Situation · Yourself
“I feel like I'm watching my life from outside”
What could be going on
Dissociation (including depersonalisation and derealisation): Feeling unreal or outside yourself fits depersonalisation or derealisation; check when it started.
Emotional numbing: Fits if feelings are muted too; check for loss or trauma.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Fits if there was trauma and you also avoid reminders or startle easily.
Panic: Unreality often comes with panic; check for racing heart and fear.
Hyperarousal and hypoarousal: A shutdown state fits; check heaviness, fog and slowed thinking.
Burnout: Exhaustion can make life feel mechanical; check whether rest helps.
Questions to carry
- When did the watching from outside start, and what was happening in my life then?
- Which small things bring me back into my body, even for a moment, and who knows how I feel?
Also said as
- nothing feels real
- I feel detached from my body
- my son says he feels like he's in a dream
- I feel like a robot going through the motions
- depersonalisation
- I feel disconnected from myself