Depersonalization-derealization disorder occurs when you persistently or repeatedly have the feeling that you're observing yourself from outside your body or you have a sense that things around you aren't real, or both.
Like other dissociative disorders, depersonalization disorder often is triggered by intense stress or a traumatic event -- such as war, abuse, accidents, disasters, or extreme violence -- that the person has experienced or witnessed.
Four stages of the formation of depersonalization were identified: vital, allopsychic, somatopsychis and autopsychic. The correlations of the leading depersonalizational and related affective and neurosis-like disorders were considered at each stage.
Derealization is the feeling as though the reality around you is altered. It is a common symptom of severe anxiety, especially within specific anxiety disorders.
Depersonalisation is where you have the feeling of being outside yourself and observing your actions, feelings or thoughts from a distance. Derealisation is where you feel the world around is unreal. People and things around you may seem "lifeless" or "foggy".
DPDR disorder produces a disturbing sense of detachment from one's body or surroundings, often as a result of psychological trauma. DPDR shares high diagnostic co-morbidity with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) due to overlap of clinical features such as inattention and lack of cognitive inhibition.
But it's not always so extreme as that. For many, it takes the form of depersonalization or derealization, where your automatic survival/protective response kicks in, causing you to "detach" from the pain or stress you're experiencing.
You may feel as if you have no control over your actions. This terrifying feeling often is accompanied by thoughts and fears of losing touch with reality or losing control over yourself. Depersonalization can cause frightening physical sensations such as numbness or tingling.
You might experience dissociation as a symptom of a mental health problem, for example post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. Some people may dissociate as part of certain cultural or religious practices.
Depersonalization-derealization disorder can be severe and may interfere with relationships, work and other daily activities. The main treatment for depersonalization-derealization disorder is talk therapy (psychotherapy), although sometimes medications also are used.
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.
Symptoms of depersonalization/derealization disorder are usually episodic and wax and wane in intensity. Episodes may last for only hours or days or for weeks, months, or sometimes years. But in some patients, symptoms are constantly present at a constant intensity for years or decades.
Symptoms of depersonalization include: Feelings that you're an outside observer of your thoughts, feelings, your body or parts of your body — for example, as if you were floating in air above yourself. Feeling like a robot or that you're not in control of your speech or movements.
Severe stress, anxiety, and depression are common triggers for DPDR. A lack of sleep or an overstimulating environment can also make DPDR symptoms worse.
Can depersonalization disorder be cured? Complete recovery is possible for many people. In some people, the disorder disappears on its own. Others recover by going to therapy and dealing with the triggers.
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.
Derealization is an alteration in the perception of the external world, causing those with the condition to perceive it as unreal, distant, distorted or falsified. Other symptoms include feeling as if one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring, and depth.
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.
A specific type of dissociation—persistent derealization—may put individuals exposed to trauma at greater risk for mental illnesses and functional impairment. Derealization involves feeling detached from people, places, or objects in one's environment.
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
Depersonalization disorder is believed to affect women twice as much as men. The disorder most commonly affects individuals between the ages of 15 and 30. It is rarely seen in those over the age of 40.