Depersonalization - causes and signs of depersonalization

This disease has several types. Among them:

• Somatopsychic (deviation of perception of one's own body parts and their functions).
• Allopsychic (feeling of split personality, presence of two "I", sometimes cannot control one's actions and deeds).
• Autopsychic (feeling of personality change, difficulties in communicating with other people, loss of personal opinion, one's own worldview, feeling of inferiority, with progression there is a decrease in intellectual abilities).
• Anesthetic (in the presence of painful conditions, a decrease in the emotional coloring of adequate reactions to pain is observed).

As a result of the studies, it was found that the disease appears in women twice as often as in men under the age of 30, but there were also cases of early onset of the deviation in children under 10 years of age.

Causes

The occurrence of the deviation is observed with emotional shocks, stress, hormonal imbalance (pituitary-adrenal deviations), intoxication of the body when smoking cannabis, neurological diseases (epilepsy, brain tumors), the presence of other psychiatric pathology (schizophrenia).

Symptoms

The clinical picture develops suddenly or gradually.

People begin to experience the unreality of the world around them, as if alienated, they do not understand what is happening around them, they cannot recognize body parts and perceive them as "foreign", they do not know what to do with them, their behavior changes. They feel insignificant, helpless, withdrawn. Intellectual abilities decrease, the spiritual level and emotional sphere fade, views on life, foundations, and beliefs are lost. Patients note that half of their body is unreal or does not exist at all, and their limbs are large or small. They do not experience satisfaction from the fulfillment of physiological needs, there is no feeling of satiety or joy from eating.

Patients complain of increased anxiety, inability to determine time or space around them. Patients report that they see themselves from the outside, feel dual consciousness, a second "I" or a split personality.

It remains important that self-criticism persists. The course of the disease is chronic, recurring with clear intervals in the patient's condition.

Diagnostics

When the first signs appear, you should consult a psychiatrist.

In clinical practice, there are diagnostic criteria:

• Complaints of an individual about a change in the perception of their own body and its parts, split consciousness, that feelings and sensations do not belong to them, as if they are in someone else's body, with alien emotions and make automatic movements of an involuntary nature.
• The patient complains of a feeling of unreality of the surrounding world, that objects or subjects have become unrecognizable, changed.
• A critical assessment of thoughts and conditions is maintained, they understand that this condition appears suddenly, that only they feel or see it.
• The patient is in a clear consciousness.

Treatment

Treatment includes several stages:

• During therapy, the main attention is paid to the concomitant pathology that caused the development of this condition.
• Tranquilizers, antidepressants, and neuroleptics are actively used to eliminate the anxious disorder in the head.
• Opioid receptor antagonist drugs (naloxone) have shown high efficiency.
• Deoxycorticosterone is used for hormonal imbalances with dysfunction of the hypothalamic-adrenal system.
• Nootropic drugs (cavinton, noophen) are prescribed to improve brain function and blood circulation.
• Patients need psychotherapy to clarify their feelings and sensations, as well as to give them the opportunity to reason about pressing issues.
• The practice of introducing hypnosis is used.

Prevention

The best preventive measures will be overcoming stressful situations, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, constantly doing morning exercises, and a healthy work and sleep schedule. Following these instructions will help maintain a healthy mental balance, cope with stress and prevent the appearance of the first signs of this disease.