Depersonalization Disorder

Depersonalization is a dissociative disorder marked by persistent feelings of detachment from one's own mind or body, as if observing oneself from outside. It frequently occurs alongside derealization, where the external world feels strange or unreal. The text defines these conditions based on the DSM-IV-TR classification.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Depersonalization (DP) is classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM‐IV‐TR) as a dissociative disorder defined as “persistent or recurrent experiences of feeling detached from, and as if one is an outside observer of, one's mental processes or body (e.g. feeling like one is in a dream)” (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000, p. 532). DP commonly co‐occurs with the phenomena of derealization (DR), defined as “the sense that the external world is strange or unreal” (APA, 2000, p. 530).