Abnormal Psychology

Dissociative and Somatoform Disorders 343

can also lead to further depersonalization or derealization symptoms. Patients then

become extremely sensitive to and hypervigilant for possible symptoms of “unreal-

ity” and come to fear that the symptoms indicate that they are going “round the

bend.” They may also avoid situations likely to elicit the symptoms.

Why might some people be more likely to interpret depersonalization symptoms

as indicating that they are veering toward insanity? Perhaps because they had a

family member with a major mental illness (social factor) (Hunter et al., 2003): When

these people experience symptoms of depersonalization or derealization, rather than

attributing such symptoms to external events, as normal responses to a stressor, they

view the symptoms as confi rming their mental illness. Figure 8.1 illustrates the three

types of factors that arise in depersonalization disorder and their feedback loops.

Figure 8.1

8.1 • Feedback Loops in Action: Depersonalization Disorder

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ddbb kk ll dd

Affect Behavior

Brain Systems

Neural Communication Genetics

NeuroPsychoSocial

Anxiety

Frontal lobes Parietal lobes Temporal lobes Limbic system

Norepinephrine No known major contribution

Mental Processes and Mental Contents

Problems With the Types

short-term memory, attention, spatial reasoning Incorrect catastrophic attributions of depersonalization symptoms Hypervigilance

Stressful Life Events

Gender/Culture

Family Family members may have been abusers

NeuroPsychoSocial

Severe chronic emotional abuse during childhood Stressors may exacerbate symptoms

No known major contribution