Examining the association between depersonalisation traits and the bodily self in waking and dreaming.
Matt P D Gwyther, Bigna Lenggenhager, Jennifer M Windt, Jane E Aspell, Anna Ciaunica
Scientific reports March 13, 2024 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56119-w via PubMed
Summary
People with stronger depersonalisation traits—feeling detached from their own body—report more frequent dreams from an outside-observer perspective and more dreams with distinct or altered bodily sensations, along with more nightmares and higher dream recall. They also show weaker body boundaries and less trust in internal bodily signals while awake. These findings suggest that dreaming does not provide a temporary escape from depersonalisation symptoms; instead, the dream state mirrors the waking disruptions in sense of self and body.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 514 |
| Population | Healthy participants with depersonalisation traits |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key finding | Higher depersonalisation traits are associated with more frequent observer-perspective dreams, more dreams with altered bodily sensations, more nightmares, and higher dream recall, along with weaker body boundaries and lower interoceptive trust while awake. |
Abstract
Depersonalisation (DP) is characterized by fundamental alterations to the sense of self that include feelings of detachment and estrangement from one's body. We conducted an online study in healthy participants (n = 514) with DP traits to investigate and quantify the subjective experience of body and self during waking and dreaming, as the vast majority of previous studies focussed on waking experience only. Investigating dreams in people experiencing DP symptoms may help us understand whether the dream state is a 'spared space' where people can temporarily 'retrieve' their sense of self and sense of bodily presence. We found that higher DP traits-i.e. higher scores on the Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale (CDS)-were associated with more frequent dream experiences from an outside observer perspective (r = 0.28) and more frequent dream experiences of distinct bodily sensations (r = 0.23). We also found that people with higher CDS scores had more frequent dream experiences of altered bodily perception (r = 0.24), more frequent nightmares (r = 0.33) and higher dream recall (r = 0.17). CDS scores were negatively correlated with body boundary scores (r = - 0.31) in waking states and there was a negative association between CDS scores and the degree of trust in interoceptive signals (r = - 0.52). Our study elucidates the complex phenomenology of DP in relation to bodily selfhood during waking and dreaming and suggests avenues for potential therapeutic interventions in people with chronic depersonalisation (depersonalisation -derealisation disorder).