Is depersonalization disorder initiated by illicit drug use any different? A survey of 394 adults.
The Journal of clinical psychiatry October 1, 2009 Daphne Simeon, David S Kozin, Karina Segal et al.
Chronic depersonalization/derealization triggered by drugs presents a uniform syndrome indistinguishable from non-drug-triggered cases, except that drug-triggered cases show more improvement over time. An internet survey of 394 adults with chronic depersonalization compared those whose onset was initiated by drugs (196 participants) versus those whose onset was not (198 participants). Cannabis, hallucinogens, and ecstasy were the most common precipitating drugs. Both groups reported similar illness course, impairment, suicidality, and limited treatment response. The drug-initiated group showed significantly greater improvement over time, but the groups did not differ in overall depersonalization severity or in reported effectiveness of psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy.