# Philip K Dick and depersonalization disorder



## Ayato (Jul 1, 2006)

So i've been reading the biography "The Search for Philip K Dick" by Anne Dick, and came across this passage, describing his high school years:



> Dick Daniels convinced Phil to usher with him at the symphony. But Phil couldn't stand it and would never go again. Years later when we were living together, Phil told me he had a terrible vertigo attack; something irreversible happened to his psyche when he was ushering at the symphony with Dick Daniels. He said that his being had sunk down into itself- from then on, it was as if he could only see out into the world with a periscope, as if he were in a submarine. He felt he had never recovered his ability to perceive the world directly.


Makes sense, as the unknowable nature of reality is the main theme in his body of work. Of course he also had hallucinations later in life that cause people to speculate about schizophrenia, but I think amphetamine psychosis is more likely explanation for those.


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## Billy D.P. (Apr 12, 2016)

Just heard an hour-long special on the radio today about Dick and left convinced he had DP. His work is absolutely littered with DP themes, including separation of memory from the mind, androids, time travel, etc. The program I heard also talked a lot about how he had mental problems and was constantly running from things (which I do a lot) and trying to come to terms with his own traumatic memories. It sounds like people thought he had schizophrenia but judging by his behavior and writing it sounds like he had some DP mixed in there as well.

I guess it's just another philosopher-writer we can add to the list of brilliant minds who possibly suffered from DP symptoms.


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## Phantasm (Jul 16, 2017)

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he did have DP. His work certainly explored some mind-bending themes like memory and consciousness. Has anyone been watching Electric Dreams? I haven't seen it yet but it looks amazing.


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## Alan (Jan 26, 2015)

Incidentally I happened to watch the first episode about telepaths tonight; it was pretty good but it's not light viewing.

(By the way, OP is from 2010 if neither of you noticed )


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