Depersonalization: from disorder to the symptom

Abstract

In contrast with the growing interest in dissociative disorders over the last few years, depersonalization continues to be very scarcely approached. There is no agreement among clinicians regarding the concept of depersonalization, and little is known about its etiology, epidemiology and treatment. This paper has two main aims: 1) Review the literature on this pathology focusing on nosological, historical, psychophysiological and treatment aspects, and 2) Explore the incidence of the depersonalization symptom in other psychiatric conditions, in particular in panic disorder. The Medline database over the last 5 years has been used for these purposes, and lack of studies on this subject has been found, especially regarding therapeutic issues. Some of the most relevant findings suggest that depersonalization, when associated to panic disorder, could correspond to the most severe forms of this disorder.