Do I have depersonalization/ derealization?

Hello, just a little bit of a background: I'm 20 years old and I have anxiety and OCD. I tend to worry about developing certain conditions and as of lately, I'm worried about getting dp/dr.

So anyways, I had this one experience when I was 7/8 years old; we were lined up to go get a drink of water or something like that in my grade 2 class and on that day, I felt weird and it's pretty hard to describe. I'm sure things around me felt real and I wasn't experiencing anything bizarre, but I just felt different on that specific day. If I were to describe it as best as I can, I would describe it as one of those days where I didn't sleep enough and I'm all drowsy and not able to concentrate or appreciate my environment as much. It was almost as if I was half conscious or half asleep and that I was just following my fellow classmates aimlessly, but again, I wouldn't describe it as dreamlike or anything unreal but rather just me sort of mingling like a lost duck. Is that derealization/ depersonalization? I don't think I experienced it ever again; I may had similar experiences when I was tired, but I don't know if I was tired or not when I was 7/8.

Otherwise, everything around me feels real, I have control over my body, everything feels vivid, nothing feels abnormal, I don't feel "detached" or anything like that, and I can appreciate the present. I never even experienced deja vu (apparently its a symptom of dp/dr').The only real significant event that made me worry was that time when I was 7 or 8. I have a few other questions below about dp/dr:

1. Is it true that most people experience a short bout of derealization/depersonalization and that it's normal and not considered a disorder?

2. how did your dp/dr start and would you say that my experience is dp/dr?

Thanks!

Hi

Yes its totally normal & every human being experiences disassociation. Like getting lost in a book, absorbed by a movie or highway hypnosis.

Children especially experience these Disassociative states. Google Alpha brain waves then compare them to Beta Brain waves.

Children are primarily in an Alpha state, Beta doesn't start kicking in until age 12. In some causes of servre prolonged childhood abuse, Beta dearly kicks in. Humans remain in a primary Alpha state. This is Disassociative Disorder.

A couple of Disassociative experiences are entirely normal. Frequent/extended dissossicative states are what warrent a DD Diagnosis.

Hope this makes some sense.

Thanks! do my symptoms sound like dp/dr though? I had the same feeling when I took nyquil or some night time cold medicine in daytime and I felt inattentive, half awake, barely focusing, or appreciating my surrounding etc. when I was in taekwondo class. Keep in mind that nothing felt or looked distorted, but I just had this weird feeling in my head that's similar to being dizzy or just being dizzy I guess.

The incident you mentioned at 7/8 yes old sounds like derealisation/depersonalization, yes, HOWEVER it would not be considered depersonalization/derealisation disorder because of:
1. The age that the incident occurred, as DP/DR are common experiences for children, that does not mean they have DP/DR Disorder.
2. The fact that the symptoms are not debilitating & experienced so frequently that they interfere with every aspect of your life & functioning
3. The large gaps of time between these episodes occurring.

The fact that your worried is inline with Anxiety & OCD.

I can't really comment on what happened during taekwondo class as another prerequisite for the disorder is that you are not under the influence of any medication when the symptoms occur. In fact, some medications make the symptoms lesson, not get worse.

In short, yes what you have mentioned is Disassociative, however it down es not sound like a Disassociative disorder.

From the information you gave on this post, no, it does not sound like you have DPDR.

doesnt sound like you have the disorder but maybe a few episodes here and there.

i can remember once when my mom laughed at me when i tried to tell her about my problems,and as she chuckled everything went cold. its hard to describe but the emotional correlate when looking at her face was gone. she almost seemed like just another woman to me. this still persist to this day. i believe that this is a better example of derealization. i walk around everyday with no real zest or zeal. i'm just kind of here.