Depersonalization And Derealization: When Everything Seems Like A Dream
Have you ever felt that something strange was happening to you, as if you could observe yourself from outside your body, being a spectator of yourself, or that reality became strange and unreal, as if everything happened in slow motion or on a set?
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.
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 themselves, a feeling of being separated, or outside their 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 they were in 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.
Frequently, affected patients have great difficulty describing these episodes and they may think they are going crazy. They may perceive alterations in the shape and size of objects and people may appear strange. An alteration may also appear in the subjective sensation of the passage of time. These experiences are not considered serious or dangerous, however, they are disturbing and quite confusing, causing great worry and discomfort, and fear of suffering 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 depersonalization or derealization the sense of reality remains intact, that is, the person is aware that their perception is not real. and it is a product of your mind.
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 result of a high degree of anxiety and stress, and is common in panic disorder. It can also appear in post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or schizophrenia.
Despite being a little-known and relatively little-researched phenomenon, approximately half of adults have experienced at least one episode of depersonalization or derealization in isolation throughout their life. However, depersonalization/derealization disorder is much less frequent, its presence being estimated at 2% of the population.
a dissociative disorder
Depersonalization and derealization disorder It is part of dissociative disorders within current diagnostic classifications.
The term “dissociation” is used to describe the disconnection 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 traumas.
In the context of severe childhood trauma such as sexual abuse, dissociation can be considered adaptive because it reduces intense emotional pain. However, if the dissociation continues into adulthood, when the original danger does not exist, it can be dysfunctional and have associated problems.
The diagnosis of depersonalization/derealization disorder consists of persistent or recurrent experiences of depersonalization, derealization, or both that cause significant distress in the individual’s life.
These episodes are not caused by medical illnesses, other mental disorders, drugs or drugs. Although, as we have seen, episodes of depersonalization or derealization do not entail any risk, and are relatively frequent in isolated cases, when repeated they can greatly limit life and cause great suffering to 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.
