Depersonalization With Panic Attacks

Depersonalization is the state of not feeling like one-self or feeling alienated from one's own behavior, which is a mental disorder that distorts a person's sense of reality. It creates a sense of being outside the body, and a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a circumstance. According to the American Psychological Association, "Depersonalization (or depersonalisation) is a malfunction or anomaly of the mechanism by which an individual has self awareness. It is a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a situation."

Depersonalization and Derealization, two normal symptoms of anxiety disorder, are both 'Dissociative disorders' and sufferers of one can experience the other. Although very disturbing at times, they are completely harmless, and just parts of anxiety symptoms.

About more than 20% of the general population have had a transient experience of depersonalization. Often a person who has experienced depersonalization claims that life "feels like a movie" or things seem unreal or hazy or a recognition of self breaks down. A typical manifestation of depersonalization is when the individual may be having a conversation with someone and suddenly feels alarmingly isolated and removed from the situation.

It has been said that depersonalization is caused by a shift in the part of the brain that provides us with a 'real' awareness of our environment. This part of the brain is directly linked to the Amygdala which is responsible for anxiety. The amygdala is pivotal in our processing and retention of emotion and fear reactions, which produces panic attacks because of learned behavior. Some researcher also think depersonalization is caused by delayed perception. This slight delay between experience and thought can create a momentary sensation of unreality.

Don't let the thoughts sucker you into thinking you are alone and stuck with this feeling of depersonalization all your life. Those thoughts are not true. If you experience depersonalization, the best way to treat it is to assure yourself that everything is OK and you will be yourself soon. It takes a little practice but that change in attitude will make a big difference for you.

Fear can drive you into feeling spaced out and not in your body. If you site down and hold on to a solid object like a wooden table or something similar while you take deep breaths, you will soon feel like yourself. Hardly anyone continues to feel depersonalized for very long. The more you can flow along with it and not react the more quickly you will return to feeling more yourself.