Hello! My name is Alexandra and I am a 21 year old college nursing student. For a long time now (since I was about 15 or 16 and has just progressively gotten worse) I have had this persistent and constant strange, sort of indescribable feeling that I am not physically here... like the things around me are happening passively, even if I'm taking part/ participating in them. I feel as if am in a constant daydream, like there is constantly a glass wall separating my existence from the real world. I can see it, hear it, feel things, and know that I am awake and alert and not daydreaming, but its like something's missing, my head and face physically feel like it is in a constant fog. This effects everything I do, everyday. I've spoken with my doctor many times about this, she thought that it was just anxiety, but I've been on anti-anxiety meds for a year now and I have way less anxiety, but the feeling hasn't lessened any. I am so desperate for any possible reason for this. Thank you so much!

I'm desperate for ANY possibility of easing this! :confused:

Have you tried any other meds or have you been on the same one continuously? If I may ask, which one are you on?

I will be anxious to read answers also. I wish I had answers. Sometimes, I feel a part of what is going on around me but most of the time, I seem to only be keying in to the mood of the room, reading faces of people, feeling their temperament and pain or joy, being very much aware of what needs need to be met in that person's life or person's, one at a time. I feel it is a gift of sorts because I am able to help people. But it sets me a part and I find it difficult being a joiner of any type. I sometimes blink and wonder when I open my eyes again, will I be in this house, with this person or somewhere else in a life I didn't know before. I have told myself, I have watched too many movies dealing with the sensitive nature of people who are are extremely empathetic. So, I have decided that some people experience and some people feel more of what is going on around them.

I know this has not given you answers but I thought perhaps my sharing might spark answers in your spirit or at least identify a bit and realize you are not alone in the way you feel. I wish I had an answer, perhaps others, experts in this type of thing, will be able to shed a bit of light on your situation and in the process, perhaps many of us will be able to glean from it.

Did something in particular happen to you at 15 or 16 years old that started the way you feel now... or was it just you woke up one day and this is who you were?

I had a similar experience to the what you describe, but it was often the result of panic attacks. I would become so stressed, or not even realize I was stressed and things would go downhill from there. You start to question who you are, what you really control in life... well, my mind would spiral from there, making me physically sick. I tried medication as well, but I found a cure that was much stronger and made me the person I am today. It may sound clichéd, but religion may be the key. You need something to believe in, something that gives you purpose- That you were put on this earth for a reason, that God has a plan for you. You make your life happen, you are not an empty shell passively watching the world go by. Maybe you already do have religion in you life, but it is just a suggestion. Take time to just relax.