body including increased heart rate, increased breathing, etc. When we are feeling extremely anxious, another way our brain tries to protect us is the derealization . It tries to shield us from parts of life that make us anxious. I have actually had that while driving and it was very strange and scary when things did not look or feel familiar as though everything was kind of hazy. My vision is perfectly normal. The neurologist told me it's depersonalization due to extreme stress.
What happens is that fear takes us over. We have to not let that happen.
The only way to decrease or eliminate this is by calming down the brain.
Anxiety is caused mainly by fear. We can't let fear take us over. So how do we calm down the brain?
some things that have helped me tremendously are:
audio meditations for stress and anxiety found on YouTube. I use my earbuds and lay down to listen a couple times a day
Completely calm down my mind and body and teach us how to deal with negative thoughts. A couple I really like are called clearing subconscious negativity, guided meditation for detachment from overthinking. There are so many to choose from. I think they could help you very much! The more you do this, the more your brain will believe them and you will be more in control.
or a panic attack, search YouTube for panic attack emergency. Several to choose from.
I also can't stand bright lights. I have had the feeling that things are moving.
ALL DUE TO OVERWHELMING STRESS AND ANXIETY!
our brains in nervous system can only handle so much stress. So when it is super overloaded, the stress comes out as symptoms, including derealization . We have to get more control. If you're ever able to , Pick up a book called mindfulness. It teaches us how to manage all of this and it's definitely worth the read!
be a fighter for yourself! Don't forget to laugh and smile even when it's difficult. Just remember, our kids grow up very fast so don't miss out on enjoying your child. Once a day is gone, we can never get it back!
Try not to overreact to even the derealization because when you do the brain will send out more adrenaline and you will become more anxious which leads to the panic attack. Just calmly acknowledge the D realization or any symptom and then let it go and get on with what you were doing. Or go listen to one of the meditations to calm down your brain. Just don't react with anxiety. You have to be relentless at this. Another thing I did was speak with a counselor Who specializes in anxiety. This has helped me a lot. The counselor can help you get to the core of why you have anxiety in the first place.
One thing to remember is that any symptoms related to anxiety cannot hurt you.
you said the D realization is getting worse but you can reverse that once you get to manage this a little better. You can do this!