Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder
Derealisation is where you feel the world around is unreal. People and things around you may seem "lifeless" or "foggy". You can have depersonalisation or derealisation, or both together. It may last only a few moments or come and go over many years.
Dissociative disorders are mental disorders that involve experiencing a disconnection and lack of continuity between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions and identity. People with dissociative disorders escape reality in ways that are involuntary and unhealthy and cause problems with functioning in everyday life.
Psychotic disorders are severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. People with psychoses lose touch with reality.
When you notice that you or a loved one seems to be losing touch with reality it is time to seek help. It could be that the symptoms relate to a health or neural problem that needs treatment. If it is indeed the early signs of psychosis, getting timely care is key.
Signs of early or first-episode psychosis
Strong and inappropriate emotions or no emotions at all. Withdrawing from family or friends. A sudden decline in self-care. Trouble thinking clearly or concentrating.
Psychosis is characterised by some sense of distorted reality. A psychotic episode may include many so-called 'positive symptoms; which include: Hallucinations: seeing, hearing, feeling sensations that are not actually occurring. Delusions: believing in false realities, such as having superpowers.
Psychotherapy, also called counseling or talk therapy, is the main treatment. The goal is to gain control over the symptoms so that they lessen or go away.
Derealization is a common anxiety disorder symptom. Many people who have healthy levels of anxiety may never experience this phenomenon. However, the incidence of derealization is far more common as anxiety persists, becoming chronic.
What is it? Psychosis is often described as a "loss of reality" or a "break from reality" because you experience or believe things that aren't real. It can change the way you think, act, feel, or sense things. Psychosis can be very scary and confusing, and it can significantly disrupt your life.
The answer is of course: No, Depersonalization is NOT permanent (and neither is Derealization!) In the same way that it's entirely possible to manage and eradicate excess anxiety, it's possible to stop DPDR. Can Depersonalization and Derealization go away? Yes, absolutely.
Antidepressants can also stabilize mood and reduce the intrusive symptoms that trigger dissociative symptoms. Research shows that a combination of an SSRI and lamotrigine, a mood stabilizer, is an effective treatment for dissociative disorders, especially depersonalization-derealization disorder.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can teach you to challenge intrusive thoughts and manage symptoms of depersonalization. Trauma-focused therapy like eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) can help you process traumatic memories. Once your trauma heals, symptoms of depersonalization may lessen.
Many of us have had the thought, “I feel like I'm losing my mind” at one time or another. This thought may surface in times of heightened stress, but it can also be a manifestation of a mental health condition, such as anxiety,1 panic disorder,2 or depersonalization.
This is Not Psychosis
People with schizophrenia or psychosis commonly experience hallucinations or delusions that are difficult to distinguish from reality. Individuals with DR may feel strange about themselves or their surroundings, but they do not typically experience hallucinations or delusions.
This is a key distinction between derealization and other mental illnesses. Derealization can last for as long as the panic attack lasts, which can range in length from a few minutes to 20 or 30 minutes. In some cases, however, these sensations can persist for hours and even days or weeks.
Derealization symptoms involve
The world seems lifeless, colorless, or artificial. The world may appear distorted to them. For example, objects may appear blurry or unusually clear, or they may seem flat or smaller or larger than they are. Sounds may seem louder or softer than they are.
Summary: De-realization is a term that refers to experiencing a loss of touch with reality. It is most common during periods of intense anxiety, such as during a panic attack, but it can also occur with other anxiety conditions as well.
Derealization symptoms include
Patients may feel as if they are in a dream or a fog or as if a glass wall or veil separates them from their surroundings. The world seems lifeless, colorless, or artificial. Subjective distortion of the world is common.
In some cases, a person experiencing a psychotic episode may behave in confusing and unpredictable ways and may harm themselves or become threatening or violent toward others. The risk of violence and suicide decreases with treatment for psychosis, so it is important to seek help.
Four stages of the formation of depersonalization were identified: vital, allopsychic, somatopsychis and autopsychic.