<p>I think the most accurate way to describe what I'm going through is that my level of consciousness has decreased. I'm not lethargic, sleepy, or dizzy...it's just that I don't feel fully conscious, even though my memory is still in tact and I can still think on a high level. Do you think working on a project nonstop for 2 weeks (with nightly 8-hour breaks) can cause this? It's been going on for four days now.</p>
<p>Furthermore, can stress lead to craziness, because my parents keep saying that and it's scaring me... By "craziness," i mean the medical term, not just the overused "this is driving me crazy."</p>
<p>Please, if you've experienced this before or know a possible remedy, please tell me. This is the most crucial week before a national contest, and I can't just give up and relax. But I'm very scared that my condition will become permanent...</p>
<p>Hello sleep deprivation. Everyone experiances it....get some sleep.</p>
<p>i got 7-8 hours of sleep for the past 2 weeks, and that's why i can't figure out why i'm feeling like this. even when i was sleep deprived, i didn't feel like this. could it be that the effects of sleep deprivation from the previous year are only starting to taking its toll on me now?</p>
<p>I went through the exact same thing my junior year. It was stress. I thought I was crazy. I started surfing and learned how to relax myself.</p>
<p>You're probably still suffering from stress, exhaustion and depression. It will pass after your life continues to settle down and you continue to keep regular hours.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your thoughts, falcon, sirwatson, and northstarmom. They mean a lot to me, especially since i couldn't pinpoint exactly what i'm going through. i even scheduled an emergency appointment with the doctor for the day before i go out of town. my parents seriously think i have a mental illness or a brain tumor or something, and that really frightened me.</p>
<p>sirwatson, that's exactly what i'm thinking...that i'm going "crazy". it's good to hear from someone who's had this experience and was able to overcome it. how long did it take for it to go away after you started relaxing? i can finally start relaxing on saturday, when all of this will be over. right now, i just don't care if i win or lose anymore. i'm just hoping to finish this project.</p>
<p>what a sigh of relief! thanks again.</p>
<p>pm me if you want to talk.</p>
<p>For closure, just in case someone experiences the same thing and wants to know what the condition is called:</p>
<p>It's called depersonalization/derealization. And fortunately, I'm recovering from it!</p>
<p>For more information, here's a separate thread I created on it:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=1706271#post1706271%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=1706271#post1706271</a></p>