Depersonalization Disorder

Do you ever wish that you could watch yourself from outside your body? I don’t know about you but for me, I have always wanted to observe my movements and my comportment from outside my body. Living my fairy dream and being completely sunk in the magical power like tinker bell had and observe my fairy moves where I could fly anywhere and anytime, I want. Although how much ever I wished this was true, I invariably convicted that this was only possible while we are asleep and dreaming. Later I came across Depersonalization Disorder which is a fragment of Dissociative Disorders. This disorder is pretty akin to the doltish wish of ours. Depersonalization Disorder is thin on the ground. About 2% of people get afflicted with this disorder. We can understand the concept of Depersonalization disorder by intervals of feeling disengaged or detached from one’s body and deliberation. This might sound magical and it might look like you can live up to your fantasy dream you once had but if we consider the truth, depersonalization is nothing like the jovial astounding day dream we might have in our mind.

Case in point

I know many of you are perplexed as it is hard to understand and actually believe that such disorders exist. But an example can always help us understand a concept more easily so let’s talk about this girl who had depersonalization disorder. She described it as something dark and cold which according to me gives an eerie feeling. She had phases and few severe episodes of this disorder which lasted for few days or weeks. She once got a feeling where she thought she was dead and her soul had left her body, it seemed like her body was under somewhere, 6 feet below. She felt like a spirit or an illusion where she was drifting away from the world behind a massive glass. An enigma where she felt dead yet people were interacting with her. She later started going to a therapist who made her see the difference between what is real and what isn’t.

By this example we can get an idea how horrifying this disorder can be. It can make you do some actions which aren’t truly “your” decisions or it is something which you wouldn’t do with your sane mind.

Reasons spawning behind the occurrence of Depersonalization Disorder

Although the unerring cause of Depersonalization Disorder is unknown. But for the people who experience it, is mainly caused due to undergoing stress and trauma especially at a very young age. Our mind finds a coping mechanism where we tend to remove ourselves from that situation by encountering depersonalization disorder.

Certain drugs which may also cause symptoms very similar to those of depersonalization disorder in few people.

• Hallucinogens
• MDMA
• Ketamine
• Salvia
• Marijuana

How can you indicate Depersonalization Disorder?

Nothing comes without an indication and depersonalization disorder is no different. People who fall in the heinous trap of depersonalization disorder pass through these symptoms:

• A feeling where you think your soul is outside your body and you feel like you are supervising your body and looking down at yourself
• A feeling where you feel you have been completely detached from your body
• A feeling where you think your senses are switched off and your body and mind feel numb
• You feel like you have no control over yourself and say without thinking it twice
• A feeling where you feel the size of your body parts are unequal
• A feeling of difficulty connecting emotions to your memory

Detecting Depersonalization Disorder

A handful of disorders can make you feel like you have depersonalization disorder but diagnosing it rightly is paramount. Few questions which mental health professionals ask to confirm the case of this disorder are given below-

1. Do you experience depersonalization or derealization episodes?
2. Do they turn out to be distressed?
3. Can you differentiate between what is reality and what is an episode? (Generally, people who go through this syndrome can identify that the episodes are not true and it is not the reality)
4. Ingestion of any prescribed drug or a health condition cannot describe this disorder.
5. Mental disorders like schizophrenia, PTSD or panic disorder are not the causes behind the occurrence of Depersonalization Disorder.

As petrifying it sounds there are ways by which such depersonalization episodes can be stopped. Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioural Therapies are the key to stop such episodes and escape the terror of this minacious disorder.

Mental health is extremely important to look after as some of them are incredibly strenuous to identify and by when it gets diagnosed it gets too late. Disorders like Depersonalization is more frightening than it sounds and thus it is extremely important to have knowledge and awareness about it so that if anybody falls under the trap of such disorders they can be treated as soon as possible.