Feeling Unreal: Depersonalization Disorder and the Loss of the Self

Daphne Simeon M.D. · Jeffrey Abugel

Nov 2008 · Oxford University Press

About this ebook

"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 not simply 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 how prevalent 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 are merely 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 mental health professionals, and for all students of the condition, while serving as a wake up call to the medical community at large.

About the author

Daphne Simeon, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. For over 10 years she has been conducting clinical research in the field of dissociation, has received several grant awards, and has numerous peer-reviewed publications. She currently co-chairs an international task force that will generate new recommendations for the DSM-V classification of dissociative disorders. Jeffrey Abugel has worked as an editor and writer for more than 25 years. He has researched depersonalization and its relationship to philosophy and literature since the 1980s. He is a graduate of New York University's Washington Square College, and founder of the depersonalization-themed website, www.depersonalization.info. He is also a member of the American Medical Writers Association.