Am I Experiencing Depersonalization And Derealization?
Depersonalization-derealization disorder is a condition characterized by feelings of unreality and detachment from your self (your emotions, thoughts, memories, or body sensations), or feelings of unreality and detachment from the world around you. Am I Experiencing Depersonalization And Derealization? is an indicative screening questionnaire designed to help clients self-assess whether their experiences might warrant further investigation.
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Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
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Introduction & Theoretical Background
Depersonalization-derealization disorder is a condition characterized by feelings of unreality and detachment from your self (your emotions, thoughts, memories, or body sensations), or feelings of unreality and detachment from the world around you. It is experienced by between 1 and 2 people out of every 100 (Stein, 2016; Kessler et al, 2005) but like many anxiety disorders, it is under-diagnosed and often goes unrecognized (Hunter et al, 2017; Kasper, 2006).
Depersonalization describes experiencing the self as strange or unreal, or feeling detached from one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, body, or actions, as if one were an external observer. It may take the form of emotional or physical numbing, or a sense of watching oneself from a distance or ‘being in a play’. It can also cause perceptual alterations, such as a distorted sense of time.
Derealization consists of experiencing other persons, objects, or the world as strange or unreal (it might
Therapist Guidance
Some people who report similar experiences to yours have a condition called depersonalization-derealization disorder. Would you like to try a short quiz that could give us an idea of whether this problem troubles you?
References And Further Reading
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
- Kasper, S. (2006). Anxiety disorders: under-diagnosed and insufficiently treated. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 10(sup1), 3-9.
- Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617–627.
- Hunter, E. C., Charlton, J., & David, A. S. (2017). Depersonalisation and derealisation: assessment and management. BMJ, 356.
- Stansfeld, S., Clark, C., Bebbington, P., King, M., Jenkins, R., & Hinchliffe, S. (2016). Chapter 2: Common mental disorders. In S. McManus, P. Bebbington, R. Jenkins, & T. Brugha (Eds.), Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital.
- Stein, D. J., Lim, C. C., Roest, A. M., De Jonge, P., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., ... & De Girolamo, G. (2017). The