# DP SURVEY



## Jane (Aug 14, 2006)

I'm taking a psychology course this year and I think I want to research depersonalization disorder and write a paper on it. I need research info, however, and the Internet is only good for so much. There are many questions that I need answered by a group of people in the know - that'd be visitors of this forum! You could answer in the forum or pm me the answers - I'd appreciate it.

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Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently?
2. How old were you when the dp hit?
3. How long has your dp lasted?
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic?
5. What is your gender?
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,...
7. Do you work for a living?
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms?
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional?
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP?
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders?
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past?
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE?
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first?

Part II - Visual aspects of DP: 

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception?
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision?

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? 
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp?
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'?
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu?
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'?
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts?
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...)
8. Do you experience problems in memory?

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb?
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'?
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp?
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light?
5. Do your movements feel robotic?
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following:
- limbs
- voice
- reflection
- memories
- pictures
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals?
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ...
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions?

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.)
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less)
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head?

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I know that was horifically long, but I want to be as thorough as I can. If you can provide me with any extra information I've missed, I'd appreciate it.


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2006)

1. 19
2.19
3.2 months and counting
4.Chronic
5.Male
6.Drugs/Anxiety
7.Starting a new job tuesday
8.6
9.No
10. Prob 10 hours a week, i would say it deff helps me, makes me know that i'm not alone with this 
11.nope
12.Yes, Many times
13.Anxiety,OCD,Panic Disorder
14. Both, i'd had episodes of it in the past before any substance abuse, most likely from anxiety, but now after smoking pot 2 times, its been chronic.

Part 2:
1. No
2. Colors appear different, things are more vivid, like a sensory overload type deal

Part 3:
1. Distant
2. I have both anxiety and depression from dp, i've had anxiety my whole life, the depression is new and caused by the DP
3.No they arent, major brain fog
4.Deja Vu
5.Full of chatter
6.Both
7.Yes, time's very sped up, the past 2 months have been a blur
8.Yep, short term memory is the hardest, i can remember long term things.

Part 4:

1.Numb
2.I feel it just the same
3. Yes, i feel fatigued daily
4. Too light, like im floating away
5. Yes
6. Memories, sometimes limbs
7. Most of the time i jsut feel like life's a blur, not so much out of body, more i'm just drifting through time

Part 5

1. Klonopin has helped a little, it just calms me, doesnt relieve me of my dp though.
2. No
3. Yes, i'm seeing a psychiatrist and considering going to Dr. Simeons Research Center
4. No, its still as strong as the day i got it.

Part 6

1. Flourescent Lights, or bright lights for that matter. Thinking about DP, Coming out of a dark movie theater, basically lights really set it off, if i go from a dim to a really light area. Being outside, trees, being really close to someone, anything of that sort sets it off.

2.Yes, i feel like im going insane and this is just the first step, but hopefully with help that will diminish.

3. Nope, i've always had a photographic memory so that wont ever go away.


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## Jane (Aug 14, 2006)

Thanks so much for your input. Interesting to note is that for me, movie theatres, specifically coming out into the light after the movie, will ALWAYS trigger a panic attack, with the associated DP. I suppose it's just an anxiety trigger - signals in the brain going a little haywire with the change in light. That's all I can figure, I mean, there isn't much else it _could_ be, really.


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## seta_ (Apr 20, 2006)

1. How old are you currently? 
26.

2. How old were you when the dp hit? 
20.

3. How long has your dp lasted? 
5 years.

4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? 
Chronic but varies.

5. What is your gender? 
Male.

6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... 
MJ followed by a panic attack a day later.

7. Do you work for a living? 
Yes.

8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 
Varies.

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? 
No.

10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 
Only when i get bad. Helps to know you're not alone.

11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? 
No.

12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? 
No fillings. I have used antibiotics.

13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? 
No.

14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? 
Primary.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? 
No.

2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? 
Pane of glass - yes.
Colours are fine though.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? 
Intact.

2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? 
Yes.
No.

3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? 
Cognitive skills ok, brain fog only during very bad episodes.

4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? 
No more than a normal person.

5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? 
Neither. Full of chatter only if going through a bad patch/panic attack.

6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? 
Sometimes.

7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) 
No.

8. Do you experience problems in memory? 
No.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? 
Slightly. More visual i think.

2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'?
Pain is still sharp.

3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? 
Yes.

4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? 
No.

5. Do your movements feel robotic? 
No.

6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs 
- voice 
- reflection 
- memories 
- pictures

Reflection and pictures. Voice occasionally.

7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. 
No.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? 
No.

2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... 
B6, calcium/mg.

3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. 
Yes had a brain scan on on-set but nothing abnormal was found.

4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? 
Yes it fades but there patches where it gets worse.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) 
Lack of sleep. Being suddenly woken.

2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) 
Not really.

3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? 
No.


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## Nehllah (Oct 8, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 20
2-4. How old were you when the dp hit? I've had episodes of it for as long as i can remember. It's been getting steadily worse since then but i think i'd say it's been cronic for a little over two years so when i was 18. 
5. What is your gender? Female
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... I don't know for certain but i would assume it is related to sexual abuse as a really young kid (i don't feel like going into it on a survey, if you need more you can pm me) I didn't realize this until a few days ago while i was reading about it, but i think smoking marijuana could have triggered it to become cronic. It got a lot worse around the time i started college which is when i started drinking and experimenting a little ... but it could also just be the stress of college. 
7. Do you work for a living? Yes, I work in a clothing store with a high level of customer service.
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? I don't know how bad it is for other people so this is hard to answer. I'd say i'm usually floating around a 3 but it'lll usually spike to at least 7 at least once a day. In especially stressful situations, like a break up i've been known to just completely space out i'd call that a 10. Right now i'm at a 4 or so. 
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? No. I don't like doctors. I don't go to a doctor unless i hava A) already figured out what is wrong and i know i need some sort of medication or a specific test B) i have done as much research as i possibly can and can't figure it out on my own. In this case i think i'm handling it well enough on my own. I'm not willing to go on any sort of long term medication unless it means the difference between life and death so i doubt i'll see a doctorfor this any time soon. 
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? I just found this site. I hardly spend any time doing stuff like this. 
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? Nothing disagnosed. 
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? Fillings wtf? What does that have to do with anything? Yes, i do. I'm actually on antibiotics right now , but yes, who hasn't? 
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? See question 9
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? I'm a little confused by this question.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? I have a change in depth perception. Things will look really really close by tiny. Sometimes i feel like the room i'm in is shrinking, not in a clostrophobic sort of way though .. i actually find it kind of comforting.
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? No, nothing like that. But if there is something actually obstructing my vision, like poor lighting, or rain while i'm driving it triggers my brain fog ro get worse.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? I'm not really sure. My boyfriend has called me an emotional vegitable, but i don't know if it's related. 
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? When i have something i need to focus on its worse than normal gets me pretty anxious, but usually i just ride it out. There is no before the onset for me, i've had it forever. 
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? I have pretty serious brain fog some of the time and at least a little most of the time. It definitely is a set back to my cognative skills but i've had it for so long you probably can't tell outwardly that anything is wrong. 
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? Not any more often that everyone else. 
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? Full. I feel like there is too much going on in my mind and it takes up all my energy. 
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? What do you mean exactly?
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) Yes, i've never been able to estimate time really well and have had feelings of time distortion way before my DP became cronic. When i was younger i figured out how to exploit it and i can turn off my sense of time completely in the right situation. 
8. Do you experience problems in memory? Yes, occasionally people will bring up past conversations or events and i wont remember them happening or i'll have only a vague memory.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? Hearing is the worst. Taste and smell aren't so good either. Touch isn't so bad but i don't feel pain is intensily as i think is normal. This probably isn't the kind of answer you are looking for but i don't feel sexual pleasure very strongly. I usually have to see what's going on to really get turned on by it ... if that's too much information i'm sorry. 
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? Neither. I just don't feel pain very sharply. 
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? Yes. For the last two years i've been sleeping 15+ hours a day and still feel tired. 
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? Yes. Before it really set it cronically probably from age 9-14 i would occaionally have a feeling that my body was really massive but light, like i wasn't dense enough .. i pictured myself as a balloon a lot. That happened about once a day and is one of the most disturbing things i have experienxed through all this. I'd rather have a 24/7 heavy brain fog than 24/7 that. 
5. Do your movements feel robotic? No, not really.
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs : Yes, my hands mostly. When i'm driving especially they feel completely detatched.
- voice : A little but not too much.
- reflection : Yes YES! i do not <3 the mirrior.
- memories : Yes, i thought that was normal? Most of my memories are like watching a movie of someone else.
- pictures : Yes, i see specific pictures without a sense of detachment but the first time i ever see a picture i don't feel like it is me, especially if it is of my profile.
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. Yes. Strange sensations are my life. I don't know how to explain it without talking about being high, because that is the only thing in the world comparable to it. I kind of feels like the air is pushing harder on my body sometimes, like the world is pulsing. I also feel really small or really big, physically sometimes. I don't want to call it dizzy, because it's not quite dizzy but i feel like that a lot too.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? No
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... No
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. No
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? No, it's gotten worse.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) Too much activity, stress especially emotional, if a florescent light is dying and flickering. For the most part i am the most clear (meaning i don't feel syptoms) when i am comfortably depressed, and change in emotions from that causes symptoms, if i'm really upset or really excited it gets pretty bad. 
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) Yes, I always used to describe it as feeling like my brain wasn't connected to myself. 
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? I visualize things pretty well, i have the most trouble putting words to what i am thinking. Which i think is kind of the opposite of not being able too visualize.

In case you care: when i started this i was at about a 2 as far as feeling the syptoms goes now i'm at a 5 or 6. I'll edit this later when the fog clears a little. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.


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## joshfr (Oct 6, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. 18
2. 17
3. It was off and on last year, now it's lasted for 2 months straight.
4. Chronic, I suppose
5. Male
6. I have panic attacks, which I assume is the cause
7. No
8. 8
9. Yes
10. Not too much time. Maybe an hour or two weekly. 
11. No
12. Fillings as in teeth? Yes. I've been prescribed Amoxicillin, and given antibiotics via IV, but that was during a surgery.
13. Panic disorder, depression
14. I'm pretty sure my panic attacks brought them on. They seem to be under control, however, and my DP hasn't subsided, which conerns me.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. It's difficult to percieve things in their entirety.
2. Colors don't seem different, though there is definately something odd going on with my vision.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. For the most part, yes.
2: It does bring on episodes of panic, sometimes wondering "will I feel this way for the rest of my life?" I've had thoughts of suicide, which I guess could be depression.
3. It's very difficult to pay attention. 
4. No more than someone without DP
5. It feels blank, yes.
6. Yes
7. Yes, but that's probably a result of me doing nothing.
8. Yes.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Yes. Yesterday I grabbed a stove burner while it was turned on, and didn't really notice it. It was strange.
2. Pain definately isn't as sharp.
3. I'm extremely tired.
4. At some point I've felt all of those.
5. Yes
6. I've felt detachment from all of those listed.
7. I just feel like a ghost.

Part V - Treatment

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes... 
4. It wasn't so overwhelming before, now it seems to be getting worse. However, the past day or two have shown signs of improvement.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. Brightly lit areas and crowds definately intensify my DP. Perhaps it's just because social interaction and visual perceptions are where my DP hits the hardest, and it's just making it more apparent to myself.
2. I constantly worry that I will lose my ability to communicate and interact with people/things.
3. No. If anything, I can see images in my head much more vividly.


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## Jane (Aug 14, 2006)

Wow! I'm so amazed at the speed and thoroughness of these responses. Thanks guys!


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## +[ thedeadpoet ]+ (Jul 23, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 19

2. How old were you when the dp hit? 19

3. How long has your dp lasted? Approximately four months

4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? Chronic

5. What is your gender? Male

6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,...? I'd be inclined to believe its due to anxiety.

7. Do you work for a living? I'm currently at college studying Journalism, which is difficult enough on account of my anxiety (infact its damn near impossible) so I'm afraid employment is out of the question for the time being

8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 9

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a 
primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? No, my psychiatrist seems adamant my symptoms are a result of anxiety.

10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? I've spent quite of time of self help sites like dpselfhelp.com over the past four months (3-5 hours p/d), both for my dp and depression because I'm in such a bad condition that I find it extremely difficult to articulate my thoughts verbally due to the 'brainfog'.

11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? I suspect I may have sleep apnea, but I haven't been officially diagnosed as of yet.

12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? No

13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? Anxiety and Major Depression

14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, 
or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? Oh secondary without a doubt. I've had anxiety and depression for the last four years, but its only within the last few months I've developed DP.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? No

2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? No

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? Severely blunted, except for the misery which is very intense.

2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? Yes

3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? Brainfog for me is constant and severely affecting my life. My brother asked me to add 14 and 7 last Thursday and I couldn't.

4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? Jamais Vu occurs when I'm particularly anxious, but I havent experienced Deja Vu since this began.

5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? Completely blank.

6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? Before DP, yes. Now I'm devoid of almost all thought.

7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) Yes

8. Do you experience problems in memory? I believe my memory has improved over the last fourthnight, having been severely poor to the point where I had virtually no short term memory at all.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? No

2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? No

3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? Yes, I'm very fatigued.

4. Does your body feel strange, forein, too heavy or too light? Too heavy, I walk with great discomfort.

5. Do your movements feel robotic? Most definitely.

6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs 
- voice 
- reflection 
- memories 
- pictures

Everything barr reflection.

7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. I get 'zaps' when I'm extremely anxious.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? No, but then again my last psychiatrist refused to prescribe me anti-anxietants.

2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort? No

3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify: Yes, I met with a psychiatrist for two years, who did nothing for me, and now I've made an appointment with a new one for the 17th.

4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? Memory has improved, but thats not to say its not abominable.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) Anxiety, oversleeping, the morning after the night before.

2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) Yes, this is my greatest fear.

3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? Yes.


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## Pancthulhu (May 27, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 18
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 17
3. How long has your dp lasted? Nearly 6 months, and I've almost fully recovered
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? It was chronic for three or four months but became episodic
5. What is your gender? Female
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... One very bad first time hash cake trip and worries about philosophy and exams
7. Do you work for a living? I'm a student
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? For a few months, I'd say 7 as I could think about virtually nothing else but was able to function relatively well. Now I'd say about 1 or 2.
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? No.
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? 1 hour
Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? They're good for reassurance. If it weren't for self-help sites I wouldn't know I have DP and would still be convinced I'm insane
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? No
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? No
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? Anxiety 
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? I used to have panic attacks very very rarely (a few times a year). When my DP started I had panic attacks constantly for about two weeks and as they subsised my DP got worse

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? No
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? Colours are normal. I see things normally but I feel as if I am seeing things through a wall or a veil. It feels like I'm seeing a translated version of things although my vision is normal

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? I have blunted emotions and still have them although my DP is almost gone. I can feel negative emotions though.
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? I still have problems with anxiety although my DP is getting better. In the last month or so I've been feeling depressed. I've never had anxiety or depression before (aside from very infrequent panic attacks)
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? I don't suffer from brain fog
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? I used to get jamais vu - sometimes my room and family would seem unfamiliar. I sometimes still feel as though my boyfriend is somebody elses boyfriend and I've just fallen into their life
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? No. When my DP was at its worst my thoughts felt amplified
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? Yes, although I've always had obsessive philosophical thoughts. They just never used to scare me so much
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) No
8. Do you experience problems in memory? No

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? No
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? I feel pain normally
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? No
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? No.
5. Do your movements feel robotic? Sometimes
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs No
- voice Used to a lot
- reflection Used to a lot
- memories Yes
- pictures No
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. 
When my DP was very bad I felt like it didn't make sense for me to see things from this perspective. I felt like I was seeing through someone elses eyes

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? I took Propanolol (Betablockers) which stopped my panic attacks but made me feel more detached
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... Not yet. I plan on taking St John's Wort though.
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. Yes. I had CBT for 6 weeks which helped a lot.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? Yes and yes.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) Lack of sleep, caffiene, existential thoughts
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) Sometimes
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? No


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## Guest (Oct 10, 2006)

*Part I - basic info:*

*1. How old are you currently?* 44
*2. How old were you when the dp hit?* C. 16
*3. How long has your dp lasted?* About 28 years.
*4 Is your dp chronic or episodic?* Chronic
*5. What is your gender?* Male
*6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,...* No ideer.
*7. Do you work for a living?* Nope
*8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms?* 10
*9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional?* No
*10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one?* About 7. 
*Are they effective in your overall wellbeing?* Probably only to the extent that they distract my attention from other things that I might be worried about.
*Do they help the DP?* No
*11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders?* No
*12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past?* Yes and yes.
*13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE?* Major depression and anxiety.
*14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first?* I strongly suspect that it's primary, and that the depression simply tresulted from it.

*Part II - Visual aspects of DP: 

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception?* Yes
*2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision?* No

*Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant?* Blunted and distant.
*2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp?* High anxiety is a very old companion for me; it _could_ have played a role in it's onset.
*3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'?* I can't remember what they used to be; but I very definitely have brain fog all the time.
*4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu?* No
*5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'?* It would be blank if I didn't constantly supply it with my _own_ chatter (through near constant daydreaming).
*6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts?* Yes (to both).
*7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...)* Yes
*8. Do you experience problems in memory?* Yes

*Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb?* No
*2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'?* I feel like it belongs to someone else, though this makes it no less sharp.
*3. Are your energy levels affected by dp?* Yes
*4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light?* Just foreign.
*5. Do your movements feel robotic?* Yes
*6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following:
- limbs
- voice
- reflection
- memories
- pictures*
All of the above.
*7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify.* No

*Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals?* Slight
*2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ...* No
*3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify.* Not for the DP.
*4. Has your dp faded with time?* No
*Do you experience remissions?* N/A

*Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.)* All of the things you listed within parenthesis worsen it, plus any anxious situation.
*2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less)* I feel like I already lost it a long time ago.
*3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head?* No


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## Ni Hi Li St. (Jul 1, 2006)

part I

1. 23
2. 11
3. 12 years
4. chronic
5. male
6. traumatic event sort of (something on TV scared the $#!T out of me
7. part time
8. 2 or 3
9. no; unofficial diagnosis of derealization from college psych professor
10. probably 2 or so. it's more like i give advice more often than ask for help. makes me feel like i'm doing some good, which helps other things.
11. no
12. no; some antibiotics at one point while i was a kid
13. no, but i'm sure i have other things like slight OCD
14. secondary

part II

1. still 3D for me
2. no. it's not color or anything blatant visual that's missing. something is missing though, but don't know what it is exactly.

part III

1. emotions fine
2. yes, very depressed before i first got it
3. slight brain fog. there are times when i may find myself in social situations where i say the same things as when i'm half asleep.
4. a little bit of deja vu, but i think i had more of that before i had dp/dr
5. chatter
6. yes, both
7. not too much
8. i don't think memory is the real problem for me. it's more like things happen in front of me and i don't recall since they weren't input into my mind in the first place.

part IV

1. just as much as vision (maybe except hearing...i still feel greatly affected by certain music)
2. pain is normal
3. very much
4. no
5. no
6. no
7. no

part V

1, 2, and 3. never sought help for specific problem. i just found out about it a few months ago.
4. hard to tell

part VI

1. nothing, i always feel like this
2. see note on bottom
3. no

Note: unlike many other people, i found derealization to be more of a problem than depersonalization for me. i'm not even sure if i really do have dp, but it's possible. the thing is, if i do have dp, it doesn't bother me much since i never really think about my identity that often. even before i first got this disorder, i never really thought too much about a sense of self. now, i don't even think about my gender, race, or whatever too much at all, and it doesn't bother me.


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## Catharsis (Jul 2, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently?
19

2. How old were you when the dp hit? 
14?

3. How long has your dp lasted? 
5 years

4. Is your dp chronic or episodic? 
chronic

5. What is your gender? 
male

6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... 
I guess anxiety, isolation, depression, etc etc

7. Do you work for a living? 
no

8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 
7

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? 
no

10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 
30 minutes a day perhaps. Discovering DP was a huge relief.

11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? 
naw

12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? 
Not sure I understand the questions. penicillin? sure

13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? 
naw

14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? 
hmm.. difficult to say.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception?
At times, yes. 
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? 
At times, yes.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? 
blunted and distant but that has improved gradually on its own, and after starting Cipralex (lexapro)

2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? 
Yes. And yes.

3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? 
Oh yeah. LOTS of brain fog. Sometimes I'm at a complete stand-still.

4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? 
I did for a while

5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? 
For 2-3 years I always had lots of chatter and conversations going on in my head. Now it's pretty much blank.

6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? 
Yes and yes. Obsessive existential thoughts was one of the things that started DP for me, or perhaps one of the first symptoms.

7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) 
Yes.

8. Do you experience problems in memory? 
Yes. Hugely. During my worst 2 years I felt like a different person and had no direct memory of my life.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? 
Not really.

2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? 
Blunted.

3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? 
Yes. I'm very lethargic.

4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? 
It used to.

5. Do your movements feel robotic? 
Yes.

6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs 
- voice 
- reflection 
- memories 
- pictures

I felt detachment from my voice, my whole body, my reflection, photos of myself, memories, everything.

7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. 
Rarely.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? 
Started Cipralex (lexapro) 6 weeks ago. It works in a weird way. I don't think it works as it should. I'm feeling more connected to my old self and at the same time I feel more like a child.

2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... 
Fish oil.

3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. 
Yes. Saw a psychologist for 6 months which was largely a waste of money.
Saw a GP 2 months ago and requested a referral to a psychiatrist.

4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? 
Yes. It has faded quite a bit.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) 
Interrupted sleep, too little or too much sleep, crowds, sunlight, isolation.

2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) 
I still think I did.

3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head?
My ability to visualize images has come back somewhat. During my worst periods I could not visualize anything.


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## missjiller (Sep 8, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 20 years old
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 19 years old
3. How long has your dp lasted? Small spurts my whole life? but steady since about 5 months ago
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? Chronic but it fades slightly at times
5. What is your gender? female
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... panic and marajuana
7. Do you work for a living? Yes- full time 40 hours a week
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? About a 6 out of 10 (but they were much worse)
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? No- I diagnosed myself
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? About a half hour a day
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? Not really no
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? I have probably 5 fillings & use antibiotics probably a few times a year
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? Anxiety- I?m pretty sure I had GAD before going on meds? now I?m better
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? I think my dp was primary the issue- but I had a lot of anxiety at the time too so it?s hard to tell-

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? The sky looks bigger than the world and then it gets hard to focus on the world because the sky takes over? it?s messed up
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? WAAAAAAAAAY too vivid sometimes? like right now it?s fall where I live and the orange & red leaves are so bright and amazing.. they hurt the eyes but when I really look at them they are like the most beautiful thing I have ever seen?

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? Blunted since medication? but before the medication my emotions only ranged from feeling crazy, anxious, worried, to crying uncontrollably because I didn?t know what was wrong with me.
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? I had anxiety before about going on meds and being dependant on them for life? but then I realized that other people depend on meds for other different things- blood pressure, brain tumors, various sicknesses. People sometimes need meds for their general health. 
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? I am still pretty smart, sometimes I see dp/dr as people being too smart and thinking to exsistentially? 
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? Tons of d?j? vu?.. it gets freaky
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? Chatter before meds? blank after meds?
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? Actually- I experience obsessive philosophical thoughts? oddly enough.
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) no never? infact time is soooo real & normal? it takes forever for a day to get by
8. Do you experience problems in memory? Sometimes but no more than before the dp

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? Hearing gets REALLY loud sometimes & it is so piercing that it hurts my head.
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? no I have to say things still hurt a lot? but I can endure more pain because it?s almost as if it feels good to feel pain? just to feel.
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? Less energy?
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? In the middle of the night when I wake up to get a drink or use the bathroom?my body usually feels really weird? like it could just float away.
5. Do your movements feel robotic? not anymore? before meds yes
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs 
- voice 
- reflection 
- memories 
- pictures all of the above? not on a regular basis? but sometimes..
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. When driving I feel like I?m not in control of the wheel? it?s like something is pulling the car to make it drive? like I couldn?t control it if I wanted to..

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? OMG yes. Celexa has been my life saver! I can work again? my relationship with my boyfriend has been great- I have since moved out into an apartment with him & it?s wonderful.
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? Vitamin c makes me feel better sometimes.
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. I am going to see one in a month.. I?ll post an update on that.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? It has faded some with the help of meds. (celexa) but sometimes it?s still kind of intense when driving, tired, or if I forget a pill I feel like my head is going to explode.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) Fluorescent lights, really bright sunlight, really dark days, lack of sleep, watching philosophical tv shows or movies, scientific theories about creation-procreation-religion-etc.
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) I did when the dp/dr started? this one time I threw up because it was like I had mind bulimia & all my thoughts had no where to go because there was so many of them that it was making me feel crazy & I had to get sick.
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? Sometimes, depending on what it is.


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## Inflammed (Aug 10, 2004)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 28
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 16
3. How long has your dp lasted? 12 years
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? Episodic
5. What is your gender? Male
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... maybe drugs, or stress
7. Do you work for a living? yes
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 5 to 10
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? NO
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 1hour, helps a bit
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? Mitral Prolapse, Hypoglycemia
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? Yes, Yes
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? Anxiety
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? No not primary

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception?Yes
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? 
Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision?
Yes

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? Intact
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? Yes anxiety BECAUSE of DPDR
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? Less able to focus
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? Alot
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? No
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts?Yes 
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) Yes
8. Do you experience problems in memory? Yes

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? Totally
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? No
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? Alot
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? Yep
5. Do your movements feel robotic? Yep
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs Mainly
- voice Yes
- reflection No 
- memories No
- pictures No
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. 
No

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? No
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ...No 
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. Yes they dont know nothin about this, 
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? Yes, Yes

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) 
Light, sunlight, shadows, exercise, stress, fear, lack of sleep, food
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) 
Alot
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? No


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## Nehllah (Oct 8, 2006)

I'm kind of surprised that so many of us are self diagnosed. I'm also suprised by the fact that more than half of the people who responded are guys.


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## jessica (Feb 5, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 26 
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 20
3. How long has your dp lasted? About 6 years. 
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? Episodic 
5. What is your gender? Female 
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... It seems to be secondary to panic/anxiety. 7. Do you work for a living? Yes 
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 5, on average.
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? No 
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? About 10. 
Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Yes and no - reassuring to find others like me, but fuels OCD-type behaviors. Do they help the DP? No 
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? No 
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? Yes and yes. 
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? Panic Disorder and OCD. 
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? Secondary to panic/anxiety.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? No 
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? No Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? No -but I do get 'visual snow' which may be similar.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? Still intact. 
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? Yes and yes. 
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? Get brain fog on occasion. 
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? Yes - deja vu 
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? Almost always full of chatter.
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? A big yes to the first and a less enthusiastic yes to the second.
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) No 
8. Do you experience problems in memory? Yes

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? No 
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? Only when extremely distressed - don't feel pain as sharply. 
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? Yes 
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? Yes to all, but only rarely. 
5. Do your movements feel robotic? No 
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs- No
- voice -Yes (this is a big one)
- reflection - Yes
- memories -Yes
- pictures - No
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. Yes, out of body when extremely anxious. Transient and very, very brief.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? Yes (SSRIs)
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? Yes, minimal (SJW)
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. Yes from pdoc and therapist, but not for DP.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Yes 
Do you experience remissions? Yes

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) Lack of sleep, anxiety/panic. 
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) I worry about losing my sanity. 
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? No


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## eraserhead (Aug 28, 2006)

1. 19
2. Can't remember
3. Since childhood, although it severly worsened at age 18
4. Somewhat chronic, although with variyng degree
5. Male
6. No
7. I study economics
8. 7
9. No, but as part of a bigger report a QP did
10. A few hours, they may have helped in the sense of being informative about drugs etc.
11. No
12. Yes to both
13. Not a diagnosis per say, but they concluded I had a form of anxiety in a report
14. Secondary

Part 2

1. I see things in "2D" (not literally)
2. There is definately a "curtain" that seems to obstruct my vision

Part 3

1. Emotion as i once knew it has faded, although I still experience extreme emotion.
2. Always had depression.. Anxiety has become more noticeable in later years.
3. Both advantages and disadvantages.
4. No, I enjoy them.
5. Shifts between two extremes.
6. Yes.
7. Yes.
8. Yes.

Part 4

1. No
2. Never thought about it.
3. They are affected by something out of my control, don't know if its DP.
4. Sometimes.
5. No
6. I sometimes feel detatchment from voice, reflection, memories and pictures.
7. I have and keep having out of body experiences.

Part 5

1. If you consider Ethanol a pharmaceutical.
2. St. John's Wort may have given some slight relief.
3. Yes, everything I told him was an understatement.
4. If anything, it has gotten worse over time.

Part 6

1. Different types of lightning, certain thoughts, looking in the mirror, crowds, shopping malls.
2. I spent more time worrying before.
3. Quite the opposite.. Sometimes I can lie down and imagine entire movies.


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## livinginhell333 (Feb 19, 2005)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 21
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 20
3. How long has your dp lasted? almost 2 years
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? chronic
5. What is your gender? M
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... Drugs, panic attacks, anxiety and stress combined.
7. Do you work for a living? i work part time. 25 hours a week.
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 8
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? yes
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 2 or 3
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? i used to have a heart problem.
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? no
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? no
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? not sure, it happended after a bad trip with weed.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? def 
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? too dull. everything looks and feels blah and empty and boring.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? nope very blunted and distant, occasionally i'll crack a real smile or laugh or shed a little tear but i can't really feel the emotion.
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? a little anxiety before depression after dp.
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? hell no. they are horrible.
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? no but i used to a lot before dp.
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? feels blank.
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? sometimes
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) yup.
8. Do you experience problems in memory? yes sir.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? yea they pretty much suck.
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? no don't feel pain that much.
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? yes
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? too light, foreign, like i am floating or my body doesn't belong to me.
5. Do your movements feel robotic? yes and i hate it.
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs yes
- voice yes
- reflection yes
- memories yes
- pictures yes
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. i always feel out of body sort of and disconnected from it.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? not really
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... somewhat
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. yea.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? i don't know if its faded, i'm starting to accept it and not think about it as much but its still very debilatating.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) large crowds
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) yes
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? yes


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## livinginhell333 (Feb 19, 2005)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 21
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 20
3. How long has your dp lasted? almost 2 years
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? chronic
5. What is your gender? M
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... Drugs, panic attacks, anxiety and stress combined.
7. Do you work for a living? i work part time. 25 hours a week.
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 8
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? yes
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 2 or 3
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? i used to have a heart problem.
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? no
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? no
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? not sure, it happended after a bad trip with weed.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? def 
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? too dull. everything looks and feels blah and empty and boring.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? nope very blunted and distant, occasionally i'll crack a real smile or laugh or shed a little tear but i can't really feel the emotion.
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? a little anxiety before depression after dp.
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? hell no. they are horrible.
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? no but i used to a lot before dp.
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? feels blank.
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? sometimes
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) yup.
8. Do you experience problems in memory? yes sir.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? yea they pretty much suck.
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? no don't feel pain that much.
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? yes
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? too light, foreign, like i am floating or my body doesn't belong to me.
5. Do your movements feel robotic? yes and i hate it.
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs yes
- voice yes
- reflection yes
- memories yes
- pictures yes
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. i always feel out of body sort of and disconnected from it.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? not really
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... somewhat
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. yea.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? i don't know if its faded, i'm starting to accept it and not think about it as much but its still very debilatating.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) large crowds
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) yes
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? yes


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## livinginhell333 (Feb 19, 2005)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 21
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 20
3. How long has your dp lasted? almost 2 years
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? chronic
5. What is your gender? M
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... Drugs, panic attacks, anxiety and stress combined.
7. Do you work for a living? i work part time. 25 hours a week.
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 8
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? yes
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 2 or 3
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? i used to have a heart problem.
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? no
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? no
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? not sure, it happended after a bad trip with weed.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? def 
2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? too dull. everything looks and feels blah and empty and boring.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? nope very blunted and distant, occasionally i'll crack a real smile or laugh or shed a little tear but i can't really feel the emotion.
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? a little anxiety before depression after dp.
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? hell no. they are horrible.
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? no but i used to a lot before dp.
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? feels blank.
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? sometimes
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) yup.
8. Do you experience problems in memory? yes sir.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? yea they pretty much suck.
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? no don't feel pain that much.
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? yes
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? too light, foreign, like i am floating or my body doesn't belong to me.
5. Do your movements feel robotic? yes and i hate it.
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs yes
- voice yes
- reflection yes
- memories yes
- pictures yes
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. i always feel out of body sort of and disconnected from it.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? not really
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... somewhat
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. yea.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? i don't know if its faded, i'm starting to accept it and not think about it as much but its still very debilatating.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) large crowds
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) yes
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? yes


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## Starz5 (Jul 5, 2006)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 21
2. How old were you when the dp hit? 21 
3. How long has your dp lasted? 4 months an counting
4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? Chronic
5. What is your gender? Female 
6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... Drugs (panic attack from 4-5 puffs off marijuana)
7. Do you work for a living? Not currently, don?t know how Im going to but I?ll have to manage eventually
8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 7
9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? Yes
10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall well-being? Do they help the DP? Probably 10-12 hours per week although it was way more at the beginning, Im tapering off coming onto the website. Sometimes it helps reading recovery stories, other times it makes me more depressed reading some scary things like how long people have had it or other things. 
11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? Had Mitro-valve prolapse when I was 14, but never had any problems after 14 years old.
12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? Yes. Yes. 
13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? No. But I should have, I went to counselors/psychologists before and they brushed me off saying that I was going through general anxiety that normal 21 year old?s go through. My psychiatrist now, who has been studying this for about 30 years believes it stems from a deeper issue from childhood, mostly having very low self-esteem or not a solidly formed self or ego. 
14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injury, TLE, or tumor, first? I believe I had depression/anxiety before it hit, so the DP came after. I believe it is something your mind comes up with almost to distract you from the real issue of why you have it. I.E: early childhood issues, self-esteem, not developing a solid sense of self, depression, anxiety.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? No, thank God. I can imagine that is horrible.
2. Do colors appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? Colors are generally the same, though in supermarkets anything with bright light, colors are defiantly more vibrant. I do not experience this ?curtain or pane of glass.?

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP: 
1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? This is the weird part for me. I can still cry, but yet, I don?t get feelings anymore of places or an overall feel to a situation. Things feel shagnet/sterile. I think sometimes I can feel just a little bit of it, then it fades.
2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? Yes, who wouldn?t when you don?t feel things or see things like you used to? I do believe I had depression before this came along.
3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? I do have brain fog. Seems things are more daunting to do than they used to be and require a lot more concentration when before it would be simple.
4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? Yes, occasionally. I had deja vu before this happened though.
5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? Neither. 
6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? Yes especially at the beginning, but Im trying not to do that so much, for there are no true answers to those questions.
7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) Not to that extent. I sometimes lose track of what day it is, mostly b/c Im not on a certain schedule right now.
8. Do you experience problems in memory? Sometimes..I?ve noticed that I?ve become more forgetful than I normally was.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? Touch, taste, sight..are for the most part ok. My sense of smell seems dulled a bit, as for my ears I experience a popping or crackling sound in them now ever since all this started, like I cannot get them cleared no matter what. Its annoying, I think its starting to become less an less though which is great, I will be going to an ear doctor soon though. 
2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? I do still feel physical pain as sharp, thankfully, I do not feel as if it belongs to someone else.
3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? Yes, very much so, Im so tired/drained a lot of the time.
4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? Sometimes, especially when it first happened, my hands felt/looked strange as well as looking in the mirror was freaky b/c it felt as if I was looking at myself from an outsiders point of view or how someone else would see me. My body at times did feel kind of light..not anymore.
5. Do your movements feel robotic? Sometimes, especially when it first started. Even typing this, before it was like I could look down at my hands just doing their thing like I was watching them, not connected to them. Very strange and uncomfortable feeling.
6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs ~At times, mostly if Im more nervous i.e: crowds, bright lighting
- voice ~No.
- reflection ~At times..this also is not as bad as it was when it first happened to me.
- memories ~Sometimes. Mostly I miss how the nostalgic feeling to memories fades after I think of them too long.- pictures ~Yes. Sometimes I look at myself before and it seems like I was almost a different person, more happy or something. Like a big chunk of myself is missing.
7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. Sometimes my head tingles or I have a weird feeling in my head..but that?s happening less.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? Somewhat. Currently Im on Klonopin. It seems to be my only help so far, everyday seems to be somewhat improving. Im also on Luvox for OCD. I?ve tried Paxil:no good, Provigil: no good.
2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... Not really, I do take a protein shake along with a greens+ drink mixed in which contains all sorts of vitamins an nutrients. I take Omega 3 oils, B6, B12 pills, B complex, multi-vitamin.
3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. Yes. Thankfully I live in Atlanta, my doctor has been studying this for quite some time about 30 years, and he is the only relief I?ve found in taking this seriously. His treatment is a combination of psychoanalytical therapy along with some medication. I believe it is helping. Other psychologists I have seen can rarely relate to what Im talking about and write it off as Anxiety/depression.
4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? I believe it is fading. Distraction is the biggest help, forcing myself to go out, get back in life again. I don?t experience a full remission. Seems it is still there, but definitely not as bad.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) 
-Florescent lighting is a Major trigger, mostly places like Wal-mart/Target, that?s when things seem to get brighter or have this weird look to them. 
-Crowds is another definite for me. 
-Lack of sleep is another one. 
2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) Yes. I have felt a strong sense of detachment from who I was or ?used to be.? Seems like most of my goals/aspirations don?t mean a whole lot or hold meaning as they used to. It all seems kind of trivial now. I really realize now having gone through this, how much the ego controls what we want/desire, our whole country is Ego driven.
3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head?


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## Jane (Aug 14, 2006)

I'm impressed with how fast people are at responding. It seems to me like anxiety is a key factor with dp for sure.


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## Snowy (Aug 10, 2004)

1. How old are you currently?

28
2. How old were you when the dp hit?

23

3. How long has your dp lasted?

5 years

4 Is your dp chronic or episodic?

chronic

5. What is your gender?

female

6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,...

panic attack 3 days later after taking too much drugs.

7. Do you work for a living?

Study.

8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms?

Was 9.8 in the first few years, now it is about 2 sometimes 3.

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional?

No. Diagnosed with ptsd.

10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP?

2 hours. Yes it is very effective to learn about it and know that you are not alone. Has helped the DP alot.

11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders?

4 other chronic physical conditions.

12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past?

No fillings. I have used antibiotics and have been on a course of doxycycline for the past year.

13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE?

Anxiety, depression, ptsd, panic attacks.

14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first?

Secondary.

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception?

Even though i have mostly DR, i do not really have these 2 symptoms.

2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision?

I have the plane of glass, like my head is in a constant bubble.

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant?

I do feel my emotions now. Didn't at the beginning, but now i pretty much can feel them all.

2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp?

I feel some anxiety, but this has also died down alot, which i think contributes to my dp/dr lessening as well. I have always felt social anxiety and depression, for the past 20 years, so yes, these occured before the onset of dp.

3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'?

I do suffer from brain fog sometimes. At the beginning of dp, it was all the time, but now i can wade through it and find relief. Cognitive skills are still good.

4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu?

Yes and yes, quite alot.

5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'?

It does sometimes, but i usually ignore this feeling and it goes away.

6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts?

Yes and yes.

7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...)

Sometimes.

8. Do you experience problems in memory?

Not really. Sometimes i am far away so i don't take things in if people are talking to me, but if i do listen, my memory is fine.

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb?

Yes, feels like i am not really experiencing them.

2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'?

I do feel physical pain, but i have always had a high pain threshold, so i cannot really say if it is blunted or not.

3. Are your energy levels affected by dp?

Yes. I am often very tired and fatigued.

4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light?

It feels light. When i first became dp'd i could not feel my legs for a number of months, but now i do.

5. Do your movements feel robotic?

Not anymore.

6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following:
- limbs Used to.

- voice : Sometimes.

- reflection : Extremely. I very rarely look in a mirror these days and if i do put on makeup i use a small mirror so i can only see that feature. If i look like the mirror i cannot connect with myself, i usually stare back thinking who are you.

- memories : Getting back to connecting with them.

- pictures : I gaze at pictures and don't really connect with them, but these days it is not so bad.

7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify.

I experience numerous strange sensations. Like i am in the back of my head. Like i am only a mind and nothing else. Sometimes feel like i am floating a few inches to the right of my body. So many wierd sensations.

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals?

I take remeron (an antidepressant). Since taking it i feel alot better, but i am not sure if it is due to the med or making myself focus out for the past year or so.

2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ...

No.

3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify.

Yes. Went to therapy for a year or so.

4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions?

Yes my dp has faded with time. I used to be 99% dp'd, but now i am around 30% dp'd, however i have never fully been out of dp/dr for the last 5 years.

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.)

Fluro lighting, but this really does not bother me.

2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less)

Not anymore.

3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head?

No.


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## Jimmie (Aug 19, 2006)

I urge everyone to reply to this topic!

Here is my contribution:

*Part I - basic info:*

1. How old are you currently? 
19.

2. How old were you when the dp hit? 
16.

3. How long has your dp lasted? 
Approximately 4 years.

4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? 
Chronic.

5. What is your gender? 
Male.

6. Do you know the cause of your dp?
No, but it is probably stress and anxiety.

7. Do you work for a living? 
No.

8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? 
6.

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? 
No.

10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 
About 7 hours a week. They are not effective in my overall wellbeeing and do not help my DP.

11. Any other health problems? 
No.

12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? 
Yes and yes.

13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? 
No.

14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? 
I believe it is secondary.

*Part II - Visual aspects of DP:*

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? 
No.

2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? 
Colours appear as more vivid and intense than before.

*Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP: *

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? 
They are both blunted and distant. The distanciation is the main problem though, as I can still laugh and cry and really feel it, but it sometimes is like it is far away, as if I am not the one feeling it.

2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? 
Anxiety, yes. I experienced that before the DP onset.

3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? 
No, they are not. I suffer from moderate ?brain fog?.

4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? 
I have had moments of both, but they were short and rather mild.

5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? 
I experience both. Not simultaneously of course, that would be contradictory.

6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? 
Both, but they are not very disturbing and I have them under control.

7. Do you experience time distortion? 
Yes. Not a very severe time distortion, though.

8. Do you experience problems in memory? 
Yes.

*Part IV - Bodily Sensations *

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? 
My touch and taste has deteriorated a bit.

2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? 
I do not feel physical pain as sharply, and yes, it can feel as if the pain belongs to someone else (though again, not in a very severe way)

3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? 
Yes, I feel rather tired most of the time.

4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? 
It feels foreign, as if it did not belong to me.

5. Do your movements feel robotic? 
Yes, kind of.

6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs 
- voice 
- reflection 
- memories 
- pictures 
I feel detachment (in various degrees) from all of that.

7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. 
No.

*Part V - Treatment *

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? 
No.

2. Have you had relief through natural substances? 
No.

3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. 
Yes, I have sought help from specialists in psychiatry.

4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? 
No, it has not faded with time - in fact it is continuously worsening ? and no, I do not experience remissions.

*Part VI - Other Important questions:*

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) 
Fluorescent lightning, lack of sleep, being in my house.

2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) 
Not really, actually.

3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? 
A little.

------


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## Matt210 (Aug 15, 2004)

Part I - basic info:

1. How old are you currently? 20

2. How old were you when the dp hit? 17

3. How long has your dp lasted? On and off for 3 years (usually long periods of about 6 months of feeling awful, then feeling mostly better for a few months)

4 Is your dp chronic or episodic? I'll say chronic despite my last answer because when it comes it's here CONSTANTLY for a LONG time with almost no relief.

5. What is your gender? Male

6. Do you know the cause of your dp? Head injury, panic, drugs,... I believe it to be anxiety - specific fears.

7. Do you work for a living? I am a student.

8. How debilitating, on a scale of 1 - 10, are your dp symtpoms? When they are bad about 9. During good times 2-3.

9. Have you ever been diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder, as a primary diagnoses from a qualified professional? Yes.

10. How many hours a week do you spend on self-help sites like this one? Are they effective in your overall wellbeing? Do they help the DP? 
I spend less than an hour per week. It was very helpful at the beginning to help figure out what was going on with me.

11. Any other health problems? Heart, G.I. tract disorders? 
None.

12. Do you have fillings? Used antibiotics in the past? 
No fillings - I have used antibiotics many times

13. Have you received any other diagnoses from a doctor? Anxiety? TLE? 
Anxiety Disoder, elements of OCD.

14. Do you believe your DP is primary, meaning it came along on its own, or secondary, meaning you experience anxiety/panic/depression or anything like a head injurt, TLE, or tumour, first? 
I believe that DP is a manifestation of anxieties/insecurities/etc.

Part II - Visual aspects of DP:

1. Do you see things in 2D or otherwise have loss of depth perception? No.

2. Do colours appear different to you? Too vivid? Too dull? Is there a 'curtain' or 'pane of glass' that seems to obstruct your vision? 
This is not a constant symptom - but yes, the pane of glass and the colour problems occur from time to time.

Part III - Cognitive aspects of DP:

1. Are your emotions still intact, or do they feel blunted, distant? 
Again an occasional symptom - but from time to time.

2: Do you feel any anxiety regarding dp? Depression? If so, did you experience these feelings before the onset of dp? 
High levels of anxiety - occasional depression. Yes I experienced both before DP.

3. Are your cognitive skills as good as they used to be? Do you suffer from 'brain fog'? 
My memory is my major problem with DP. I definately suffer from brain fog.

4. Do you suffer from either deja vu or jamais vu? 
Deja Vu occasionally.

5. Does your head feel 'blank', or is it full of 'chatter'? 
Both.

6. Do you experience obsessive thoughts or philosophical thoughts? 
Both - Obsessive thoughts are a huge problem. Philosophical from time to time - definately more often than your average Joe.

7. Do you experience time distortion? (Seconds feel like hours, or an hour feels like a day,...) 
Definately.

8. Do you experience problems in memory? 
Absolutely - my worst symptom.

Part IV - Bodily Sensations

1. Do your senses (touch, taste, hearing, ...) feel blunted or numb? 
No.

2. Do you feel physical pain as sharply, or do you feel as though the pain belongs to 'somebody else'? 
No.

3. Are your energy levels affected by dp? 
Sometimes yes.

4. Does your body feel strange, foreign, too heavy or too light? 
Strange & foreign yes.

5. Do your movements feel robotic? 
Yes from time to time.

6. Do you experience 'detachment' from any of the following: 
- limbs NO
- voice Occasionally
- reflection YES
- memories YES
- pictures Occasionally

7. Do you experience out of body sensations or other strange sensations? Please specify. 
I have felt like I was 'beside myself' (outside my body) during certain times of extreme stress. Not often though.

Part V - Treatment

1. Have you had relief through pharmaceuticals? 
No - have been more determined to do this on my own.

2. Have you had relief through natural substances? St Johnn's Wort, ... 
Some relief with Omega 3

3. Have you sought help from a professional? Please specify. 
See a psychiatrist bi-weekly.

4. Has your dp faded with time? Do you experience remissions? 
I have not had an episode in 5 months - but I usually experience recovery and then relapse.

Part VI - Other Important questions:

1. What kinds of things trigger dp? (Fluorescent lighting, crowds, lack of sleep, please list all that you can.) 
All 3 things mentioned above. Stress triggers it - spending time alone triggers it.

2. Do you worry about losing your ?self?? (Keeping in mind that from a scientific point of view this question is not applicable, but it is an interesting aspect of the disorder none the less) 
Absolutely. I often feel like I might forget who I am.

3. Do you have trouble visualizing images in your head? 
Sometime yes.


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