Hey everybody, today we're going to talk about depersonalization/derealization disorder.
I know that's a mouthful but I promise I'll break it down and you'll completely understand it, so let's get started.
Now because this is a diagnosis, I'm going to read from my DSM-5,
and that's what I'm picking up to show you, my handy-dandy DSM.
Now as always, the DSM is not the end-all be-all but with regard to depersonalization/derealization disorder,
it helps us better understand kinda what we're talking about.
So, I'm going to talk about, first, depersonalization
because I think it's important for us to describe and identify what each part of these are
because they're actually a little different.
Now, depersonalization is "experiences of unreality, detachment or being an outside observer,
with respect to ones' thoughts, feelings, sensations, body or actions."
So it's almost like when we're outside of our person.
That's why I think this important, because that's the 'depersonalization'.
So we feel completely disconnected from ourselves.
Now the second portion is 'derealization', and that is:
"Experiences of unreality or detachment with respect to surroundings."
For example, individuals or objects are experienced as unreal, dreamlike, foggy, lifeless, or visually distorted.
Now the second diagnostic criteria is that during the depersonalization/derealization experiences,
reality testing remains intact.
And what that really means is that unlike the other dissociative disorders, like dissociative amnesia, or DID,
that we actually know what's going on.
We understand reality, we can still recognize what's happening,
we just almost can't get out of the fog or can't connect with ourselves enough to do anything about it.
Now the third criteria, and as always, is that it impairs our level of functioning.
The fourth, is that it's not attributable to a substance, so this can't be because we're high, or drunk, or whatever.
And the last, is that the disturbance is not better explained by another mental disorder,
such as: schizophrenia, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, acute stress disorder, or PTSD,
or another dissociative disorder.
So you can see, that this is something that we're going to have to do what we call a 'differential diagnosis',
to make sure this is exactly what we're experiencing and struggling with.
And so, because there are so many things that we need to go through,
if you worry that you're struggling with this, please see a professional.
Tell someone what's going on, and see what's really happening, so you can get the treatment and the help that you need and deserve.
And I've talked about this before in the past, I have a video on dissociation, if you want to click here, because
in my experience, that's really what this is.
We'll feel out of body, like depersonalization.
We can't connect to ourselves, our feelings, our thoughts, or we feel disconnected from where we are,
it feels like we're walking in a fog, or we're walking really slow, everything's moving really slow.
And I've heard a lot of this from many of my patients who have struggled through trauma.
And that is honestly why I believe this exists, that's why I think this disorder is around
and why people struggle with it,
is because it's our brains' way of protecting us.
It takes us out of our situation, or our body, so that we can survive.
Many of my clients who struggle with dissociation, or depersonalization and derealization,
don't have memories of certain chunks of their life.
Or they've only experienced the trauma as almost like an observer,
because they're out of their own body and they're watching it.
And it's really our brains' way of protecting us from the trauma,
so that we can continue on and survive through it.
Now a fascinating statistic that I found when I was doing research for this,
was that 50% of adults report having experienced at least one episode of depersonalization or derealization.
So you're not alone, and also the mean ratio - they talk about ratios when it comes to genders,
it happens equally between men and women.
And also, the mean age of onset is 16.
So know that if you're younger, or older,
It happens, kind of in the teen years, is when we'll first have our experience, and a lot of people go through it.
So you're not alone, and there is treatment available.
So let's talk about that.
So when it comes to treatment, there are no medications that are specifically designed to treat depersonalization or derealization
but they talk a lot, how, depersonalization and derealization co-occurs a lot with anxiety disorders,
and so there's been a lot of studies that prove that anxiety medications may help with this.
As well as, you guessed it, talk therapy! Hurray!
Because this happens as a result of trauma, many times, or anxiety,
talking through it with a therapist, find out what your triggers are, and helping to better manage those,
can really, really help.
And something that I do with a lot of my clients when they struggle to stay present in a session,
is to use grounding techniques.
And I talk about it in my dissociation video,
but there are many things that you can do to help yourself in the moment, even in your everyday life.
If you struggle to stay present at school, or work, sometimes keeping silly putty, or a tangle toy,
or something in your hands, can help keep you grounded to where you are.
Also if you find yourself wanting to pull away, I have my clients count colors in the room,
how many colours do you see? How many shades of blue?
Because that makes you focus on different things in the room and pull your focus to where you are,
instead of letting your brain take you away.
So be patient with yourself, you can recover from depersonalization and derealization,
it just takes working with the right therapist, and a lot of trial and error.
With many of my clients, we have to figure out what helps keep them grounded.
It may work for someone else, but it may not work for you.
Or what helps you process trauma best?
There's so many ways to process through a trauma, whether it's EMDR, or talk therapy,
or many of the other versions that you have told me, have helped you.
So don't give up hope, it can, and will get better.
And please, share this video, you never know who may be suffering in silence,
and the more we talk about it, the more awareness we raise, the better.
And please click here to subscribe if you're new to my channel,
or if you're old and you haven't subscribed, click over here.
And if you want more information on dissociation and dissociative disorders, click over here.
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you can follow me all along there.
And I will see you next time!