Editing Depersonalization (section)

{{Short description|Anomaly of self-awareness}}
{{For|social philosophy|objectification|dehumanization}}
'''Depersonalization''' is a [[Dissociation (psychology)|dissociative]] phenomenon characterized by a subjective feeling of detachment from oneself, manifesting as a sense of disconnection from one's thoughts, emotions, sensations, or actions, and often accompanied by a feeling of observing oneself from an external perspective.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=11580008 |year=2001 |last1=Sierra |first1=M. |title=The phenomenological stability of depersonalization: Comparing the old with the new |journal=The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease |volume=189 |issue=9 |pages=629–36 |last2=Berrios |first2=G. E. |doi=10.1097/00005053-200109000-00010 |s2cid=22920376}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=E. C. M. |last2=Sierra |first2=M. |last3=David |first3=A. S. |date=2004-01-01 |title=The epidemiology of depersonalisation and derealisation |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-004-0701-4 |journal=Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology |language=en |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=9–18 |doi=10.1007/s00127-004-0701-4 |pmid=15022041 |issn=1433-9285|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Subjects perceive that the world has become vague, dreamlike, surreal, or strange, leading to a diminished sense of individuality or identity. Those affected often feel as though they are observing the world from a distance,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Depersonalization-derealization disorder – Symptoms and causes |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depersonalization-derealization-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352911 |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=[[Mayo Clinic]] |language=en |archive-date=2017-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008030114/https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depersonalization-derealization-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352911 |url-status=live }}</ref> as if separated by a barrier "behind glass".<ref name=":0" /> They maintain insight into the subjective nature of their experience, recognizing that it pertains to their own perception rather than altering objective reality. This distinction between subjective experience and objective reality distinguishes depersonalization from [[delusion]]s, where individuals firmly believe in false perceptions as genuine truths. Depersonalization is also distinct from [[derealization]], which involves a sense of detachment from the external world rather than from oneself.<!-- This statement is pretty much a 'derealization' symptom, in which the outside world becomes less real, compared with 'depesonalization' in which oneself becomes less real. Not verified in the body either: a good candidate for dropping. -->

[[Depersonalization-derealization disorder]] refers to chronic depersonalization, classified as a [[dissociative disorder]]<ref name="DSM-5">{{cite book |ref={{harvid|DSM-5|2013}} |author=[[American Psychiatry Association]] |title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders | edition=5th |date=2013 |publisher=American Psychiatric Publishing |location=Arlington |isbn=978-0-89042-555-8 |chapter=Dissociative Disorders |pages=[https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis0005unse/page/291 291-307] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis0005unse/page/291}}</ref> in both the [[DSM-4]] and the [[DSM-5]], which underscores its association with disruptions in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Salami |first1=Abbas |last2=Andreu-Perez |first2=Javier |last3=Gillmeister |first3=Helge |date=November 2020 |title=Symptoms of depersonalisation/derealisation disorder as measured by brain electrical activity: A systematic review |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.08.011 |journal=Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews |volume=118 |pages=524–537 |doi=10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.08.011 |pmid=32846163 |issn=0149-7634 |arxiv=2111.06126 |access-date=2024-03-29 |archive-date=2024-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240412133647/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763420305492?via%3Dihub |url-status=live }}</ref> This classification is based on the findings that depersonalization and derealization are prevalent in other dissociative disorders including [[dissociative identity disorder]].<ref name="Sadock2017-DPD-Criteria-Change">{{harvp|Dissociative Disorders|2017|loc=CHANGES IN DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA TO THE DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS, Changes to the Diagnostic Criteria for Depersonalization Disorder}}</ref>

Though degrees of depersonalization can happen to anyone who is subject to temporary anxiety or stress, chronic depersonalization is more related to individuals who have experienced a severe [[Psychological trauma|trauma]] or prolonged stress/anxiety. Depersonalization-derealization is the single most important symptom in the spectrum of dissociative disorders,{{CN|date=April 2025}} including [[dissociative identity disorder]] and "[[dissociative disorder not otherwise specified]]" (DD-NOS). It is also a prominent symptom in some other non-dissociative disorders, such as [[anxiety disorder]]s, [[clinical depression]], [[bipolar disorder]], [[schizophrenia]],<ref name="pmid23454432">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.concog.2013.01.009 |pmid=23454432 |title=Anomalous self-experience in depersonalization and schizophrenia: A comparative investigation |journal=[[Consciousness and Cognition]] |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=430–441 |year=2013 |last1=Sass |first1=Louis |last2=Pienkos |first2=Elizabeth |last3=Nelson |first3=Barnaby |last4=Medford |first4=Nick |s2cid=13551169}}</ref> [[schizoid personality disorder]], [[hypothyroidism]] or endocrine disorders,<ref name="Sharma 2014 63–66">{{Cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Kirti |last2=Behera |first2=Joshil Kumar |last3=Sood |first3=Sushma |last4=Rajput |first4=Rajesh |last5=Satpal |last6=Praveen |first6=Prashant |date=2014|title=Study of cognitive functions in newly diagnosed cases of subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism |journal=Journal of Natural Science, Biology, and Medicine |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=63–66 |doi=10.4103/0976-9668.127290 |issn=0976-9668 |pmc=3961955 |pmid=24678200 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[schizotypal personality disorder]], [[borderline personality disorder]], [[obsessive–compulsive disorder]], [[migraine]]s, and [[sleep deprivation]]; it can also be a symptom of some types of neurological [[seizure]], and it has been suggested that there could be common aetiology between depersonalization symptoms and panic disorder, on the basis of their high co-occurrence rates.<ref name=":0" />

In [[social psychology]], and in particular [[self-categorization theory]], the term ''[[Self-categorization theory#Depersonalization|depersonalization]]'' has a different meaning and refers to "the stereotypical perception of the self as an example of some defining social category".<ref name="Turner & Oakes (1986).">{{cite journal |last1=Turner |first1=John |last2=Oakes |first2=Penny |title=The significance of the social identity concept for social psychology with reference to individualism, interactionism and social influence |journal=[[British Journal of Social Psychology]] |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=237–52 |year=1986 |doi=10.1111/j.2044-8309.1986.tb00732.x |doi-access=free}}</ref>