Depersonalization disorder?

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Today I am finding it hard to focus on what's around me. It's like the world around me isn't real, or I'm not real. I've felt this way many times for many years, but since the Coronavirus pandemic it feels a lot worse. I've read about derealization and depersonalization disorder and it seems pretty accurate to what I'm experiencing. Posting my thoughts online is one of the few things that give me temporary relief.

I probably have a number of anxiety disorders but I've never been diagnosed with any and I'm extremely lucky I was even diagnosed with Asperger's. Since it's highly unlikely I will be diagnosed at all anytime soon by a medical "professional", is it possible to diagnose yourself the way some people diagnose themselves with spectrum disorders?

Depersonalization is 1 of 3 of the dissociatives. Have you read about DID and the 3 types? Hope all is well.

Unfortunately, you can't diagnose yourself. I was diagnosed with did several years back and it takes a professional. Unfortunately you can't even tell the doctor you think you have it or the doctor will perceive you are being manipulative (why it took years for me to be diagnosed). Don't lose hope though. If you think you have it, you very well could and you should do what you can to take care of yourself. Wish the best for you.

I dissociate on a fairly regular basis but not enough to cause lasting distress. I'm not diagnosed with Depersonalization Disorder and I don't think I need that diagnosis because my dissociation isn't really causing a problem most of the time.

Yeah well the question is what the diagnose will bring you exactly?
Me personally I know I had Derealization disorder for 4 years in total. No one has to confirm this to me. I read a book about it, and I knew it. Period. I even worked on it with my therapist and he "believes" me that I have/had it. And to be honest, I have no idea how to get a diagnose meanwhile. It's not even treatable with any medication, I hope you know that... If you're interested, I can send you some youtube links to understand it better.

A few years ago I wished I was being diagnosed with depression, so that someone can confirm it to me and that people understand me. But it kinda never happened

I first felt depersonalisation/derealisation? at the age of 10. My family situation was ghastly and I remember this sudden feeling of being cut off from what was happening. I'd been watching a funny tv program which I always loved and suddenly felt this immense dread inside me and realised that I wasn't enjoying the programme, the joy had left me and I felt cut off from my surroundings and my body. When this happens, I can interact with others and hear myself speak but it feels like I'm watching a movie and that some part of my conscious has detached from the rest of me and is watching everything. Maybe that's what actually happens? I was terrified and tried telling my narcissistic mother, but she just replied that I was talking rubbish and was mad. I haven't had any professional support in adulthood, I've just learned to deal with it and lose the fear that it always brings. When I'm in that mode, nobody around me would be aware of it, other than me being very quiet.

I grew up in Inner City Baltimore. Think "The Wire" bad. And home was no sanctuary; my mom, God Rest Her Soul, was a type A who harped nonstop on any of your (never her) perceived Imperfections. There was just sooo much tension and cruelty and disdain everywhere I turned. So I began to numb out, feel foggy and distant from it all.

Like that Beatles song Strawberry Fields, where "nothing was real...and nothing to get hung about". It was a more pleasant reality, and even today when things get too hairy or unpleasant, I feel the call of the brain fog. On the other hand, I've lost out by not being all there during the most important episodes of my life .

My sense of self has definitely been damaged. I have a hard time understanding my actions and why i do them. I always doubt whether what i precieve is actually happening. My Identity is also weird. I don't recognize myself as my actual appearance. Idk if that's depersonalization because I've read that that's more like being a passenger in your own body. I definitely do dissociate from things.

Sometimes, in a crowd, it feels as if the ground I'm walking on has gone all spongy and all my senses are softened, it's quite pleasant.

For me, it feels like I'm watching a movie. Fortunately it happens rarely.

I think it could happen to anyone depending on the situation. It's just a matter of how often it happens, what the reasons are, etc. I've definitely experienced this myself. I think sometimes it can be denial and subsequent detachment...if you don't like something about yourself, your life, your situation, etc., you may tend to deny reality and so this can happen. It can also be denial due to distrust...if you don't believe something or are skeptical of reality, maybe it just seems bizarre or even too good to be true, you may also do this. Of course it can be trauma and shock as well (a variation of the above). So maybe it's more important to consider why you're experiencing this. You said it got worse during coronavirus. This makes me think of anxiety and isolation. Anxiety can cause us to want to detach and dissociate, out of self-protective and coping measures. We aren't sure what to do and are exhausted by anxiety, so we dissociate. Isolation can cause this because we aren't checking our reality with others around us, so we don't feel very connected to reality itself or feel we know what it is.