4 papers in the library · publishing 2006
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
The author argues that popular analogies comparing the human brain to a computer, or explaining mental disorders as simple chemical imbalances, fail to capture the brain's true complexity. The text first reviews basic brain anatomy and function, then examines brain regions that may be dysfunctional in depersonalization disorder.
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Depersonalization disorder (DPD) is frequently misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed in psychiatry. Patients often present with accompanying anxiety or depression, but they distinguish their core experience—feelings of unreality, deadness, or having no self—from those conditions. Clinicians may misattribute these symptoms to anxiety or depression due to their training and comfort with those domains, leading to inappropriate treatment.
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
The article discusses how depersonalization, a disruption in one's sense of self, can fundamentally alter a person's reality, echoing the ancient Buddhist idea that reality is constructed from our own thoughts. It describes how individuals with depersonalization may feel their beliefs need reconstruction, experience an altered sense of self or a sensation of having no self, and may respond to this change through spiritual awakening, anxiety, rumination, or artistic creation.
Feeling Nureal April 20, 2006 Daphne Simeon, Jeffrey Abugel
Psychotherapy can successfully treat depersonalization disorder (DPD) for some patients, leading to important symptom improvement and better life adaptation, though it may not work fully for everyone. The chapter reviews traditional approaches, some outdated and others still useful, alongside state-of-the-art therapies that have proven most effective. Therapeutic approaches are tailored to patients' psychological makeup and specific symptoms, and accumulated success stories have formed a body of suggested approaches worth considering.