Derealization and depersonalization
Also called: DPDR
The world suddenly seems flat, distant, or like a film (derealization), or you feel like you are watching yourself from outside (depersonalization). Many people have a brief episode at some point, usually under stress.
How common
Does this happen to you?
How it works
In derealization, your surroundings feel unreal, dreamlike, foggy, or far away. Colours look flat. The world can seem to be behind glass or on a movie screen2. In depersonalization, you feel detached from your own body, thoughts, or feelings. It is like watching yourself act from a distance3. In both, you know that the feeling is not literally true. That knowledge is what separates it from psychosis1.
Both are forms of dissociation, a detachment from your surroundings or from your own physical and emotional experience4. The leading idea is that this is protective. When the brain is overwhelmed, it turns down the emotional response to the outside world and to the self. Turning down the feeling also turns down the sense of realness1. Common triggers are a panic attack, severe stress, lack of sleep, extreme tiredness, migraine, and cannabis13.
A brief episode can last as long as a panic attack, or for some hours1. When the feeling settles in and does not lift, it is called depersonalization-derealization disorder1.
How common it is
The 26% to 74% lifetime figure comes from surveys asking people whether they ever had a brief episode23. The range is wide because the studies use different definitions and time frames3. The 1% to 2% figure for the persistent disorder comes from population surveys that used standard diagnostic interviews13. The disorder affects men and women at similar rates and most often begins in the teenage years1.
Is it a problem?
A brief episode is not. It is not psychosis and it does not mean you are losing your mind. Fear of the feeling makes it stronger, and naming it makes it weaker. Sleep, food, and calm reduce it.
Talk to a doctor or counsellor if the feeling:
- lasts for weeks,
- keeps coming back,
- gets in the way of school or friendships.
Persistent depersonalization is well recognised, and therapy can help1.
Also see a doctor if the feeling:
- starts after a head injury,
- comes with seizures,
- begins after starting a new medicine.
History and culture
Many people with the persistent form spend years thinking they are alone with it. Communities such as r/dpdr exist to show them they are not5.
Sources and further material
- Wikipedia Depersonalization-derealization disorder
- Wikipedia Derealization
- Wikipedia Depersonalization
Missing something your body does? Tell me about it.
Related oddities
Call of the void
A sudden, brief thought of jumping when you stand somewhere high, with no wish to do it. About half of people get it. It is probably the brain's safety system being misread, not a hidden wish.
Déjà vu
A strong feeling that you have lived the present moment before, even though you know you have not. About two in three people get it. It peaks between the ages of 15 and 25.
Jamais vu
A familiar word, face or place suddenly feels strange, as if you are meeting it for the first time. It is the opposite of déjà vu, and researchers think it is rarer. In lab studies, more than half of people felt a common word turn strange after copying it about 30 times.
Meditation body dissolution
During long, still meditation the brain loses track of the edges of the body. The body can feel indistinct or seem to expand into space. Flotation tanks produce the same effect. It is usually harmless.
Sleep paralysis
You wake up, or start to fall asleep, and cannot move or speak for a few seconds to minutes. Sometimes a threatening presence seems to be in the room. It is the normal paralysis of dreaming sleep running a little late.