Depersonalization Disorder

[meowll]

Hello everyone... I've been suffering from depersonalization disorder for seven years, since I was 12. From what I've read beyond a purely psychological approach, it means that my mental body is separate from the other bodies (http://www.healpastlives.com/pastlf/karm...epersn.htm - this is a really interesting take on it), and what I need to do is integrate them.

Someone told me that I might not have incarnated properly yet, especially since I first started feeling detached from myself and the world when I was 12, which is when you usually start to get a grip on reality (and childhood is a fuzzy state, I might have always been depersonalized until then and considered it the normal state). I've been to a homeopath and she didn't indentify any problem, just that she sensed that I have a very strong intuition.

But even though depersonalization offered me valuable spiritual insight, it's been hell to go through. I want to experience life in this realm at its fullest, but I mostly feel like a robot going through the motions, without a real sense of self. I wonder what caused it- did I choose it for myself in a past existence, is it a sign of our generation experiencing this shift in consciousness? I think it's a necessary step, but I would like to overcome it- I just don't know what its roots are. Do you have any ideas?

[Sagittarius]

Assess why you dislike it. Why do you dislike it? Do you think other people feel more alive? Why? Aren't we all just robots in a robotic pattern of matter ?

What if I told you I have the same "disorder"

You seam pretty incarnated to me haha.

[Karl]

I think I've got a similar issue. It's like I'm walking through a cold dream, completely indifferent to everything.

[Brittany]

I often get the feeling that nothing around me is real. I remember and, to a certain degree, can still perceive an existence that makes every color on this planet look dead, every note flat and every "big important thing" so trivial that I can't manage more than a bitter laugh at the state of my own existence. The more I have accessed this perception, the more this personality feels like a too-tight set of clothes that I am straining to get out of. Limiting myself to such a narrow, arbitrary set of characteristics causes me grief, yet it seems an inevitable process, as individuation is necessary to do work in 3D. I simply cannot help wearing this suit that is Brittany. I can sense my infinite self but cannot fully touch it. I can vividly visualize worlds where living isn't hard at all, yet my feet are still grounded in this cold, hard world that often seems like a cheap paper backdrop I'd like to break through. Resorting to escapism has only resulted in delusional behavior that reaps no benefit, so mostly it just manifests as a dull sense of depression every waking moment of my life.

If I knew how to "cure" this feeling I would certainly share it with you. Perhaps knowing you aren't alone could help a bit, though.

[Sagittarius]

Learn to be what you despise. Learn to become the positive embodiment of your affliction.

[ChickenInSpace]

Or maybe ss I expressed it once or twice: "Voluntary multinonpersonality".

To me it sounds like the same thing, though.

See no real problems with it but I've 'had it' as long as I can remember (3-4 years, childhood). I don't particularly agree on all the points presented as I believe there are more cases which 'suffer' from this 'ailment' than 'old souls'.

[Parsons]

I've experienced sensations similar to what people have described in this thread as long as I can remember. (For myself at least), I have completely narrowed down the reason for this sensation.

1) This experience is extremely harsh compared to what I am used to. The catalyst on this planet at this timing is almost unbearable.

2) This experience is extremely similar to a massively multiplayer online game. I am merely inhabiting a physical vehicle. I am a non-physical being in my 'natural' state. I chose to have this experience.

The latter reason is the primary reason I am still here. This may be entirely illusion, but I decided to play by these rules. I know there is a veil which prevents(hinders?) making my purpose for incarnating here clear. I must assume the reasons I incarnated are proportional to harshness of catalyst, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

To compensate for this, I fall back on remaining as emotionally detached as possible as a defensive mechanism in the face of intense catalyst. Or sometimes I take on a persona or react in a way that I am not really feeling, but think will be able to better cope with the situation.

Furthermore, I simply retreat into various distractions or simply my own head as a coping mechanism (escapism).

To counteract this tendency, I have tried meditation, being in the present moment as much as possible, and positive thinking in the face of situations where I used to have a pessimistic outlook. I also view my emotional detachment as a serious imbalance and try to not completely mute my emotions in every situation. This has done a great deal of good but it is a constant upstream struggle.

I feel very gracious for being able to co-miserate (if your pardon the term) with others with a similar awareness.

The more I have accessed this perception, the more this personality feels like a too-tight set of clothes that I am straining to get out of. Limiting myself to such a narrow, arbitrary set of characteristics causes me grief, yet it seems an inevitable process, as individuation is necessary to do work in 3D. I simply cannot help wearing this suit that is Brittany.

I think this song was written for people with this perception; we wear various personalities/archetypes (suits) to deal with catalysts in this illusion:

[meowll]

Assess why you dislike it. Why do you dislike it? Do you think other people feel more alive? Why? Aren't we all just robots in a robotic pattern of matter ?

What if I told you I have the same "disorder"

You seam pretty incarnated to me haha.

It's uncomfortable because I feel detached from my body, like I'm an automaton, and from the outer reality which lacks depth, I see it as two-dimensional. It's like my thinking is separate from my feeling self, I know I'm leading this existence right now, but I can't feel it, I'm directionless. It makes concentration difficult, I can't stand any artificial lights because they make the environment look more unreal and it's generally pretty bad when it comes to daily living, I can't really explain, it's like I'm a spectator to this life, watching the show and not understanding anything because I'm isolated somewhere in between here and another place. It's disquieting. I don't remember how it used to feel not to have this (I can't relive it in my memory), but I know it was different, I felt alive. I think most people have a distinct sense of self and can relate to the environment as something real, while I can't. I feel like I'm not really here, like I could disappear in any second. To some extent we're all robots in a pattern of matter, but what I feel is that I'm not really part of the pattern.

I often get the feeling that nothing around me is real. I remember and, to a certain degree, can still perceive an existence that makes every color on this planet look dead, every note flat and every "big important thing" so trivial that I can't manage more than a bitter laugh at the state of my own existence. The more I have accessed this perception, the more this personality feels like a too-tight set of clothes that I am straining to get out of. Limiting myself to such a narrow, arbitrary set of characteristics causes me grief, yet it seems an inevitable process, as individuation is necessary to do work in 3D. I simply cannot help wearing this suit that is Brittany. I can sense my infinite self but cannot fully touch it. I can vividly visualize worlds where living isn't hard at all, yet my feet are still grounded in this cold, hard world that often seems like a cheap paper backdrop I'd like to break through. Resorting to escapism has only resulted in delusional behavior that reaps no benefit, so mostly it just manifests as a dull sense of depression every waking moment of my life.

If I knew how to "cure" this feeling I would certainly share it with you. Perhaps knowing you aren't alone could help a bit, though.

I think the problem is integrating these two existences, the higher plane and the 3D one? In my case, I think I should become fully grounded before I can perceive that other existence that you're talking about, otherwise I would just become more unstable. I understand how you feel, for me it's like I'm homesick for a place I've never been to (or I don't recall having been to). Thank you for sharing, it sure does help to know I'm not alone.

Or maybe ss I expressed it once or twice: "Voluntary multinonpersonality".

To me it sounds like the same thing, though.

See no real problems with it but I've 'had it' as long as I can remember (3-4 years, childhood). I don't particularly agree on all the points presented as I believe there are more cases which 'suffer' from this 'ailment' than 'old souls'.

There are cases when people start feeling like this after drug use or after a traumatic event in their life, or when something disrupts their sense of self. I think these are different, though- when people learn to accept the event that triggered their depersonalization, they might come back to how they were before. But there are some people that feel this way without any reason (from this life), then I imagine it's a spiritual cause more than a psychological one.

I've experienced sensations similar to what people have described in this thread as long as I can remember. (For myself at least), I have completely narrowed down the reason for this sensation.

1) This experience is extremely harsh compared to what I am used to. The catalyst on this planet at this timing is almost unbearable.

2) This experience is extremely similar to a massively multiplayer online game. I am merely inhabiting a physical vehicle. I am a non-physical being in my 'natural' state. I chose to have this experience.

The latter reason is the primary reason I am still here. This may be entirely illusion, but I decided to play by these rules. I know there is a veil which prevents(hinders?) making my purpose for incarnating here clear. I must assume the reasons I incarnated are proportional to harshness of catalyst, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

To compensate for this, I fall back on remaining as emotionally detached as possible as a defensive mechanism in the face of intense catalyst. Or sometimes I take on a persona or react in a way that I am not really feeling, but think will be able to better cope with the situation.

Furthermore, I simply retreat into various distractions or simply my own head as a coping mechanism (escapism).

To counteract this tendency, I have tried meditation, being in the present moment as much as possible, and positive thinking in the face of situations where I used to have a pessimistic outlook. I also view my emotional detachment as a serious imbalance and try to not completely mute my emotions in every situation. This has done a great deal of good but it is a constant upstream struggle.

I feel very gracious for being able to co-miserate (if your pardon the term) with others with a similar awareness.

The more I have accessed this perception, the more this personality feels like a too-tight set of clothes that I am straining to get out of. Limiting myself to such a narrow, arbitrary set of characteristics causes me grief, yet it seems an inevitable process, as individuation is necessary to do work in 3D. I simply cannot help wearing this suit that is Brittany.

I think this song was written for people with this perception; we wear various personalities/archetypes (suits) to deal with catalysts in this illusion:

So you're suggesting that the current existence is harsher than what you've previously went through, or than the one you lead as a non-physical body? And what do you think the reasons for this difficulty in adaptation could be? A higher awareness, maybe? I agree with your perspective and it also sounds like a good reason to keep moving forward, in hope that we'll find out the purpose of this incarnation sometime.

I found that escapism only makes it worse, even though it's comfortable, but I don't always feel like interacting with the environment and being present, so I get lost in myself often, too. I'm working on it and it's getting better, though. I've tried meditating, but it usually just leaves me feeling more disconnected from the world. However, it quiets my mind. Yoga works better for me when it comes to grounding. And a positive outlook works wonders, though it always feels like a distraction, like I'm not going to the root cause of this, but only finding remedies for its effects- sadness, anger, anxiety. But that's a great improvement too, I suppose, in lack of anything else.

[AnthroHeart]

1) This experience is extremely harsh compared to what I am used to. The catalyst on this planet at this timing is almost unbearable.

I couldn't agree more. I've been insane, and it was practically unbearable. I even got arrested and spent 3 weeks in jail because of my insanity. I should have been in a mental hospital. Instead, I saw ghosts and heard big bangs, and my food kept changing it's flavor while I was eating it. When I was insane I thought I was doing God's work. All that work for a God that doesn't really exist, at least not in the Christian sense.

My catalyst nowadays is work, and putting up with another that I live with. Also the court date coming up in December. I don't know how it will go.

[Marc]

I went through a period quite similar and what brought me to a place of grounding was understanding that illusion is real. All is illusion and all is real. When I have a dream I really experience it and thus it is real. For a greater explanation see: http://www.bring4th.org/forums/showthrea...n+delusion post #9

[AnthroHeart]

Thank you Marc. That was an enlightening read, that even the illusion is real. We obviously experience, and that experience is very real. Even dreams can seem real, and they are on another plane of existence. I wonder if Creator's Dream is a lucid dream. If Creator is aware that they are dreaming.

[Parsons]

So you're suggesting that the current existence is harsher than what you've previously went through, or than the one you lead as a non-physical body? And what do you think the reasons for this difficulty in adaptation could be? A higher awareness, maybe? I agree with your perspective and it also sounds like a good reason to keep moving forward, in hope that we'll find out the purpose of this incarnation sometime.

I'm certain that this physical experience is very harsh in comparison to others. 3D experience is already challenging in of itself, but I think this particular planet is one of harshest. The difficulty in adaptation is that this experience in pariticular is so fundamentally different coupled with the general challenge of the forgetting process of 3rd density.

I originally used the promise of learning my purpose sometime during this incarnation as motivation to continue/a carrot, but I have been burned by that behavior several times in the past. Plus I think it can be extremely difficult or even impossible for some to even to know that information. So, I simply trust in my higher self's/Myself's decision to come here. The only thing I know for sure is I will know that information after this incarnation is over. I will thus live my life to the fullest or otherwise risk being so afraid of life that I don't properly fulfill my destiny.

I found that escapism only makes it worse, even though it's comfortable, but I don't always feel like interacting with the environment and being present, so I get lost in myself often, too. I'm working on it and it's getting better, though. I've tried meditating, but it usually just leaves me feeling more disconnected from the world. However, it quiets my mind. Yoga works better for me when it comes to grounding. And a positive outlook works wonders, though it always feels like a distraction, like I'm not going to the root cause of this, but only finding remedies for its effects- sadness, anger, anxiety. But that's a great improvement too, I suppose, in lack of anything else.

I agree, escapism only makes it worse. It only makes the snap back to 'reality' more severe. I am always trying to mitigate my escapism as a result.

[Plenum]

I've experienced sensations similar to what people have described in this thread as long as I can remember. (For myself at least), I have completely narrowed down the reason for this sensation.

1) This experience is extremely harsh compared to what I am used to. The catalyst on this planet at this timing is almost unbearable.

2) This experience is extremely similar to a massively multiplayer online game. I am merely inhabiting a physical vehicle. I am a non-physical being in my 'natural' state. I chose to have this experience.

The latter reason is the primary reason I am still here. This may be entirely illusion, but I decided to play by these rules. I know there is a veil which prevents(hinders?) making my purpose for incarnating here clear. I must assume the reasons I incarnated are proportional to harshness of catalyst, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

To compensate for this, I fall back on remaining as emotionally detached as possible as a defensive mechanism in the face of intense catalyst. Or sometimes I take on a persona or react in a way that I am not really feeling, but think will be able to better cope with the situation.

Furthermore, I simply retreat into various distractions or simply my own head as a coping mechanism (escapism).

To counteract this tendency, I have tried meditation, being in the present moment as much as possible, and positive thinking in the face of situations where I used to have a pessimistic outlook. I also view my emotional detachment as a serious imbalance and try to not completely mute my emotions in every situation. This has done a great deal of good but it is a constant upstream struggle.

thanks for sharing your thoughts Parsons. They are very well expressed.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with some of the solutions that you've come up with.

the desire not to flee the experience (ie, to want to be fully 'present' no matter what is going on) seems to be a core intentionality that allows one to address the root bias not to deal with certain things - because they have been harsh in the past or we didn't have the coping skills (adaptive mechanisms) in the past (usually when we were much younger and much more vulnerable).

I remember having many 'running away' type dreams in the past - and how confronting it was in the dream landscape when I was finally 'caught' (that is the moment when the dream usually ended) and I could not flee anymore. A deep symbolism that I failed to appreciate at the time

[meowll]

1) This experience is extremely harsh compared to what I am used to. The catalyst on this planet at this timing is almost unbearable.

I couldn't agree more. I've been insane, and it was practically unbearable. I even got arrested and spent 3 weeks in jail because of my insanity. I should have been in a mental hospital. Instead, I saw ghosts and heard big bangs, and my food kept changing it's flavor while I was eating it. When I was insane I thought I was doing God's work. All that work for a God that doesn't really exist, at least not in the Christian sense.

My catalyst nowadays is work, and putting up with another that I live with. Also the court date coming up in December. I don't know how it will go.

I really hope everything will go well for you.

I went through a period quite similar and what brought me to a place of grounding was understanding that illusion is real. All is illusion and all is real. When I have a dream I really experience it and thus it is real. For a greater explanation see: http://www.bring4th.org/forums/showthrea...n+delusion post #9

Such a nice way to describe it. I keep reminding myself that the whole of this illusion is real, too, it helps me ground myself and not forget that I'm here for a reason and that this all is not the nonsense that my skewed perception of reality makes me think it is. This is one of the reasons that I don't relate to Buddhism as much as I used to; I agree that there is no self and the world is an illusion, but it's a necessary illusion.

[BuddhistJedi]

So thats what its called! Now I know how to describe it. It's not that things are dull... or something is depressing, things are just 'over there.' Thats how its always been in my mind, thinking about something somewhere else. Even if that somewhere else was happening to you. It's a third person point of view on life. How many times have you been walking somewhere public only to look at a group of people interacting and thought to yourself 'hmm, thats interesting behavior the humans are showing.'? This is how a depersonalized thought process works all the time.

[Cyanatta]

It's a third person point of view on life.

How is a mental disorder a point of view?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_disorder

[Melissa]

There are no 'disorders'. At least not in my world. I mean, people can be confused or traumatized or just simply different; that's ok!

[reeay]

Hello everyone... I've been suffering from depersonalization disorder for seven years, since I was 12. From what I've read beyond a purely psychological approach, it means that my mental body is separate from the other bodies (http://www.healpastlives.com/pastlf/karm...epersn.htm - this is a really interesting take on it), and what I need to do is integrate them.

Someone told me that I might not have incarnated properly yet, especially since I first started feeling detached from myself and the world when I was 12, which is when you usually start to get a grip on reality (and childhood is a fuzzy state, I might have always been depersonalized until then and considered it the normal state). I've been to a homeopath and she didn't indentify any problem, just that she sensed that I have a very strong intuition.

But even though depersonalization offered me valuable spiritual insight, it's been hell to go through. I want to experience life in this realm at its fullest, but I mostly feel like a robot going through the motions, without a real sense of self. I wonder what caused it- did I choose it for myself in a past existence, is it a sign of our generation experiencing this shift in consciousness? I think it's a necessary step, but I would like to overcome it- I just don't know what its roots are. Do you have any ideas?

I guess what makes this a mental health disorder is that the symptoms affect you in such a way that you are having extreme distress and/or disability due to depresionalization. E.g., you have a difficult time socializing and connecting/bonding with others, like a family member or boss… so it becomes hard to work or maintain relationships, etc., and that causes physical, social, or emotional distress (well, most likely not emotional distress for a person w/ depersonalization d/o).

Brain imaging scans show that people with this disorder have the ability to inhibit emotional responses, therefore they are more able to regulate their emotions. In a person with a full-scale disorder, their emotional inhibition may lead to social problems such as not being able to assess situations based on their emotions (e.g., unable to understand emotional expressions of others, thus having difficulty responding to others). In a positive sense, people with this tendency have the ability to regulate their emotions so they don't get over-emotional and react emotionally… like fly off the handle and slam doors and screem at people's faces. When you're able to regulate your emotions you could probably be able to respond to situations in a calm way, yet it may be difficult to understand information that is more emotional in nature. There are ways to work with that, and I guess these are the types of things we learn as we progress in this school called 3-D life.

Seems like you're understanding this from a spiritual perspective and I think you're doing a wonderful job! Whatever one is born with, it is indeed a great learning tool and a gift. I guess when things get out of hand (in this crazy crazy world we live in) it could progress into something serious as a 'disorder'.

I experience depersonalization when I have migraine headaches… once when I was grieving… so yeah it happens. Emotions sometimes overload and so cutting off from it becomes a very useful and necessary protective mechanism for many people. But it's very different when one has depersonalization d/o compared to someone w/o depersonalization d/o who experiences depersonalization.

Depersonalization is also unlike dissociation, which is something that happens to a person w/ severe trauma.

[Melissa]

Hi Rie! Nice to read you here again

[Parsons]

I am starting to wonder if my recent panic attacks are a manifestation of my normal lack of feeling emotion. Since I suppress the emotion of aniexty so often, it could be like an emergency pressure release being tripped.

[xise]

I am starting to wonder if my recent panic attacks are a manifestation of my normal lack of feeling emotion. Since I suppress the emotion of aniexty so often, it could be like an emergency pressure release being tripped.

That sounds reasonable.

Curious, why do you suppress your anxiety?

[BuddhistJedi]

Hey mofo. Everything is a point of view, thats relativity. It even describes it a bit in the common symptoms section... 'being disconnected from ones physicality' .. as in viewing your own human body with a viewpoint of something else, something thats not you, something over there. The next sentence says the same thing in the description, 'feeling as though one is not completely occupying the body', ' feeling detached from one's own thoughts or emotions'

Depersonalization isnt something that happens for a few minutes and then goes away when you feel better. It happens all the time, happy or sad, and according to the original link it is a lifelong sentence...

[reeay]

Hi Rie! Nice to read you here again

Aloha, my sistah Melissa!

---

I am starting to wonder if my recent panic attacks are a manifestation of my normal lack of feeling emotion. Since I suppress the emotion of aniexty so often, it could be like an emergency pressure release being tripped.

It's possible that your anxiety (that energy) is being channelled somehow in ways that you are more likely to handle. For person w/ depersonalization, tho, it's a neurological curcuit that is wired quite differently from others (and this is neither good nor bad and depends on how that person optimally uses what they are born with).

The lack of feeling (the experience of it) doesn't necessarily mean you are devoid of feelings. Every person experiences emotion but the magnitude (the 'charge') varies due to the person ability or inability to inhibit emotions. Thus you have emotionally reactive folks (emotional disregulated) and emotionally cut-off folks (emotional over-regulation). A person who is over-regulated will bypass the process of experiencing these emotions by shutting off or switching off that function, opting to become more thinking-oriented or detached. One way this detachment is experienced is by experiencing one's 'self' as dislocated from the body. For depersonalization d/o it's a chronic experience due to their brain hard wiring. Doesn't mean tho, that they don't experience emotions at all. They can not-notice their emotional signals/information.

Perhaps the key is that people can channel their emotional energy into something else that results in conditions like panic d/o. Likely, the prevailing belief around emotional experience is that it is unsafe or undesireable. Thus such risk of experiencing one's emotion will result in avoidance. However we cannot run from our emotions so we will experience it some way e.g., anxiety/panic attacks, somatisization (e.g., feeling physically ill) and so forth. The catalyst will show up in ways a person is most likely able to handle. So in essence any mental health condition could be a signal from self that catalyst needs attending.

[Parsons]

I am starting to wonder if my recent panic attacks are a manifestation of my normal lack of feeling emotion. Since I suppress the emotion of aniexty so often, it could be like an emergency pressure release being tripped.

That sounds reasonable.

Curious, why do you suppress your anxiety?

It is a defense mechanism. Just before / during my awakening, I was extremely depressed and full of anxiety which kept piling up. The anxiety was literally killing me as I was becoming suicidal.

I just switched to a better paying, yet more stressful job recently. Also, there is a lot other stressful catalyst being thrown at me right now. I hypothesize this could be catalyst designed to make me realize this not a healthy defense/coping mechanism and I need lesson the stranglehold it has over me.

Edit: Double synchronicity just as I finished the second paragraph; it was 1:11 and this song came on shuffle:

---

Perhaps the key is that people can channel their emotional energy into something else that results in conditions like panic d/o. Likely, the prevailing belief around emotional experience is that it is unsafe or undesirable. Thus such risk of experiencing one's emotion will result in avoidance. However we cannot run from our emotions so we will experience it some way e.g., anxiety/panic attacks, somatisization (e.g., feeling physically ill) and so forth. The catalyst will show up in ways a person is most likely able to handle. So in essence any mental health condition could be a signal from self that catalyst needs attending.

Sounds about right.

[xise]

I was asking because I've occasionally repressed stuff even after becoming a seeker.

I only use repression for temporary purposes when I was at work and had to get s*** done, and then would try to get back to the issue in my spare time to process it. I'm not convinced it was the most skillful way to handle issues, and I'm trying to learn a better way. But when you're giving a presentation or you are in trial, or something else sufficiently high stress where your every facial expression is interpreted and/or extreme concentration is required, it seems difficult to process catalyst as it arises. Perhaps some jobs are more conducive to a contemplative lifestyle than others.

[Cyanatta]

Everything is a point of view, thats relativity.

My point being, as Melissa basically pointed out, is that the word depersonalization, like disorder, has a somewhat negative connotation in that if you use the term without being consciously aware of how people react to it, you may be mistakenly perceived as being insensitive or ignorant of the meaning and actual condition by those who have had rather unsettling experiences with depersonalization. I'm sure you don't mean to upset anyone, I'm just saying if you applied what you're saying to other mental conditions you may sound a bit odd having a "relatively" bipolar, manic depressive, schizophrenic, or PTS point of view on life.

Does that make sense?

[Sagittarius]

It's a third person point of view on life.

How is a mental disorder a point of view?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_disorder

How is it not a point of view ? You have the point of view from the doctor that the person is impaired and you have the point of view from the sufferer that they are impaired. Perfect matches of points of view. One feeds the other. Both ask and thus they receive.

The classification of the disorder is quite ironic, they feel so "personally" affected by there "depersonalization"

[BuddhistJedi]

But more specifically depersonalization does change how you view and experience reality. Other disorders(are we not calling them that anymore?) dont make sense to say the same thing because it affects people in a different way. Being bipolar means you 'experience episodes of an elevated or agitated mood known as mania' not that your actual viewpoint changes to an outsider view, a third person view. Thats what depersonalization does.

[reeay]

Surprisingly and not surprisingly, every 'disorder' (that roughly means the distress/diability brought on by symptoms exceed clinical threshold in severity) is experienced differently by different people. Each person has multiple viewpoints according to their life experiences and whatnot. I tell you, altho there is evidence that certain symptoms occur for certain folks with certain conditions, it's not so clear-cut as you think, meaning you can't just go down a list of symptoms and diagnose someone so easily. It's a complicated process. That's why it takes minimum 5 years of graduate level training to be able to diagnose people.

In the US there are so many disorders available (more than any other place in the world) due to mostly bc of our health care system and insurance system (that is what drives US mental health unfortunately). If you don't have a disorder you can't get services as readily as you can in other countries where access to services is more available. Kids get diagnosed a lot bc the minimum requirement for entering into some service is that a kid has a severe condition. Sad but true.

Mofo and Melissa has good point. The label of 'disorder' tends to have negative connotations for many due to social stigma, blaming, shaming, scapegoating by others. It's like a disorder within a disorder lol. There are other views too where people desire a name/label to their experience so that they could attribute their experience to something a little detached from them. Oh I have ____ that's why I am acting this way and ___ is happening in my life. It takes away from personal responsibility and locus of power to change one's life in a lot of cases. My experience working in mental health field is that clinicians (not all but some) take time to detach client from the label and try to bring client more proximal to their own personal catalyst. That's how healing starts. Can't say, 'I have bipolar therefore the disorder justifies my actions and whatnot therefore I am not responsible for what I do, think, and feel'. Might as well say, 'the devil made me do it'.

[Sagittarius]

But more specifically depersonalization does change how you view and experience reality. Other disorders(are we not calling them that anymore?) dont make sense to say the same thing because it affects people in a different way. Being bipolar means you 'experience episodes of an elevated or agitated mood known as mania' not that your actual viewpoint changes to an outsider view, a third person view. Thats what depersonalization does.

So because everyone has a unique view point with certain common factors it doesn't make sense to call it a view point. Please explain how that makes sense.

"views" are psychosomatic. They are not mutually exclusive. If there was no discomfort/suffering/tension in the physical body through feeling there would be no one complaining about depersonalization to class it as a disorder.