# Just Teens & Young Adults?



## blahhh (Feb 28, 2014)

I was wondering how old is everyone and for how long have you've had it for?


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## rodenhiser (Jan 24, 2013)

I'm personally twenty one, (turning twenty two on the twenty third of march). (that's really weird actually, 21, 22 on the 23) I've had Depersonalization since January of 2012.

Although I'd say the majority of the people here are teenagers to young adults, there are definitely older people affected by the disorder.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2014)

22. Had DP since I was 11

I have a confusing mom yo


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## Riah (Feb 17, 2014)

I'm 17, I've only had DP/DR for a few months now.


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## blahhh (Feb 28, 2014)

rodenhiser said:


> I'm personally twenty one, (turning twenty two on the twenty third of march). (that's really weird actually, 21, 22 on the 23) I've had Depersonalization since January of 2012.
> 
> Although I'd say the majority of the people here are teenagers to young adults, there are definitely older people affected by the disorder.


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## Hero (Sep 11, 2013)

I'm 16. I don't actually remember how long I have had it. It got much scarier though about 9 months ago.


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## autopilot (Mar 2, 2014)

I'm 17 years old, nearing 18. I believe I've had it for at least 4 years, probably more, but symptoms hadn't been bad enough to really worry me until recently.


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## sydneylondon (Feb 4, 2014)

I am 19 and it developped in gradeschool, so I was about 8. I noticed the unreal Feeling being uncomfortable at like 13


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## Manof_theFuture (Dec 14, 2013)

20, had it since October 21, 2013


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2014)

I think the reason we don't hear about people over their late 20s developing DP/DR is simply that, if it was going to happen it would have.


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## sydneylondon (Feb 4, 2014)

rodenhiser said:


> I'm personally twenty one, (turning twenty two on the twenty third of march). (that's really weird actually, 21, 22 on the 23) I've had Depersonalization since January of 2012.
> 
> Although I'd say the majority of the people here are teenagers to young adults, there are definitely older people affected by the disorder.


Probably because many here have drug induced dp which is mostly present in the crowd of "younger" people


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## MiketheAlien (Nov 7, 2013)

Mine started when I was 22. I didnt even know what it was until last year, Doctors kept telling me it was depression and anxiety but that never felt like an accurate description. I am doing incredibly better than I was when it first started but I am not over it by far. I am 27 now, hopefully Ill have it beat by 28 haha.


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## blahhh (Feb 28, 2014)

Vanmichael said:


> Mine started when I was 22. I didnt even know what it was until last year, Doctors kept telling me it was depression and anxiety but that never felt like an accurate description. I am doing incredibly better than I was when it first started but I am not over it by far. I am 27 now, hopefully Ill have it beat by 28 haha.


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

I am too old to be here anymore -- 55. And I have worked through a lost of psychological issues, but I still have DP/DR.

But one last time ...

This board was first created in 1997 by Andy C. in London. I believe he was in his mid-twenties. A group of guys, his age and older, followed Mauricio Sierra from the IoP and subsequently helped develop the IoP Dissociative Disorders website; they spent hours collecting every journal article on DP that they could find.

Involved were:
Ramon - The Netherlands
Alex H. - Australia
Cavan - Scotland (website designer and created of an early site called UNREAL about his experiences)

Early members were late 20s and over and included Jeff Abugel (late 40s/50 at the time) who has written Feeling Unreal and Stranger to Myself. Most of the older members moved on to create their own sites that seem to have older members. Hannah H. was a member with DP who is now a neuroscientist at Cambridge.

Other members included individuals who were late twenties and older. Some members in their 40s and 50s. When I joined I was 42. I am now 55.

James took over around 2005? when Andy wished to move on - Thank you James!. Last I saw him he was not cured, but was continuing on with his life as are all of these people. I met all the older members in person at one time or another, save Alex H.

Some individuals are doing better, others are not, and I don't know about some.

Carl Senior (assistant to Mauricio Sierra) from the IoP in London would post answers to questions on the ongoing research.

The internet has changed dramatically since then. I didn't get online until 1999 -- I am 55 now -- had DP/DR since childhood. I was diagnosed in 1975.

The older members had onset I would say no later than their early 20s. Some drug induced, others not. Some had other disorders -- OCD, anxiety, depression, psychotic depression in remission, and all of these manifested themselves in their teen years or early 20s which is very common for most mental illnesses -- some have onset in childhood.

Young people today have grown up on the internet -- I did not as did many folks who were born really before the 1990s -- there was no FaceBook, etc, There is much more information available, and yes, I think many more young people experiment with rec drugs today, though some did not such as myself. I am not sure about that. Young people (of all generations) experiment all the time -- and take risks. In my generation it was more alcohol, pot, and cigarettes. I also hung out with a drug-free crowd most of my life.

DP/DR have been researched since the 1800s. The name depersonalization was coined by a scholar who had it lifelong as well. It was not coined by a doctor, only used by the first doctor to write a paper on it who borrowed the term.

Here is my brief history of DP/DR from my website. http://www.dreamchild.net/DPD%20History/dpdhistory.html

Here is the IoP website http://www.kcl.ac.uk/iop/depts/ps/research/neurobiologialmechanisms/depersonalisationresearchunit.aspx

Mauricio Sierra wrote the first medical textbook published in 2009 reflecting decades of research:  Depersonalization: A New Look At A Neglected Syndrome
Daphne Simeon has published multiple papers on the subject and co-wrote Feeling Unreal with Jeff Abugel.

You might find Andy's site -- I think it was called Andy's Board on Depersonalization, and UNREAL in the WayBack machine. I believe a guyprofessional musician Steven Cimino started a site on AOL when Apple first came out in the 1980s. He later joined Andy's board.

There is also the FB website. See my links section if you wish.
Books are listed here.

And those of us who have struggled with this life long (some with remissions) have jobs, families, friends, etc. And we aren't "ancient history" &#8230; it is difficult to see when you are a teen, or a uni student how much you learn in life and how short and precious it is.

*And I have a lot of hope for those of you are so young. I had no one to turn to except psychiatrists. I thought I was completely alone for many years, but I had the diagnosis when I was 16 in 1975.*

Those who are older don't come here as well because of a huge generation gap. I could be mother to many of you here. And I guess, you don't want to get lectures from a "Mom."

Godspeed.
I'll put this as a blog entry.
I used to be a Moderator on both boards. There are some wonderful folks out there. Reach out for help.
Again, see my links section for many groups that help young people, including OK2Talk, Active Minds, BringChange2Mind, "No Kidding, Me Too"
NAMI, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation -- formerly NARSAD, the ISSD-T site, SAMSHA sp? (for substance abuse related disorders), HPPD websites, etc.


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