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Derealization disorder is when our brains will occasionally decide that it would be in our best interests if our surroundings or even our bodies temporarily stopped feeling real. While relatively less well known and discussed, this is a common occurrence.
Some report that going through these feelings is like living behind a glass wall that keeps them from fully inhabiting the outside world. Some may feel as though their heads are clogged with cotton or that everything is distant and surreal. Despite how odd it may seem, these symptoms are rather prevalent.
Depersonalization and derealization experiences are regarded as the third most prevalent mental health symptoms, coming right after anxiety and depression, and they affect both men and women equally.
Symptoms of Derealization Disorder
Derealization is the sensation of being detached from your environment. Derealization disorder can make a person feel as though something is wrong with reality and that everything is about to fall apart. In other situations, this may make the world seem "unreal," as if there were a problem with the surroundings.
For individuals who have not directly experienced derealization, it can be helpful to picture yourself being moved to a location you are unfamiliar with. You find it difficult to understand what is happening or make sense of the surroundings in this place. Even the most familiar areas appear alien and unusual because your brain is unable to process the data being taken in by your senses (sight, sound, etc.).
There's no disputing that this experience can be incredibly strange and terrifying. There are times when you may feel as though the world around you is surreal or that you are not in it. You get the impression that something is happening while you are viewing it without understanding it or that the outside world is a nightmare from which you are unable to awaken.
Depersonalization and derealization can sometimes coexist, giving you the impression that you are watching yourself.
Treatment of Derealization
Is treating depersonalization the same as treating derealization? Majorly, yes. Mental health professionals are likely to diagnose them together. Given their co-existing nature, the line of treatment has also become similar. Derealization disorder, however, cannot be cured, although treatment can lessen distressing symptoms and potentially result in a full recovery.
Depersonalization and other dissociative disorders, which are now recognized as being trauma-related disorders, are now better known among masses as a result of developments in the understanding and treatment of trauma-related disorders. Individuals with derealization disorder should discuss their symptoms with a specialist in order to start treatment and feel like themselves once more.
1) Psychotherapy
The main form and type of therapy treatment for depersonalization is individual therapy, although there are situations when medication is combined with therapy to address the illness. Although derealization is thought to be a separate element of this disorder, derealization treatment is fully integrated into depersonalization therapies.
Having a derealization disorder can make someone feel unreal. The self, body, emotions, and the outside environment can all occasionally seem to vanish, be twisted, or be far away. The degree to which any one of these symptoms is present can suggest derealization disorder as a diagnosis.
A therapist can conduct a test to identify depersonalization-derealization disorder. The Steinberg Depersonalization Questionnaire is a major test for depersonalization disorder, while other assessments, such as structured clinical interviews for dissociative disorders, may also be employed. The Steinberg Derealization Questionnaire is a similar derealization exam.
Psychotherapy continues to be the major and most important psychiatric intervention, despite significant advancements in the pharmacotherapeutic treatment and diagnosis of mental health disorders.
2) Medications
Antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs may be administered to treat symptoms. SSRIs can alleviate a number of derealization disorder-specific symptoms. Moreover, antidepressants might improve mood and lessen the bothersome symptoms that set off dissociative symptoms.
The fact that depersonalization and other dissociative disorders are not psychotic diseases is one of their distinguishing characteristics. Those who encounter them continue to feel realistic as it is. Antipsychotic medications, however, can be a useful alternative for treating these diseases.
For those with derealization disorder, antipsychotics can have a variety of beneficial benefits, such as mood stabilization, reduced anxiety, and an expanded range of effects. They might even target and reduce the symptoms.
Derealization disorder can be crippling if left untreated. Over time, the frequency of dissociative episodes may rise, causing the sufferer and their family to experience severe stress, worry for their safety, and feel overburdened by the symptoms.
Inpatient treatment offers holistic care, group support, family counseling, nutrition, and exercise in addition to therapy in a setting that is safe for recovery from derealization disorder.
Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.
