Depersonalisation

Question 1

Depersonalisation

Answer 1

• strange type anxiety symp.
• a feeling of detachment.
• an alteration in the perception of the self, so that the patient feels detached from himself.
• his mental process or his body- feels like an observer of himself. (feeling as if in a dream).

Question 2

Derealisation

Answer 2

• overlaps a related phenomenon to depersonalisation.
• which means feeling detached from the external world, the enviro to that it seems strange & unreal.

-sometimes called “dissociation” phenomena- based on idea that mental functions might have become detached from each other.
& may be complex state of feeling things are unreal, emotional numbing, heightened self-observation.

Question 3

Causes? (Sierra & Berrios 1998)

Answer 3

Sierra & Berrios 1998- suggest caused by simultaneous:

1- Inhibition of emotional processing.
2- Heightened state of alertness.

May happen in high anxiety states such as panic (esp with hyperventilation), in PTSD, also Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Question 4

Treatment

Answer 4

if related to anxiety, usually treated with Bzs such as diazepam.
–but paradoxically Bzs themselves can cause depersonalisation as a side effect.