Overview
Depersonalization is defined by the American Psychological Association as:
“a state of mind in which the self appears unreal. Individuals feel estranged from themselves and usually from the external world, and thoughts and experiences have a distant, dreamlike character. In its persistent form, depersonalization is observed in such disorders as depression, hypochondriasis, dissociative states, temporal lobe epilepsy, and early schizophrenia. It also often occurs as a result of a traumatic experience. The extreme form is called depersonalization syndrome.”
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V-TR) describes diagnostic crtieria for depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPDR) through
“1. Depersonalization: Experiences of unreality, detachment, or being an outside observer with respect to one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, body, or actions (e.g., perceptual alterations, distorted sense of time, unreal or absent self, emotional and/or physical numbing).”
“2. Derealization: Experiences of unreality or detachment with respect to surroundings (e.g., individuals or objects are experienced as unreal, dreamlike, foggy, lifeless, or visually distorted).”
“B. During the depersonalization or derealization experiences, reality testing remains intact.”
“C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.”
“D. The disturbance is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, medication) or another medical condition (e.g., seizures).”
“E. The disturbance is not better explained by another mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, or another dissociative disorder.”