In major depressive disorder, abnormal time experience is nearly universal: 96 out of 100 patients reported at least one disturbance. The most common patterns are a sense of stagnation in vital processes, feeling trapped by the past so that the present and future seem dominated by it, and a slowing of the flow of time. Unlike in schizophrenia, where time experience becomes fragmented, depression involves a blockage or inhibition of forward movement. These findings confirm that distorted time perception is a core feature of depression, which could aid differential diagnosis and distinguish true depression from milder forms.
People with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa report anomalous self-experiences (ASEs) at levels comparable to those seen in schizophrenia. In a study of 90 individuals with anorexia, 41 with bulimia, and 92 general-population controls, ASEs were strongly correlated with feeling extraneous from one's own body, body uneasiness, and eating-disorder symptoms. Statistical modeling showed that ASEs influence eating-disorder symptoms indirectly, through disturbances in embodiment, identity, and body image. The findings suggest that anomalous interoceptive processes may initiate a maladaptive cascade that impairs embodiment and selfhood in feeding and eating disorders, and that assessing ASEs could help identify an early shared vulnerability across severe disorders involving altered embodiment.