Depersonalization and derealization: causes and symptoms

Have you ever felt something strange was happening to you, as if you could observe yourself from outside your body being a spectator of yourself, or that reality becomes strange and unreal, as if everything is happening in slow motion or in a decorated?

Depersonalization and derealization they are experiences in which oneself or the environment appear strange, as in a dream or a movie. In this article we will talk about them.

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Depersonalization and derealization: what are they?

Depersonalization is a distressing and disturbing experience in which the person experiences a feeling of strangeness with respect to himself, a feeling of being separate, or outside his own body. It frequently coexists with derealization, consisting of an altered perception of the environment that produces a feeling of unreality.

The person experiences the world as if it were strange or unreal, as if he were inside a dream. In both there is an altered perception of reality, but while in depersonalization this sensation refers to the body itself, in derealization it is the environment that seems altered.

Often affected patients have great difficulty describing these episodes and they may think they are going crazy. They can perceive alterations in the shape and size of objects and people can appear strange. An alteration in the subjective sensation of the passage of time may also appear. These experiences are not considered serious or dangerous, however, they are disturbing and quite confusing, causing great concern and discomfort, and fear of having an episode again in the future.

Unlike psychotic disorders, where the person believes that the altered perceptions are real, as in the case of hallucinations, in the depersonalization or derealization the sense of reality remains intact, that is, the person is aware that the perception of it is not real and is the product of her mind.

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When do they appear?

Depersonalization and derealization have been observed during states of fatigue, sleep deprivation, during infectious diseases such as the flu, or after the consumption of alcohol or drugs such as LSD, mescaline or marijuana, in the withdrawal syndrome after withdrawal of anxiolytics and induced by certain antidepressants such as fluoxetine. It is usually triggered as a consequence of a high degree of anxiety and stress, being frequent in panic disorder. It can also appear in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or schizophrenia.

Despite being a little known phenomenon, and relatively little investigated, approximately half of adults have experienced at least one episode of depersonalization or derealization in isolation throughout your life. However, depersonalization / derealization disorder is much less frequent, its presence is estimated at 2% of the population.

A dissociative disorder

Depersonalization and Derealization Disorder is part of dissociative disorders within current diagnostic classifications.

The term "dissociation" is used to describe the disconnect between things generally associated with each other. In this case, it is the perceptions that are considered dissociated, specifically the integration of perceptual experiences. Dissociation is a defense mechanism that normally serves to mitigate intense emotional pain caused by very painful experiences or trauma.

In the context of severe childhood trauma such as sexual abuse, dissociation can be considered adaptive because it reduces intense emotional pain. However, if dissociation continues into adulthood, when the original danger does not exist, it can be dysfunctional and lead to associated problems.

Your diagnosis

The diagnosis of depersonalization / derealization disorder consists of persistent or recurrent depersonalization, derealization, or both that cause significant distress in the life of the individual.

These episodes are not caused by medical illnesses, other mental disorders, drugs or drugs. Although, as we have seen, depersonalization or derealization episodes do not involve any risk, and are relatively frequent in isolated cases, when they are repeated they can greatly limit life and cause great suffering in the affected individual. In these cases it is advisable to go to a professional, who provides the necessary tools to understand, manage and master this confusing, and little known disorder.