Feeling Unreal Depersonalization Disorder and the Loss of the Self

by Simeon, Daphne; Abugel, Jeffrey

• ISBN13: 9780195170221
• ISBN10: 0195170229
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

"Everything feels unreal to me, like a dream...I feel detached, like a stranger to myself." These are quotes from actual people, experiencing something they don't understand. What they are saying is being heard by friends, families, and physicians today more than ever before. They do notsimply suffer from anxiety, or depression, and they are not schizophrenic. They have found themselves trapped in a very real and singular disorder, yet few even know its name. Their enigmatic state of mind has been studied for more than 100 years, but only recently has it become clear howprevalent and how distinctive it really is. The condition is called Depersonalization Disorder, and Feeling Unreal is the first book to reveal what it's all about.This important volume explores not only Depersonalization, but the philosophical and literary implications of selflessness as well, while providing the latest research, possible treatments, and ways to live and thrive when life seems "unreal." For those who still believe that such experiences aremerely part of something else, that depersonalization is just a symptom and not a disorder in its own right, Feeling Unreal presents compelling evidence to the contrary. This book provides long-awaited answers for people suffering from Depersonalization Disorder and their loved ones, for mentalhealth professionals, and for all students of the condition, while serving as a wake up call to the medical community at large.

Author Biography

Daphne Simeon is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where she does research, supervises, and teaches.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
Strangers to Our Selves	p. 5
Expressions of the Inexpressible	p. 17
The Path of Understanding-A Century of Exploration	p. 49
Diagnosing Depersonalization Disorder	p. 71
Unraveling the Enigma: Clinical Research on Depersonalization Disorder	p. 83
The Biology of Depersonalization	p. 105
The Blow of the Void	p. 127
Medication Treatment of Depersonalization	p. 159
Psychotherapy Treatment of Depersonalization	p. 171
Epilogue: Living Unreal	p. 201
Frequently Asked Questions	p. 207
Notes	p. 219
Index	p. 233
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