Dissociation: Depersonalization

Eight statements describe depersonalization and derealization: feeling as though one is watching oneself from outside, feeling that one's body does not belong to oneself, feeling that other people or objects are not real, and looking in a mirror without recognizing oneself. Such experiences often occur briefly under fatigue or stress, and some people experience them persistently.

Depersonalization has long been described in psychiatry as a disturbance in the sense of self, and Bernstein and Putnam (1986) included it in the Dissociative Experiences Scale as one of the forms of dissociation beyond everyday absorption. The statements here come from the public-domain International Personality Item Pool (IPIP).

The ratings are combined into a single score. Higher scores describe more frequent feelings of unreality or detachment; lower scores describe a stable sense of self and surroundings. A high score suggests that a fuller assessment may be useful and is not a diagnosis.

The scale is used in research on dissociation, anxiety and trauma. On this site, the Dissociation: Full Scale combines all three dissociation scales, the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II) is the standard clinical measure, and the Perceptual Aberration Scale describes unusual bodily and perceptual experiences.

Depersonalization/derealization — feeling detached from one's mental processes or body — is a core component of the DES and is associated with trauma, anxiety, and dissociative disorders.

“Had the experience of feeling as though I was standing next to myself, or watching myself as if I was looking at a different person.”

Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.

Your report explains each of your scale scores in plain language.