People with panic disorder report anomalous self-experiences—disturbances in the sense of self—at levels comparable to those seen in schizophrenia, though the specific patterns differ. In a study of 47 panic disorder patients and 47 healthy controls, patients scored much higher on the Examination of Anomalous Self Experiences (average 17.94 vs. 1.00 in controls). These experiences included common forms of derealization and depersonalization, which may reflect defensive psychological processes rather than a fundamental disturbance of the minimal self. The findings support the idea that basic-self-disturbance is specific to schizophrenia, while panic disorder involves a different, less profound type of self-alteration that can resemble schizophrenia-like phenomena but requires careful differentiation.
People with first-episode psychosis often experience profound changes in how they perceive the world around them—including alterations in space, time, and other people—alongside disturbances in their sense of self. In a study comparing 24 outpatients with first-episode psychosis to 24 healthy controls, those with psychosis scored significantly higher on both the Examination of Anomalous World Experience (EAWE) and the Examination of Anomalous Self Experience (EASE). Scores on the two measures were strongly correlated, even after accounting for overlapping items. The types of world-experience anomalies varied widely among patients. These findings suggest that anomalous world experiences are a relevant feature of first-episode psychosis and may be linked to the self-disturbances thought to underlie schizophrenia spectrum disorders.