Depersonalization-derealization Disorder is the most common among dissociative disorders and can be described as feeling like you are observing yourself from outside of your body, as well as the things and surroundings around you feel as if they aren’t real.
There are many criteria, according to the DSM-5, that must be met in order to be diagnosed. The first criterion includes the presence of persistent or recurrent experiences of depersonalization, derealization, or both. To understand what this means, you must first understand what depersonalization and derealization are. Depersonalization includes experiences of unreality, detachment, or being an outside
observer regarding one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, body or actions. This can include perceptual alterations, distorted sense of time, or emotional numbing. Derealization also includes experiences of unreality or detachment, however these experiences are regarding surroundings. These experiences can include individuals or objects feeling unreal, dreamlike, foggy, lifeless, or visually distorted. The second criterion states that during the depersonalization or derealization experiences, your ability to know what is real and what is not, also known as reality testing, remains intact. This can be the difference between this disorder and another disorder, such as schizophrenia, where the individual cannot distinguish what is real and what is not. The third criterion states that the symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in necessary areas of functioning, such as social and occupational. The fourth criterion states that the disturbance is not due to the physiological effects of a substance, such as a drug or medication, or another medical condition, such as seizures. The last criterion explains that the symptoms cannot be better explained by another mental disorder, such as schizophrenia or another dissociative disorder. This disorder, unlike most, has no time restraints, such as how long symptoms must be experienced for, most likely due to the seriousness of this condition.
This disorder typically develops during adolescence due to it being used as a coping method to manage stress. Adolescents and children use depersonalization and derealization to remove themselves from highly stressful situations, such as abuse or family conflict. The adolescents who develop this disorder usually have a chronic, lifelong course due to the fact that depersonalization and derealization are the only strategies they know how to use. In contrast, adults are less likely to develop the disorder because they find healthy alternative methods, such as exercising or thought records.
The research on this disorder is very scarce, therefore there is not much known on the causes. That said, the leading cause appears to be intense stress or experiencing a traumatic event, such as abuse, war, or extreme violence.
The main form of treatments for depersonalization-derealization disorder include therapy and medication. Psychotherapy is primarily used and teaches the client techniques to better recognize and communicate thoughts, rather than depersonalizing. This therapy also includes cognitive behavior therapy which assists clients in altering their thought processes and how they behave in certain situations. Medication is typically used to treat clients who are experiencing depression or anxiety. The medication prescribed, such as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, are used to reduce some symptoms caused by depression or anxiety but may also help with distorted thinking and perception related to depersonalization.
This disorder was particularly fascinating to me when I began studying it in my psychology class about abnormal disorders. I think it is a disorder that many do not know about but is incredibly interesting to learn about. I hope you all feel the same!
I am really glad this is your topic. So many people don’t understand these mental diseases and conditions and look to them as just being “emotional.” this is obviously not true. By helping people understand these conditions and stating facts, you are helping those affected by the disease. I personally was unaware of the depersonalization-derealization disorder and got a lot out of reading your article. Keep it up!
Before today I hadn’t even heard of this disorder. I think it is very important that we all understand these types of diseases in order to understand and help those that suffer from them. It’s great that I got to learn a little bit more about mental illness from reading your blog.
Not that mental disorders are “cool”, but honestly the details behind this one are pretty neat. I am not saying this would be something someone would want to have, but it is definetly something that makes me think about how fascinating the human brain is. Every species has one, yet all are so different. We don’t have the same brain as a fly obviously, however just because our species has similar brains, does not mean that they are the same at all.
What is also interesting to me are the different ways that people deal with childhood trauma. Two children can go through the same childhood, yet have completely different lives. One could have DDD, and the other could be completely unaffected.