"this troubling experience is distinctly human, experienced briefly at some time or another by as much as 70 percent of college students" excerpt from a book called "Stranger to My Self".
So, what does /x/ think about this interesting disorder? Is it just stress & trauma? Are the doctors just trying to sell you drugs? Is it paranormal at all, does it have anything to do with the nature of reality? It affects women and men equally, it arises in adolescence and it can last decades, many professionals don't take it as an existing disorder etc ("Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder: A Neglected Disease in Psychiatry."). Also:
>"It [...] has been an ever-present human affliction, and the now established prevalence rate may have always been the same."
Another article ("The epidemiology of depersonalisation and derealisation") notes:
>"Importantly, the ICD-10 describes DDs as primarily acute disorders that usually remit within a few weeks or months, and that have an onset in the immediate context of events that are highly stressful, traumatic, and/or that involve intolerable, insoluble problems. In contrast, the DSM-IVTR conceptualizes several DDs as long-term, chronic disorders" and >"Epidemiological research has shown that depersonalisation/derealisation phenomena are commonly experienced in the general populations, although the severity and duration of these symptoms is currently unknown. High rates in students may reflect a generally higher prevalence of such symptoms in the young, plus possible effects of illicit drug use"
>"the studies reviewed tend to confirm the impression that DP/DR phenomena are part of normal human experience. Rates in association with life-threatening events again suggest this is part of a ‘normal’ response to trauma, but individual predictors of DP/DR in this context are so far lacking."
First time poster, long time lurker.
Man does not see the real world, Man is
asleep.
>>17866844
Man doesn't like to elaborate more methinks
>>17866871
You can do the research if you wish, could direct you to some books.
>>17866813
Not sure if it is the same thing but I often have these spontaneous feelings of clarity where I realize that I haven't been in full control of my actions for varying degrees of time. It's like the autopilot turns off and I see that the interactions I have with people and the things I did were done either through pure instinct/ autopilot or some other external force.It leads to some very confusing moments when I come back to my self during an activity and lose all interest in continuing or just cannot physically do it anymore. Alot of the time when I have these feeling I will somewhat withdraw from thew world and retreat into myself to a degree, like I can't cope with the outside world unless its through the control of a thoughtless screen over my mind.
Not sure If this is what you mean or even If what I described is /x/ related but I'll leave it up to you.
>>17866875
Thank you, I am open to suggestions of course, but I can do research and I can find books by myself (it kinda is in my job description). What I'd like to see is what /x/ thinks, get some personal experiences perhaps from people who have an /x/ oriented thought or get some paranormal interpretations of what research results would show.
>>17866894
-"Beelzebub's tales to his grandson: All and everything" by Gi Gurdjieff
Also "The Fourth Way" by Pd Ouspensky, very good reads I would recommend.
>>17866877
Hmm. I'm not sure whether or not what you're describing would be considered DR/DP (then again, who could say for sure) but this autopilot feeling followed by sudden clarity and confusion for example is not something that I've felt recently. I'd say I'm very aware of what I'm doing most of the time (always felt a little bit more aware than most people).
> like I can't cope with the outside world
Would you say there is a correlation between stressful moments and the emergence of the autopilot mode?
Do you also feel like you are experiencing yourself indirectly? Or that your emotions can't quite reach you directly?
>>17866908
>correlation between stressful moments and the emergence of the autopilot mode
Not at all. This kind of stuff happens to me in the most boring and mundane times just as much as it does when I'm under pressure.
>experiencing yourself indirectly
More like I remember everything but I also understand that I wasn't in control of myself/didn't put any conscious thought into anything.
>emotions can't quite reach you directly
Yeah would say that I do feel that way during autopilot but it's not like I am over come with emotion when I have a moment of clarity.
>I'm not sure whether or not what you're describing would be considered DR/DP
Meh probably not desu.
>>17866907
Thanks for contributing! I gotta be honest though, I'm not gonna read these (surely not anytime soon) though they seem to be an interesting mix from a different perspective. Too big for me, won't be able to find them in my language and I am sort of informed about the occult/mystical interpretations of reality already. But other people might find interest.
:D
>>17866915
So, DP/DR is commonly thought to work as part of be a coping mechanism, after trauma or stress. What makes your case interesting is that it can't be a coping mechanism. Unless you're facing life-threatening boredom, of course. :P
How often does it happen, for how long can it be? Have other people told you you're being weird during that mode?
>>17866943
>life-threatening boredom
heh, probably closer to reality than you would think.
>after trauma or stress
Well If I knew exactly when It started then I could probably pin down if anything bad or particularly stressful happened to me me around that time. Unfortunately I don't really have a time frame for how long long this has gone on aside from ' a long ass time'.
>How often does it happen, for how long can it be? Have other people told you you're being weird during that mode?
Honestly It varies but I would say I spend the majority of my time in autopilot but once or twice a week I get the feeling that the last few days have been running without me and I come back to myself; Sometimes I can spend a lot of time conscious of myself however and the autopilot feeling is in the minority, I can't really pinpoint a specific aspect of my schedule or life that brings about these changes either.
Nobody has ever pointed out that I act strange during these times, in fact I have a tendency to act stranger when I am conscious of myself as I often find my mind running a mile a minute and it gives me a sort of erratic mannerism.
>>17866966
I'm very bored too, anon, hang in there. xD
Well it seems this autopilot mode is a very important aspect of your life but since you can't really attribute it to coping with calamities it might be due to alienation or social anxiety, idk.
For a short period of time in times of permanent distress I felt like I had forced myself to numbness and emotional detachment but not thoughtlessness, so that is different.
>>17866813
I stopped feeling emotions and caring about things for more than 2 years in 2013-2014. I felt like watching a performance. It was like I was an outsider in my body.
I had to remind myself to pretend like my old self. I copied my old personality and mimicked reactions according to what I thought I would feel and do. I had to memorise the list of people I cared. It was like I knew I cared about those people before but I only acted accordingly because I knew, not because I felt I cared for them
I was depressed in 2012
Now I am ok
>>17867121
Dude, you're actually a demon possessing the body.
>>17866813
What should I do if I feel like this literally all the time
>>17867208
I don't know. Is it harmful for your well being? You might need to take advice or deal with depression or alienation you might be experiencing.
>>17867281
I don't know. I have felt this way my whole life.
>>17866813
I have BPD and depersonalization disorder due to abuse when I was a child. I'm on medication and doing much better now, but for the longest time whenever I was stressed, I would experience this weird state. It feels like I'm a floating point of nothing; my arms and legs are hundreds of miles away and absolutely tiny. I can't talk very well, as it comes out sort of slurred and slow sounding. Sometimes I'd get tunnel vision.
>>17867382
I hope you're okay, anon. It seems to be a very disturbing state to be in.
>>17867382
I'm so used to it I don't really know how normal people feel.
The only time I have ever really felt awake and focused is one time on acid
>>17866813
>>17866813
this video is an accurate description of Derealization (DR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eSfcUzGTdk
2:50
>>17867439
damn
Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror, preferably a large, full-body one, and felt like the person you saw had nothing to do with you?
Admittedly I needed a small amount of hallicunogenics for this, but damn. I feel like a brain trapped inside a skull trapped inside a prison of a body. What I see in the mirror is just an empty husk and its only purpose is containing me.
I want to be free of it someday but I know I can't without dying.
>>17867802
Nothing feels real anymore. It's all just blurry images in my head.
>>17867829
If you aren't consciously deciding to manifest those images, then you should ask yourself where they come from and just how real that thing might be if it can make images appear in your head.
>>17867839
I don't even know what I am much less anything around me
i'm melting inside... there's nothing inside
nothing feels real anymore...
>>17866844
They will wake up as soon as they realize their own faults first.
Sometimes if I'm just sitting around playing a game, I'll sort of pull myself away from what I'm doing and start feeling like I'm literally pulling away from my body. Weird, but probably just from numbing my mind too long
i'm melting inside, there is nothing inside... nothing feels real anymore...
>>17868129
10/10 post helped me wake up and realize all my faults.
>>17866877
I often have this feeling, but instead of days it's more like "What the fuck have I been doing these past minutes?"
That, or looking back at things I did a few months prior and feeling like I literally wasn't using my brain in that situation.
>>17868129
You probably don't understand that this is a disorder, something uncontrollable that happens to a lot of people. You can't blame the individual for this.
>>17867802
>>17868274
I wonder what would happen if you tried astral projection
Self bump
To be honest I thought of these disorders as very rare and more like a symptom of depression, but it seems like they are more than that, and that psychiatrists are going to change their definitions at the DSM.
I find it very interesting that it is now considered to be a "part of normal human experience" that has always existed, thus being irrelevant to our modern day of life. The fact that young people, in my mind less indoctrinated, have a higher prevalence rate makes me wonder if we are instinctively more aware about the true nature of reality than we are led to believe.
>>17867382
I have schizoid personality disorder and I will also experience those symptoms of depersonalization under stress.
>>17867208
If you feel that way all the time, as yourself who is really experiencing the DP/DR. Take up meditation or self-inquiry, you have a spiritual head start in a way. Turn the DP/DR into enlightenment
DP/DR is just a small jump away from Nirvana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zIKQCwDXsA
>>17869963
It is partly the individuals fault.
It is always the fault of the people who hurt them more.
You can help them but one individual even with help themselves can neither help nor hurt everyone.
with depersonalization and derealization i cant recognize my reflection and my memories feel like someone elses.
it probably shouldnt be considered a regualr state to exist in if its causing distress to the individual. i dont believe its close to nirvana. instead it seems as though its more detachment and uncertantity than clairty. nothing makes much sense while dissociated. the brains reaction to trauma isnt the secret to understanding reality.
Have experience smoking salvia 60x extract once and started to vividly depersonalise, the room began flickering to different color schemes, textures and lighting as well. Then I had to really lay down, started falling into the spaces between atoms on the cushion below me. Felt like I was being pulled backwards from my body down a very small tube, started lifting upwards. As soon as the ceiling was crossed even though I know my position at the time adjacent rooms appeared as alternate versions of the same room. It became spherical when far enough out and it did feel like my head was being crushed by the weight of it on top of me.
I've had derealization before. It's terrifying but completely harmless. I had derealization for months after I had a panic attack on marijuana. It was traumatic for me because I had hardly smoked weed before and I didn't know what a panic attack was. I hit it way too hard and I just went nuts. Those two things at once were traumatic.
I have a good psychiatrist and he helped me get over it. I've talked to him about it and he's dealt with derealization patients a lot. It's not exactly clear what causes it. But it's possible it's an unusual coping mechanism, where the brain literally shuts off the "realness" of the world, making the world somehow seem less "real". It's hard to describe. Like your looking through a movie. You feel lightheaded, like you have vertigo, but you balance and coordination are just fine. You function perfectly normal, but everything just somehow feels far away from you. Most people hate it, because it feels so unnatural. But, the good news is that it's not dangerous. It's a by-product of severe anxiety and/or depression. And because of this it's becoming more common with the rise of anxiety in our society. But, usually if you can uproot your anxiety/depression, you can uproot the derealization as well. Part of getting over derealization is by ignoring.
Final tidbit: there's actually a shitty comedy movie about derealization that's based on exactly what happened to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQiNBfgBvoY
Ever since I smacked my head on some rocks I've felt like I watched my life through the eyes of someone else.
I had it for a long period
Don't even know how long, but it was constant
I liked it
>>17873267
I've had this also, anon. It's from a mild traumatic brain injury. It took a couple of years for the feeling to go away. I still get it every once in a while, but it's not constant anymore. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the migraines I got from the same accident.
You may want to try meditation and talking with a psychologist who understands what you're going through. It helped me. Finding a doc that understands these symptoms will probably take a little persistence though.
>>17873041
>I had derealization for months after I had a panic attack on marijuana. It was traumatic for me because I had hardly smoked weed before and I didn't know what a panic attack was. I hit it way too hard and I just went nuts.
Same. I won't touch weed anymore. It's a shitty drug.
>>17867208
you're a kitty?
who's a good kitty
you are
>>17872822
How can it be the individual's fault, it is a psychological disorder and it emerges commonly after trauma. Even accidents where no one is to blame.
And how can the individual help himself if he has no conscience of "himself"? If he can't feel his/her experience is real? This is like expecting a depressed person to just stop feeling depressed by sheer willpower.
It is a shitty situation where you need people and society to help you.
>>17872855
The reason it is considered a regular state is because it is so common. Many occult practices rely on pushing the mind to its limits to achieve altered states.
>>17872888
awesome xD
>>17873041
>But, the good news is that it's not dangerous. It's a by-product of severe anxiety and/or depression. And because of this it's becoming more common with the rise of anxiety in our society. But, usually if you can uproot your anxiety/depression, you can uproot the derealization as well.
No it's not. They are reevaluating this assessment and they are considering it way more common and predating modernity.
>>17872888
damn let me get some of that shit, fuck
>>17872888
Had the same thing happen to me as if I'm constantly falling in a white void, I didn't know where I was and was sweating bricks when I came to.
>>17866813
i can only see naked fatties in the brain
>>17875032
rofl
