It’s like you suddenly lost your grip on immediate reality. Or maybe you look in a mirror and a full sense of “you” doesn’t hit home. Derealization and depersonalization: perceived madness – the more we learn, the saner we feel.

It just seems to me that when the mind knows it’s mega-overwhelmed, believing even the slightest additional bit of stimuli will lead to various degrees of meltdown, it flips the switch on a filter.

Derealization and depersonalization are the scariest phenomena I’ve encountered in the 50 plus years I’ve been dealing with emotional and mental illness.

If you’ve had the pleasure, you know what I’m talking about.

Intro

I first posted this three-part series on derealization and depersonalization (DD)14 years ago. Since it’s a frequent topic of inquiry and discussion, I decided to do an update and repost.

You’ll find interesting general DD information in part one. Here in part two, it’s all about cause.

But since, like any emotional or mental illness, there are no known causes of DD, we’ll run with what we’ll call “likely contributors.” They include triggers, predispositions, and research-backed theories.

Real quick: DD are most often dissociative symptoms of other conditions. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) has a diagnostic code for depersonalization/derealization disorder.

Likely contributors

Okay, let’s take a look at those likely contributors – first in a formal bullet point format. By the way, you’ll also find them in part one……

• The two biggest psychological contributors to the generation of DD are trauma and prolonged stress and anxiety.
• Derealization has been linked to childhood trauma, with severity correlating directly with the reported severity of childhood maltreatment.
• DD can be symptoms of numerous emotional and mental, as well as physical, illnesses: borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia, substance use and withdrawal, hypothyroidism/other endocrine disorders, sleep deprivation, migraines, neurological seizures, and more.
• There appears to be a biological relationship between DD, near-death experiences, and out-of-body experiences.
• Specific brain cells and circuits involved in generating dissociation have recently been identified. That allowed researchers to discover a characteristic rhythm/oscillation in a portion of the cortex which is connected to other brain areas associated with the generation of awareness. Much more in: Researchers Discover a Rhythm in the Cortex Involved in Causing Dissociation.

Let’s transition from a formal format to narratives regarding some of the theories I’ve cooked up over the years.

Derealization and depersonalization: The mind protecting itself

“Hmm, so my mind is protecting itself. I guess I’ll have to take your word for it – for now.”

As all emotional and mental hell broke loose 50 years ago, I had no clue as to what was going on. I mean, how could I possibly know?

Keep in mind, emotional and mental illness wasn’t a hot topic in those days. And researching specific subjects was limited. There was no web.

Somehow, when it came to DD, it didn’t take long to connect the dots. I viewed their intense perceptual alterations as my mind’s self-protective reaction to what it interprets as an unmanageable state of overload.

I still believe that.

Flipping the switch

It just seems to me that when the mind knows it’s mega-overwhelmed, believing even the slightest additional bit of stimuli will lead to various degrees of meltdown, it flips the switch on a filter.

Yes, it’s the mind in a powerful state of protection – defense.

Within this theoretical framework, the mind is trying to give itself a fighting chance to sort and process that with which it’s already wrestling.

The last thing it needs is more stimuli. So it chooses to filter – to the extreme, block – the sensory input streaming in from one’s immediate internal and external experience.

And,for the purposes of our series, it uses derealization and depersonalization to pull it off.

Fear circuitry and sirens

“I’m not episode-free yet, but I know what’s going on. And it really takes the edge off.”

Now, unfortunately, the mind’s fear circuitry is chugging along very independently and just as efficiently as its filtration system.

So off go the sirens because the sensations experienced as a result of the mind’s work to protect itself – in this case, using DD – is causing the alarm circuitry to freak-out.

I mean, DD aren’t sensations that would be interpreted as “normal.”

As a result, one flips into all out panic mode, desperately trying to reestablish a sense of balance, control, and comfort. But that only makes things worse because it totally interrupts the mind’s immediate mission of managing thousands of cars at rush hour.

Stuck in traffic

So now one is left with this ever-building traffic jam caused by two vehicles: an overloaded mind perceived to be on the verge of meltdown and a very agitated and loudly rebellious fear circuitry. Without intervention, no one’s going anywhere.

I might also suggest that DD may present as a result of the mind being so consumed by the traffic jam itself that it simply can’t deliver perceptual accuracy in response to what the senses are bringing to the table.

Don’t ever forget, this is all about how we receive self and the world. And there’s only so much of the mind to go around. Yes, it has its limits.

Looking to part three

Okay, to complete our work we need to dig in to one more article – part three. We’ll wrap things up with some fascinating and helpful insights from neuroscientist Dr. V.S. Ramachandran.

We’ll also swirl around some things we can do to establish a sense of comfort within a mire of derealization and depersonalization.

Again, lots of helpful DD general information in part one.

If you’re up for even more emotional and mental illness info and inspiration reading, peruse the titles on the articles page or by category below.

After a decades-long battle with panic, generalized anxiety, fluctuating moods, and alcohol dependence; Bill finally found his life’s passion and work – lending a hand to those in the same boat. At age 49 he hit grad school and earned his counseling credentials. And he continues his service through Chipur and other projects.