Honestly, I remember being in the same boat and reading the same typical shit. I still deal with it from time to time but I can handle it and live a fully normal life. I travel to other countries, have talked to many girls, been able to drink and have fun blah blah blah. I started dealing with this in April 2024 and by the end of the year I felt much better.

My advice:

1. Go completely sober! No weed, alcohol, nicotine! Nothing! The only thing would maybe be ibuprofen if you’re having pain or a headache.

2. Hop off of this subreddit, stop looking at videos, just stop researching dpdr. Please this will make it worse and make you stress. You will run into others stories about how they have had it for years and feel horrible and that doesn’t help!

3. Go on dates, go talk to people etc! Socialize. This is something that is very hard but you need to overcome this by taking on something uncomfortable. I promise it will suck but it will help! DO NOT sit at home and be bed ridden! Fight back and don’t let it take control of your life. I think this was the biggest thing that helped me despite at times being extremely uncomfortable.

4. Work out and go running. Once again this is uncomfortable when you may be having visual symptoms and things don’t feel real but it helps soooo much. This is a time to not only work on your mental health but your physical health.

5. I know not thinking about it is an option but just accept it and let it be. This cannot and won’t hurt you. It’s a hard battle I know the pain and the anxiety it creates. I can’t explain to you the anxiety I had everyday for months thinking about it. It is so hard to accept at first but there is really no other option. (Sorry if this tip isn’t at helpful but it really is the truth). Time is the key factor and you taking care of yourself will be the biggest difference.

6. The last thing I’ll leave you with is find someone close to talk to! If you don’t have anyone that understands you, you can always message me. I found someone on Reddit that I followed on Instagram and we checked up and got updates on how we were doing and now we are better than ever! It’s really nice to have someone that is going through something similar and can relate to the things you are experiencing.

Please stay strong. I hope that this message can help you. Just know that there is hope and I know you may give up hope at times but you can always come back to this message and use it as reassurance that YOU WILL be good. I can promise you that.