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How To Stop Depersonalization: 10 Ways You Should Try In 2024
Updated on
- Written by Teresa Mboci, Pediatric Nurse, Nutritionist
Medically reviewed by
Kathy Shattler, MS, RDN
If you feel like you’re an outsider looking in on your thoughts and actions, you might be experiencing depersonalization. You might feel completely detached from yourself, or like things aren’t real. You wonder how to stop depersonalization. While we all experience depersonalization some version of feeling like we’re living in a dream from time to time, it doesn’t usually last.
But if these feelings don’t go away and it’s affecting your quality of life, it might be time to get treatment. Read on to learn what it is, its symptoms, its causes, and how to overcome depersonalization using professional help.
How To Stop Depersonalization Panic Attack?
If you’re struggling with depersonalization, try these 10 coping strategies:
- Admit and acknowledge the feeling of depersonalization.
- Use proper stress management.
- Engage in therapy.
- Pay attention to your surroundings.
- Stop all alcohol and substance use.
- Practice mindful breathing.
- Open up to friends or family members.
- Listen to music.
- Put your mind to work by reading a book.
- Take medication.
How To Stop Depersonalization?
If you find yourself experiencing depersonalization episodes, and how to stop derealization, remind yourself that it will pass. Despite the high stress level, the following techniques can assist you in coping and, in the long run, prevail over depersonalization.
Admit And Acknowledge The Feeling Of Depersonalization
Depersonalization is usually harmless and only lasts briefly. With time, you will become less vulnerable to the effects of depersonalization. How to fix depersonalization? If you can remember this truth regularly, you might be able to manage depersonalization symptoms better.
Proper Stress Management
Avoid stressful situations and learn to manage stress properly to help with your depersonalization problem. This is achievable by getting to bed at a reasonable hour, even earlier on days when you are physically fatigued.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, keeping a regular bedtime and waking time can help you get enough sleep each night.[1] Both physical activity and sleep can help you deal with stress more effectively.
Talk Therapy
Therapy services can help you understand what triggers your depersonalization episodes and provide you with skills to manage them better. How to stop depersonalization? Online counseling and psychotherapy can be quite helpful for people who are experiencing depersonalization. Consult with a mental health professional to treat your depersonalization disorder and get advice on how to proceed.
Pay Attention To Your Surroundings
Examine your surroundings, including the weather and what you see and hear. Engage with a nearby object, such as a piece of paper and a pen or a fan, to regain control of your thoughts and eliminate those that aren’t constructive. This will bring your consciousness into the present moment, where it can more effectively deal with depersonalization.
Avoid Alcohol And Substance Use
Any recreational use of alcohol or drugs should be avoided because it can lead to depersonalization. If you’re struggling with addiction, your doctor may be able to help you identify the appropriate services and therapies for you.
Practice Mindful Breathing
Depersonalization may involve physiological stress reactions, such as the flight-or-fight reaction, which can be mitigated with deep breathing exercises.
If you find yourself becoming overwhelmed by depression or anxiety, take a few minutes to sit or lie down in a quiet spot, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Recent studies have shown that mindful breathing[2] can alleviate intrusive, depersonalization, and derealization symptoms.
Along with mindfulness, certain emotion regulation strategies moderate derealization symptoms by changing how one thinks[3]about a situation. Changing your thoughts about your circumstances can change your emotional reactions to everyday life.
Open Up To Friends And Family
Loneliness might aggravate symptoms of depersonalization. If you begin to feel anxious or despondent, reach out to others instead of isolating yourself. Spending as much time as possible in the company of others can[4] benefit those suffering from a depersonalization-derealization disorder. Telling a trusted friend or loved one how you’re feeling can be a tremendous relief from anxious thoughts.
Listen To Music
You may notice a decrease in depersonalization if you give your mind something to focus on. Putting on some relaxing music and spending time unwinding could be beneficial. It is entirely up to you to choose the type of music you wish to listen to.
Experts recommend listening to music that makes you happy,[5] motivates you to sing along, or calms you down to cope with depersonalization.
Put Your Mind To Work By Reading A Book
Another excellent way to divert your attention is to read a book. Find a book you know you’ll enjoy reading that offers you either comfort or an interesting distraction. Getting caught up in a great story can naturally quiet intrusive thoughts since you’re too distracted to over-analyze.
Medication
Medicine is rarely used to treat depersonalization. However, if a depersonalization disorder patient additionally suffers from depression or anxiety, they may benefit from an antidepressant or an anti-anxiety medication.[6] Occasionally, depression medications are prescribed to help with the distorted thinking and perceptual distortions accompanying depersonalization.
What Is Depersonalization?
Depersonalization and derealization are mental illnesses collectively known as depersonalization-derealization disorders.[7] It’s also part of a group called dissociative disorders.[8]
Depersonalization implies a change in your sense of self. You may begin to question your reality and not feel attached to your thoughts and feelings.
On the other hand, derealization is about how you interact with the surrounding world. You might doubt the reality of your environment and the people in them.
Depersonalization Symptoms
With depersonalization, you might feel disconnected from your life, both in the present and future. You may also feel:
- Robot-like.
- As if you’re living in a dream and looking in on yourself from the outside.
- Depressed, anxious, and panicked.
Depersonalization disorder symptoms, as explained further below, may have roots in childhood trauma,[8] other mental health disorders, or experiences/situations that induce intense emotional stress.
Symptoms typically appear in late adolescence or early adulthood. Some people have minor, transient symptoms, while others have long-term problems. Fortunately, the disease is relatively harmless to young children and the elderly.
Depersonalization Causes
There is no consensus on what causes depersonalization disorder. The risk of depersonalization varies from person to person, depending on biological and environmental factors. Depersonalization disorder is more prone to arise in some people due to the following factors:
- Exposure to a traumatic event experience, whether direct or indirect.
- Disorders of the body, including seizures.
- Poor sleep efficiency.[9]
- Stressful situations at work, with personal relationships, or with issues related to family.
- Personality or other mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Depression or derealization anxiety that is severe or persistent, or anxiety characterized by panic attacks.
- Reduced emotional reactivity in the nervous system.
- Drug or alcohol abuse.
The Takeaway
Dissociative disorders are rare — but feeling dissociated from time to time is common.
If you’ve experienced trauma or chronic stress, it’s not hard to feel disconnected from your thoughts, actions, or the world around you. But if these feelings occur frequently and for long periods of time, depersonalization treatment might be needed.
If you’re constantly feeling like you’re on the outside looking in and struggling with depression or anxiety — reach out to a therapist. Meanwhile, you can follow the tips listed above to help manage the symptoms. Reading, talking to loved ones, getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising are all helpful ways to manage stress and improve your mental health.
+ 9 sources
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- CDC (2022). Are You Getting Enough Sleep? [online] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/getting-enough-sleep.html
- ResearchGate. (2013). Figure 2. Effects of mindful breathing. Average ratings of the degree… [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Effects-of-mindful-breathing-Average-ratings-of-the-degree-of-grounding-the-overall_fig6_256932217
- Apa.org. (2023). APA PsycNet. [online] Available at: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Femo0000703
- Rogers, E., Polonijo, A.N. and Carpiano, R.M. (2016). Getting by with a little help from friends and colleagues: Testing how residents’ social support networks affect loneliness and burnout. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, [online] 62(11), pp.e677–e683. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9844583/
- Leubner, D. and Hinterberger, T. (2017). Reviewing the Effectiveness of Music Interventions in Treating Depression. Frontiers in Psychology, [online] 8. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01109.
- Sierra, M. (2008). Depersonalization disorder: pharmacological approaches. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, [online] 8(1), pp.19–26. doi:https://doi.org/10.1586/14737175.8.1.19.
- Gatus, A., Jamieson, G. and Stevenson, B. (2022). Past and Future Explanations for Depersonalization and Derealization Disorder: A Role for Predictive Coding. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, [online] 16. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.744487.
- Gentile, J.P., Snyder, M. and Marie Gillig, P. (2014). STRESS AND TRAUMA: Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy for Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, [online] 11(7-8), pp.37–41. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204471/
- Arora, T., Alhelali, E. and Grey, I. (2020). Poor sleep efficiency and daytime napping are risk factors of depersonalization disorder in female university students. Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, [online] 9, p.100059. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbscr.2020.100059.
Written by:
Teresa Mboci, Pediatric Nurse, Nutritionist
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
