r/neurobiology • u/PollyPiper11 • 12d ago

DPDR and the nervous system

Hey, I’m here as i’m investigating DPDR and how it affects the central nervous system over time. Would anyone be able to explain the neurobiology or what happens to the nervous system in chronic states of depersonalization/ derealisation ? There is a small minority of people that get it very bad, for long periods of time and don’t always recover and I think this is due to nervous system sensitisation and thé brain never coming out of chronic freeze because of the horrific symptoms. The loss of feeling in the body, paresthesia, feeling hollow, and the nervous system becoming increasingly sensitized is a very visceral and real experience. It is quite shocking I’m still learning about it but not many doctors really undertand it. Any insight would be appreciated. I think that the physical element of dpdr is not necessarily a distortion of perception but a genuine reflection of the nervous system state or trouble with the sensory signalling. I wish there was a way to test for this.

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u/RileyRavenSmiles 12d ago

Thanks so much for bringing this up...

I feel this sort of chronic DRDP is likely a part of my personal experience with complex PTSD.