Depersonalization is an alteration in the perception or experience of the self so that one feels detached from, and as if one is an outside observer of, one's mental processes or body.^[1] It can be desirable, such as in the use of recreational drugs, but it is usually referring to the severe form found in anxiety and in the most intense case, panic attacks. It is most often described as a symptom of emotions, such as panic or fear. A sufferer feels that he or she has changed and the world has become less real — it is vague, dreamlike, or lacking in significance. It can sometimes be a rather disturbing experience, since many feel that indeed, they are living in a "dream." Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components (Seligman, Walker & Rosenhan, 2001). ... Panic attacks are sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, fear and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms[1]. The onset of these episodes is typically abrupt, and may have no obvious trigger. ... Panic is the primal urge to run and hide in the face of imminent danger. ... For other uses, see Fear (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see World (disambiguation). ...

Chronic depersonalization refers to depersonalization disorder which is classified by the DSM-IV as a dissociative disorder. Derealization is a similar term to depersonalization, and the two are often used interchangeably. However, more specifically, derealization is the feeling that "nothing is real," while depersonalization is the feeling that one is "detached" from one's body or world. Though these feelings can happen to anyone, they are most prominent in anxiety disorders, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, and some types of epilepsy. Depersonalization Disorder (DD) is a dissociative disorder in which sufferers are affected by persistent feelings of depersonalization. ... The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States and other countries. ... Dissociation is a state of acute mental decompensation in which certain thoughts, emotions, sensations, and/or memories are compartmentalized because they are too overwhelming for the conscious mind to integrate. ... Derealization (DR) is an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems strange or unreal. ... Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fears, phobias. ... On the Threshold of Eternity. ... For other uses, see Bipolar. ...

Description

Individuals who experience depersonalization feel divorced from both the world and from their own identity and physicality.^[2] Often a person who has experienced depersonalization claims that life "feels like a movie or things seem unreal, or hazy." Also a recognition of self breaks down (hence the name). DP can result in very high anxiety levels, which further increase the feelings.^[3] This article is about motion pictures. ... Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components (Seligman, Walker & Rosenhan, 2001). ...

One way to describe the physical manifestation of the feeling is to compare the very popular film technique called a Vertigo shot or Dolly Zoom. In this technique, the subject of the picture stays fixed on the shot while all the surrounding background is pulled away - providing a sense of vertigo or detachment. People may perceive this feeling in a cyclical manner, where the feeling is experienced back-to-back-to-back in rapid or non-rapid succession. A vertigo shot is a shot wherein the camera either zooms in or out on a subject and only the view of the background changes while the subjects stays the same. ...

Sometimes the physical manifestation is more like a strobe light of senses. Information is processed at a much more staggered rate and therefore the subject feels as though his or her senses are being distorted and fragmented.

Causes

Depersonalization is a side effect of dissociatives and hallucinogens, as well as common drugs such as caffeine,^[4] alcohol,^[5] and minocycline.^[6] It is a classic withdrawal symptom from many drugs.^{[7][8][9][10]} Dissociative drugs are a class of psychedelic drugs characterized by intense feelings of depersonalization, derealization, and analgesia. ... Hallucinogenic drugs or hallucinogens are drugs that can alter sensory perceptions, elicit alternate states of consciousness, or cause hallucinations. ... Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Minocycline hydrochloride, also known as minocycline, is a member of the broad spectrum tetracycline antibiotics, and has a broader spectrum than the other members. ... Withdrawal, also known as withdrawal syndrome, refers to the characteristic signs and symptoms that appear when a drug that causes physical dependence is regularly used for a long time and then suddenly discontinued or decreased in dosage. ...

Depersonalization can also accompany sleep deprivation and stress. Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. ... In medical terms, stress is the disruption of homeostasis through physical or psychological stimuli. ...

It is common symptomn of anxiety disorders.^[11] Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of fear, phobia and nervous condition, that come on suddenly and prevent pursuing normal daily routines including: general anxiety disorder social anxiety, sometimes known as social phobia or social anxiety disorder (SAD) specific phobias agoraphobia claustrophobia panic disorder separation anxiety...

A study of undergraduate students found individuals high on the depersonalization/derealization subscale of the Dissociative Experiences Scale exhibited more pronounced cortisol response. Individuals high on the absorption subscale, which measures experiences of concentration to the exclusion of awareness of other events going on around them, showed weaker cortisol responses.^[12] In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelors degree. ...

Treatment

Treatment is dependent on the underlying cause.

If depersonalization is a symptom of neurological disease, then diagnosis and treatment of the specific disease is the first approach. Depersonalization can be a cognitive symptom of such diseases as ALS, Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Neuroborreliosis (Lyme Disease) or any other neurological disease affecting the brain. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrigs Disease, Maladie de Charcot or motor neurone disease) is a progressive, fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. ... Alzheimers disease (AD) or senile dementia of Alzheimers type is a neurodegenerative disease which results in a loss of mental functions due to the deterioration of brain tissue. ... Lyme disease, or borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by spirochete bacteria from the genus Borrelia. ...

If depersonalization is a psychological symptom then treatment may be dependent on the diagnosis. Depersonalization is often a symptom of borderline personality disorder, which can be treated in the long term with proper psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.^[13] Borderline Personality Disorder (DSM-IV Personality Disorders 301. ...

Treatment of chronic depersonalization is considered in depersonalization disorder. Depersonalization Disorder (DD) is a dissociative disorder in which sufferers are affected by persistent feelings of depersonalization. ...

See also

• Depersonalization disorder
• Dissociation (psychology)
• Dissociative Disorders (DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders)
• Alienation
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Cognition
• Brain fog
• Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder

Depersonalization Disorder (DD) is a dissociative disorder in which sufferers are affected by persistent feelings of depersonalization. ... Dissociation is a state of acute mental decompensation in which certain thoughts, emotions, sensations, and/or memories are compartmentalized because they are too overwhelming for the conscious mind to integrate. ... Dissociative disorders are defined as conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception. ... The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, also known as DSM-IV-TR is a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association and includes all currently recognized mental health disorders. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a term for certain severe psychological consequences of exposure to, or confrontation with, stressful events that the person experiences as highly traumatic. ... Look up Cognition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Brain fog is a general term for neurocognitive symptoms experienced by many people who suffer from neuroimmune diseases such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFIDS), fibromyalgia, lyme disease and multiple sclerosis, amongst others. ... Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) is a long-term condition caused by taking hallucinogens. ...

References

• Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, in his book On Killing, suggests that military training artificially creates depersonalization in soldiers, suppressing empathy and making it easier for them to kill other human beings.
• Existentialists use the term in a different context. The treatment of individuals by other people as if they were objects, or without regard to their feelings, has been termed depersonalization. Determinism has been accused of this. See also objectification.
• R. D. Laing used depersonalization to mean a fear of the loss of autonomy in interpersonal relationships by the ontologically insecure.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ... Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman is an author who has specialized in the study of the psychology of killing. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Not to be confused with Pity, Sympathy, or Compassion. ... Existentialism is the philosophical movement positing that individual human beings create the meaning and essence of their lives as persons. ... Determinism is the philosophical proposition that every event, including human cognition and behavior, decision and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. ... Objectification refers to the way in which one person treats another person as an object and not as a human being. ... R.D.Laing in 1983 Ronald David Laing (October 7, 1927 – August 23, 1989), was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illness and particularly the experience of psychosis. ... For other uses, see Fear (disambiguation). ...

External links

• King's College, London - Depersonalisation Research Unit