The experience of chronic depersonalisation or derealisation is often referred to as a philosophical illness (see for example: http://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/eine-wand-zur-aussenwelt.1067.de.html?dram:article_id=242124 in German)
Only ONE version of reality
Recurring feelings of unreality or alienation make it clearer than anything else that our perception of what we believe to be our self and the reality around us is only a construct, a constant performance of our brain. And it also makes it clear that ‘normal perception’ is just ONE form of possible perception, so reality could be very different. It is therefore not surprising that people with depersonalisation or derealisation think a lot about what reality is like and what role and place they themselves have in it.
Questions about the meaning of life
Questions about the meaning of life are very common among people who repeatedly suffer from experiences of unreality or alienation. Some sufferers even spend a large part of their time dealing with these questions. In extreme cases, this can significantly reduce their quality of life.
It is probably one of the worst experiences of human existence that the basic pillars of self, time and space, which are regarded as stable, are fragile and changeable.
Threatening fears
When people repeatedly ask themselves questions about the meaning of life and also doubt their own existence, this is often associated with threatening fears.
Am I perhaps not there at all?
Is the world just a stage and my life merely a theatre play?
Are we all just dreaming that we are awake?
No clear answers
Philosophical questions are characterised by the fact that there are no clear or even conclusive answers. Many of the topics around which such questions revolve lie outside the horizon of human experience.
However, it is possible to find one’s own attitude to these topics and thus find some peace in the recurring circles of thought.
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