'The first of its kind, this self-help book will offer guidance, help and solace to the many sufferers of depersonalization disorder.' Daphne Simeon, Depersonalisation and Dissociation Program, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York Depersonalization disorder can make you feel detached from life and many people describe feeling 'emotionally numb', unreal or even as if their body doesn't belong to them. It can be a symptom of another problem such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and, particularly, of panic disorder, or of an illness like epilepsy or migraine. It can also occur in its own right and/or as a side effect of certain drugs. This self-help book, written by leading experts, will help you to understand what causes depersonalization disorder and what can keep it going, and will introduce you to effective strategies to overcome it: Based on clinically proven cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques Clear and accessible step-by-step exercises and tools, including diary-keeping and problem-solving Overcoming self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical. Many guides in the Overcoming series are recommended under the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme. Series Editor: Professor Peter Cooper

Depersonalization Disorder is when a person experiences a feeling of being detached from life around them and sometimes emotionally numb. It is often a symptom of another disorder such as anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and particularly panic disorder, or of an illness like epilepsy or migraine, but also occurs in its own right and among users of certain drugs. CBT is an effective treatment. PRAISE FOR THE SERIES: 'The best consumer-friendly CBT-based books&All are very thorough.' Observer 'The Overcoming series just keeps getting better and better.' The Psychologist

"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.

When you have depersonalization disorder, nothing seems real. You may feel detached from reality, even from your own thoughts, as though you are going through the motions of living without ever being truly connected to your experiences. Whether your depersonalization developed after a traumatic experience or is something you've always lived with, this book can help you reconnect with life again. Overcoming Depersonalization Disorder can help you diagnose the type and degree of your depersonalization disorder, come to understand why it developed, and cope with your symptoms using practical skills drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Ready to feel real again? Put the practical skills in this book to work in your life right now and start reintegrating yourself back into the world and reconnecting to your own vibrant thoughts and feelings.

READY TO FEEL LIKE YOUR NORMAL SELF AGAIN? Depersonalization & derealization are the third most common mental health symptoms next to anxiety & depression. Millions suffer from it, yet it is virtually unstudied in medicine. Why? There are a couple theories. Mostly I think it's because it mimics the same symptoms of anxiety & depression, and often DP/DR accompanies anxiety & depression. They seem to all be interconnected in some way. Anxiety & depression get much more research put into them because they are way more frequently seen, but the problem is that DP/DR are both very, very hard to effectively describe to someone who has not experienced it. -From Stop Unreality Stop Unreality can help you to understand the inner-workings of depersonalization & derealization, along with battling against anxiety & depression. It is a guide directly taken from a sufferer of these conditions, and it utilizes tools that will help you toward a potential speedy recovery. From theories to therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mindfulness techniques, Stop Unreality can help put an end to feelings of unreality, and help you to live a better life with the condition.

Drawing on the author's experience of depersonalization disorder (DPD), this book aims to provide support, understanding and advice on how to manage everyday life with DPD. With insight from respected figures in the field and those with lived experience, the book details the depersonalization experience, from what it is to the impact it has on everyday life. It also offers coping strategies and practical, positive advice for seeking professional treatment. In both the public and clinical spheres, awareness of DPD is low and it takes an average of 7-12 years to diagnose. This is therefore a much-needed resource, illuminating the experience of those living with this disorder and providing guidance on getting help.

As a neuroscientist who has successfully completely overcome chronic depersonalization and derealization (DPDR), I am driven to teach every last sufferer a). what this 'disorder' really is and b). how to cure it in a matter of days and ensure that you never relapse.Regardless of how dissociated and lost you currently feel, you are as real, safe and alive as you were when you were a curious child. What's more, I am going to teach you how to make these feelings vanish. There is nothing intractable about dissociative anxiety; when you are ready to launch yourself towards recovery and fight against the illusion, it disappears - it simply can no longer be sustained when you are truly committed to living in the real world.

The study of dissociation is relevant to anyone undertaking research or treatment of mental health problems. Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Dissociation uses a cognitive approach to de-mystify the processes involved in linking traumatic incidents to their effects. Kennedy, Kennerley and Pearson present a full and comprehensive understanding of mental health problems involving dissociative disorders and their treatment, bringing together an international range of experts. Each chapter addresses a single topic in full, including assessment of previous research from a cognitive perspective, recommendations for treatment and case studies to illustrate clinical approaches. Using an evidence-based scientific approach combined with the wisdom of clinical experience, the authors make the relevance of dissociation immediately recognisable to those familiar with PTSD, dissociative identity disorder, eating disorders, hallucinations and a wide range of psychological and non-organic physical health disorders. Designed to provide new perspectives on both research and treatment, Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Dissociation includes a wide range of material that will appeal to clinicians, academics and students.

Generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress or existential thoughts can lead the brain to enter a "defensive" mode of consciousness far from reality where the perception of the self and the perception of the world result noticeably altered. The author makes an autobiographical journey of his history as a consequence of this disorder to describe the main symptoms of Depersonalization (DP) and Desrealization (DR) and presents a hypothesis about its nature based on a relative disconnection between rational and emotional hemispheres. The most frequent causes leading to Depersonalization (alteration of the self) and to Derealization (alteration of the perception of the world) are reviewed and the method of Santos Barrios (c) is presented as a natural treatment to return the individual to normality. The indiscriminate use of new technologies (smartphones, tablets, PCs, videogames, social networks, streaming on demand, ...) causes people avoid more and more the contact with the physical and emotional reality of the environment. This fact together with anxiety, the rush of everyday life, the concern for an uncertain future and the possible consumption of drugs constitute an explosive cocktail that is making an appearance of cases of distancing from reality.

Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors integrates a neurobiologically informed understanding of trauma, dissociation, and attachment with a practical approach to treatment, all communicated in straightforward language accessible to both client and therapist. Readers will be exposed to a model that emphasizes "resolution"—a transformation in the relationship to one’s self, replacing shame, self-loathing, and assumptions of guilt with compassionate acceptance. Its unique interventions have been adapted from a number of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness-based therapies, and clinical hypnosis. Readers will close the pages of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors with a solid grasp of therapeutic approaches to traumatic attachment, working with undiagnosed dissociative symptoms and disorders, integrating "right brain-to-right brain" treatment methods, and much more. Most of all, they will come away with tools for helping clients create an internal sense of safety and compassionate connection to even their most dis-owned selves.