I feel I'm losing in touch with reality...

I've been a depressed person most of my life.
I must admit that I really have no life to begin with and truthfully I am not mentally able deal with harsh realities in life.
Because of that, I turn to reading fiction instead. It became a safe haven for me.

The years went on and I started thinking of the characters as if they were real. I'm thinking about them non-stop and became attached to them as if they were the most important people in my life.
I started losing interests with friends, family and all things that dealt with reality and I've been reading nonstop. Whenever there is a tragic or a bad event in a book I'm obsessed with, I become devastated as if it was real, like it causes me to lose sleep and I can't eat.
Real life tragedies doesn't even seem to affect me all that much anymore.
I guess I have no life to begin with and I just started creating my very own world.

I'm just curious if there were people out there like me. And can my sickness
still be treated?

I think that you aren't losing touch with reality, but more that the way you live now and your everyday activities are more of a habit than anything else. Like you do such things as your way of dealing with your depression.

The feelings you have described are common with people who suffer from depression; people usually suffer from hopelessness, worthlessness, emptiness, sadness, anxiety, guilt, irritability, or restlessness.

To be able to get over your depression, you need to try to work on understanding its cause, then once you do so you will understand it more, and be able to view it from an outside perspective. Can i ask, are you getting therapy for your depression?

Personally I don't suffer from depression, but SA. And a few years ago I used food (or a lack of) as a way of dealing with my anxieties. But then I learned just how ill it made me and I realised I had to change. And realised just how it was affecting the people who loved me most. But it is quite common for people who suffer from depression to have variations in their weight.

I'll stop there otherwise I could blabble on for ages.....hope this is useful!!

thanks for the helpful info.
right now I'm not getting therapy for depression but I'm working on it.
I'm 24 and I'm going to get started with my new job this month. I honestly can't go on like this anymore. It really has really taken a toll on my body, mind and my relationships.
I actually tried to stop reading for like a month but it's still no use, I always still think of the characters or the story. I always try not to think about them but since I get always attached to the characters I can't help it.

yes i think you should try to get therapy because depression is hard to overcome on your own; you need guidance.

Have you ever tried writing your own fiction story? Where maybe a charcter is like you? Im not sure how it could help but its just an idea....

I actually tried writing but I have no proper writing skills and training so it always stops me from writing my own fiction.

What Prestonator says it's a really good idea. Writing's good for everyone. You can express how you feel, what you think, and you'll feel realized doing it.

Stop reading it's not the solution. Reading is good, and it works as a escape or just for fun. I also have passed times where reading was a real escape and I prefered to keep reading than fighting against reality. This obsession you are talking about it's surely caused by your depression.

Have you ever talked about this to your family or friends? And of course it can be treated! I'm sure that many people will help you and support you on everything if you just ask for it. And here you have nice people you can count with. Never give up!

Rot said:

What Prestonator says it's a really good idea. Writing's good for everyone. You can express how you feel, what you think, and you'll feel realized doing it.

Stop reading it's not the solution. Reading is good, and it works as a escape or just for fun. I also have passed times where reading was a real escape and I prefered to keep reading than fighting against reality. This obsession you are talking about it's surely caused by your depression.

Have you ever talked about this to your family or friends? And of course it can be treated! I'm sure that many people will help you and support you on everything if you just ask for it. And here you have nice people you can count with. Never give up!

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I agree i think it will just be your depression. I just think maybe because you are not getting therapy, you feel there is no way out, when in fact there is, you just need the right guidance and support!

LonelyBoy said:

I actually tried writing but I have no proper writing skills and I lack training so I didn't bother anymore.LOL

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I'm sure that's a false sensation. For many years I didn't write because I felt ashamed doing it, and it was more caused by a low self-esteem. I thought that everything I could write wouldn't be good enough.

It's never as bad as you think, and that's not the question. I mean, it's not about writing the best lines in history but expressing how you feel and a way to release it. And if you want to write great verses, you just have to give it time and train yourself. You should try it! There's a phrase that says that ugly verses we make are always better than the best we can read.

Rot said:

I'm sure that's a false sensation. For many years I didn't write because I felt ashamed doing it, and it was more caused by a low self-esteem. I thought that everything I could write wouldn't be good enough.

It's never as bad as you think, and that's not the question. I mean, it's not about writing the best lines in history but expressing how you feel and a way to release it. And if you want to write great verses, you just have to give it time and train yourself. You should try it! There's a phrase that says that ugly verses we make are always better than the best we can read.

Click to expand...

Yes! Maybe instead of a novel, you should try writing poetry since is a great way of expressing your inner emotions.

I can get lost a bit in books/movies/TV series too... and then may feel like I 'resonate' with the characters or even change emotionally through a book/film/drama...

Books and films can be a great source of learning, maybe it also depends what kind of books you read yup...

Do you have any friends or relatives or other 'real' people to hang out with? Even if they're way older or younger, it can still be nice... even if you're not that interested in hanging out, maybe you could do some stuff that both would be interested in? Like go to a book festival or something? What about literary clubs or poetry clubs? Maybe other fans of the written word? What about meetings with book authors or conventions or such? Fan clubs of particular book/s or author/s?

Depression can make a person withdraw from interests, yeah... CBT or ACT or some other approaches can probably help...

Also maybe look into OCD a bit... In 'Pure OCD' you can obsess about a person or situation or unwanted thought, and it does sound a bit like what you were describing...

I love writing. Jorunals or fiction or songs or poetry... It can be a great outlet... You don't have to worry about doing it 'for real' especially if you have a real job (which is always better anyway)

I sometimes just wrote a story and gave the character/s all my problems and then put them into history/future/space and gave them into even bigger problems, until I started laughing about it...
(Hm, maybe I'd need to do that again? It was too hot to write proper though and I need a more ergonomic desk...)

I am like you, out of touch with whats happening around, no social interactions, no gossips. On all holidays, weekends and non office hours, i will be alone by myself in my own world, reading, watching movies, listening to techno/trance etc. I enjoy it. But i must also admit that it also depresses me.

If you are happy the way you are, its OK.

I read mostly fantasy books or detective books. If I became obsessed with a book, it will linger on inside my head for many years to come.

Yes, I have friend's and I sometimes go out with them but I always feel very withdrawn but I disguise it well, my mind was always somewhere else, always thinking about a book or an event in the book the I've always been obsessed with. I always feel guilty and depressed for doing it. I feel that I have no soul...