Today I read about dissociative disorders. The two categories of dissociation are detachment and compartmentalization, both of which are forms of avoidance. One type of dissociative experience is depersonalization, which is a feeling of detachment. Another type of dissociative experience is derealization, which is when an individual's environment feels unreal or dreamlike. Depersonalization/derealization disorder is diagnosed when symptoms cause impariment to functioning or signigicant distress on a persistant and recurrent basis. Depersonalization or derealizationduring can actually happen during times of heightned distress, like during a panic attack. This has actually happened to me quite a few times during a panic attack. It's not a pleasant experience. It feels so strange and confusing, which only makes the panic attack more frightening.
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