A Survivor’s Guide to Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

By Mandy Gardner

For many of us, these attacks take the place of classic anxiety attacks. Have you ever suddenly had the feeling that you were an alien inside your own body? That you had access to the memories of the person you were inside of, but that person was not “you?” For those of us who deal with depersonalisation from time to time, it can best be explained as if we have woken up inside of a living being, rather than the usual feeling that we are that living being. Often described as feeling like an alien or a robot, it is as if a sudden separation has occurred between the conscious self and the physical self.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mandy Gardner
• Release date: Sep 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463125977

Mandy Gardner

Mandy Gardner is a professional writer, editor, author and host of the History Obscura podcast. She has lived and worked in many countries and currently resides on a beautiful island in the Caribbean with perhaps one too many cats.

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©Miranda Gardner 2019

Disclaimer

The advice contained in these pages is ABSOLUTELY NOT a substitute for professional mental health care. Your wellbeing is important. Go talk to a general practitioner or a psychiatrist, and only use this guide as a way to better understand your own community of mental health patients.

A Survivor’s Guide to Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

10 Ways to Survive an Attack of Depersonalisation or Derealisation

Noted 20th-century French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre described it as the Filth, and he suffered from the illness throughout his life. The disorder has also been called the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, or the Sick Soul. Medically known as depersonalisation or derealisation disorder, this illness can come on in bursts, like an anxiety attack, or it can persist for days, weeks, months or years. According to the Cleveland Clinic, as many as 50 percent of us suffer from Alice in Wonderland Syndrome in tandem with another type of mental health issue, such as depression or anxiety. Only about 2 percent of us experience depersonalisation all on its own.

For many of us, these attacks take the place of classic anxiety attacks.