Most people with this disorder develop it when they are young. The average age for developing
Symptoms usually begin in the mid- to late teens or early adulthood. Depersonalization-derealization disorder is rare in children and older adults.
Symptoms of depersonalization/derealization disorder may start gradually or suddenly. Episodes may last for only hours or days or for weeks, months, or years.
Causes of Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
Emotional abuse or neglect during childhood. Physical abuse. Experiencing or witnessing domestic violence. Having a severely impaired or mentally ill parent. Unexpected death of a loved one.
Episodes of depersonalization/derealization disorder can last for hours, days, weeks, or even months. For some, such episodes become chronic, evolving into ongoing feelings of depersonalization or derealization that can periodically get better or worse.
However, temporary derealization symptoms are commonly experienced by the general population a few times throughout their lives, with a lifetime prevalence of up to 26–74% and a prevalence of 31–66% at the time of a traumatic event.
Mindfulness. Medical and mental health professionals generally agree that mindfulness is the best way to stop derealization. Mindfulness is the act of becoming more aware of your own body and the present moment.
However, anxiety attacks are not the only cause of derealization. Other causes can include trauma, drug use, depression, dementia, schizophrenia, and depersonalization/derealization disorder.
The exact cause of dissociation is unclear, but it often affects people who have experienced a life-threatening or traumatic event, such as extreme violence, war, a kidnapping, or childhood abuse.
However, only approximately 2% of people ever meet the criteria for having depersonalization/derealization disorder. Depersonalization or derealization can also occur as a symptom in many other mental disorders as well as in physical disorders such as seizure disorders.
Four stages of the formation of depersonalization were identified: vital, allopsychic, somatopsychis and autopsychic.
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.
Prevalence of Depersonalization-Derealization
About half of all Americans are thought to experience at least one or two depersonalization episodes during their lifetime. Roughly 200,000 people in the United States each day experience a depersonalization event. Depersonalization-derealization disorder is much rarer.
Is zoning out the same as dissociation? No - the two are very different. ADHD-related zoning is simply a trait when the brain no longer focuses on the task at hand. Dissociation, on the other hand, can be due to Dissociative Disorders, which pertains to problems in emotions, memory, perception, behavior, and identity.
Depersonalization (also referred to as "derealization") is a common symptom of anxiety disorder. Many anxiety disorder sufferers get depersonalization as a symptom, especially when anxiety has become chronic. There are many reasons why anxiety can cause depersonalization (derealization) symptoms.
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.
Derealization sometimes can be a symptom of a medical condition. Other times, it can happen on its own, often in reaction to severe trauma or stress. Health conditions linked to derealization include: Seizures.
Many people experience dissociation, or a lack of connection between their thoughts, memory, and sense of identity, during or after a traumatic experience. A specific type of dissociation—persistent derealization—may put individuals exposed to trauma at greater risk for mental illnesses and functional impairment.
A severe trauma or being prolonged or repeatedly exposed to traumatic events can trigger the feeling of being detached from one's body or mental processes.
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. Therapy helps resolve the underlying issues.
3. Myth: Depersonalization is a permanent condition. Fact: Many people recover from depersonalization-derealization disorder, often without treatment. Some mental illnesses are considered lifelong conditions, but this is not the case with depersonalization-derealization.
If you're having an episode of depersonalization, distracting yourself by throwing cold water on your face, doing sudden quick movements like jumping jacks, or engaging in deep breathing can help bring your awareness back to reality, says Dr. Parmar.
Something I wish I had known when first experiencing derealisation is that it is my brain's way of coping with levels of stress in the body – this means that even though it feels like a scary, out-of-body experience, it is my own body trying to protect me.
While depersonalization-derealization disorder was once considered rare, lifetime experiences with it occur in about 1–2% of the general population. The chronic form of the disorder has a reported prevalence of 0.8 to 1.9%.
Depersonalization-derealization disorder is treatable with psychotherapy, also called counseling or talk therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a common type of talk therapy that focuses on helping you become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking and respond to it more effectively.