I was not familiar with this term. I am going to look it up and respond.

Me again. This is one of the earliest symptoms I had as a child; I distinctly remember finally talking to my mom about this in 5th grade, not realizing truly what it meant/that it was a precursor to further pathology.

My dad always says to me: “I have existential thoughts too. But they don’t torment me. I consider them, and then move on. and then I say Hmm what’s for dinner?” But my problem is I’m like “how can I think about simple things like enjoying a meal, when I feel devastated all the time?”

I hadn't realized that term for it existed before, but yes, I've experienced that as a part of my experience with depersonalization/derealization disorder. Honestly, the only way I got through it was through using distractions (mostly fixating on fictional characters for me personally) whenever it was making me too anxious, researching the psychology behind it, and getting more sleep. Sleep deprivation always makes me feel a Lot more disconnected from reality and like maybe everything is a simulation or dream, and getting enough sleep has been huge in decreasing those feelings for me personally over time (it's taken getting enough sleep on a regular basis for several years for it to really help. Getting enough sleep one night isn't enough to fix months or years of sleep deprivation.)

One last thing for me has also been adopting a personally philosophy that, ultimately, your reality is determined by your experience regardless. I believe that all consciousness is on some level connected anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me whether reality is "in my head" or not anymore, because I think of my "self" as just being one part of the universe experiencing itself. I'm not sure if that part will help you or not. I think if someone had given me that advice when my dissociation was causing me to have panic attacks every day, it wouldn't have helped me at all. It was a viewpoint I had to come to very slowly over time. But, I figured I'd mention it just in case it does happen to help. And finally, I think being on SSRIs and ADHD medication has helped me personally, but I've also known people for whom those things can make it worse, so I wouldn't say those are the first solutions anyone should turn to. If you have a psychiatrist, though, the feelings and thoughts of solipsism are Absolutely something worth mentioning to them if you can.

Thank you, your comments made me feel less alone