Depersonalization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization

Has anyone here been diagnosed with this disorder? I'm fairly certain that I have it.

 

I dont know, I recognise a lot of myself in it.
Thanks a lot for the link,
might help me to find out what I have

 

Whenever I read about a disorder it seems like I at least have some form of it. :dry: Maybe I have this too? My life has always seemed like a movie.

Seems like I have all of these:

Social Anxiety Disorder
Avoidant personality
Depression
Body dismorphic disorder
Depersonalization
Probably some others I can't remember...

I am still glad that you posted this though. It is good to be educated about these types of disorders.

 

Don't assume that you have depersonalization.. it's a pretty extreme condition, I know some of the symptoms seem vaguely familiar to what some of us have experienced, but chances are it's not the same thing. The reason is that this is not a common disorder, and from the experiences I've heard about (I used to talk with someone who had an extreme case) it's often like being in a bad acid trip almost all of the time. For those of you who've had bad trips before, you know (just as I do) how frightening and disconnected everything seems. There have been medications offered for depersonalization, but I've not heard enough to know if the medication has proven truly successful or not.

 

Dissociation is experienced by almost everyone at certain points in their lives, some more than others. So it is common for people to identify with the symptoms of Depersonalization, but the difference is that those with the true disorder are often permanently trapped in this disconnected, confusing state, communication and interaction is extremely difficult. It's been described as viewing everything through a camera lens, as if the person is 'outside' of reality and are only watching life take place around them. If you are confident that your symptoms are this extreme though, I recommend getting tested by a professional psychologist.

It's important to get feedback from those trained in the field, diagnosing ourselves with perceived conditions not only leaves us prone to error and fallacy, it is an easy way for us to use labels for scapegoating, blaming our problems on 'genetics' even without empirical evidence. Also, I believe the purpose of professional diagnosis is to learn more about ourselves to help us find alternate methods of working on our life issues, but not to label ourselves with handicaps in order to receive pity from others or give us excuses for not taking responsibility for our lives.

For example, I was diagnosed with NVLD at age 18, and later therapists have come to agree with that original diagnosis. Sometimes when I found myself in unfortunate situations in life, I would be tempted to blame the NVLD and find reasons why I'm 'different' and deserve a social environment that's more respectful of those with my personality type. However, I quickly realized it was self-defeating, and that type of thinking only limits my own potential. I do all I can to avoid that perspective now, and instead focus on the strengths I do have - I've learned to appreciate my unique personality traits, and I never let my disorder get in the way of my goals. There are positives to balance out every negative, but people must learn to look for the good, or it may as well not even exist.

 

Is depersonalization classed as being a psychotic symptom?

 

Ruby,

No. One of the tests to see if it is depersonalization is whether or not the person knows that what is happening is not real. I the person knows, it is not psychosis and probably is depersonalization, if a person doesn't know it isn't real then there may be a more serious problem.

Rick

 

This sounds a lot like me. It's mental torture all the time because I feel an increasing detachment from reality. I had this delusion as a child that I felt life was a dream, my parents just ignored it though. I still feel it sometimes. But, I always wonder if everything around me is real or an illusion, so that's probably not a good sign. I also wonder if I am real sometimes. Heh, that's what social isolation does to the mind.