Depersonalization Treatment
Depersonalization Disorder is as common as it diverse in terms of the symptoms individuals describe which generally include a feeling of disconnection from one’s body and a difficulty relating oneself to reality.
Symptoms, which typically last from anywhere from five to thirty seconds or more happen to each of us in the course of our lifetime. Depersonalization Disorder is the third most common psychological disorder after feelings of anxiety and depression—usually occurring for many of us after life threatening experiences such as accident, assault, injury, or childhood trauma.
For many, however, the Depersonalization Disorder is chronic, affecting their day-to-day lives, disrupting both their work lives and personal relationships. For these people, symptoms of DPD simply won’t go away on their own therefore medical and psychological therapy is often turned to.
Psychotherapy as well as behavioral therapy has been successful in treating those suffering chronic symptoms of Depersonalization Disorder. There is no single form of psychotherapy that is effective in treating the disorder, rather the therapist treats the symptoms as part of a greater issue involving either past trauma or stress of the patient. Often when a therapist works with the patient in dealing directly with those issues, symptoms of DPD begin to dissipate and eventually vanish forever.
While this author is not a fan of medication for psychological disorders, some people feel that conventional therapy is not enough and/or not a hundred percent effective. Medications have been reported to be helpful in either ridding or masking symptoms of depersonalization, including the use of benzodiazepine tranquilizers, such as Ativan (lorazepam), Tranxene (clorazepate), Xanax (alprazolam) as well as the tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil (amitriptyline), Sinequan (doxepin) and Norpramin (desipramine).
While this author is not a proponent of medication for psychological disorders, it is the belief of mainstream pshychiatry that medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) became readily available and effective in treating symptoms of DPD. These drugs include fluoxetine cells used to send messages to one another. SSRI’s are believed to work by preventing the reuptake of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates the modulation of anger, aggression, mood levels, sleep, appetite, sexuality as well as metabolism.
Unfortunately, there have been very few regulated studies comparing the different medications for Depersonalization Disorder. Since DPD is usually associated with trauma, effective treatment must include other stress-related symptoms as well, which is why therapy in conjugation with antidepressants and mood stabilizers are reported to be the most effective. For some patients, however, these drugs provide side effects, which are sometimes worse than the disorder itself.
While conventional therapy rule ssupreme, many therapists are recommending various relaxation techniques as a way of combating the symptoms of DPD. Some alternative methods include the practice of come forms of yoga, which seems to provide patients relief by releasing stress through various stretching exercises.
As diverse as the symptoms of Depersonalization, so are the treatments. Where one individual may have success with therapy alone, another may find relief only by use of antidepressants while another will find the symptoms disappear on their own.
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