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Depersonalization in children and adolescents
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Reasons
Representatives of the younger generation who abuse psychoactive substances are susceptible to developing this syndrome.
Some consider depersonalization/derealization syndrome in adolescence to be the first warning signs of progressive schizophrenia.
In adolescents with epilepsy, depersonalization episodes often occur before or instead of a seizure.
But depersonalization-depressive syndrome is not typical for adolescence.
Symptoms of depersonalization in a child
The child has predominantly sensory forms of self-awareness – self-sensations, including the sense of activity, bodily and objective sensations. Rudiments of depersonalization can already be noticed in children over three years of age. It manifests itself in playful reincarnation, for example, into animals, into other people. Children want to be fed animal feed, say that they have a tail and paws, walk on all fours, ask to be called by other people's names. A healthy child can also play like this, and the difference is that it is almost impossible to distract a sick child from such a game. He completely reincarnates.
More often in children, the somatopsychic form of the syndrome is observed - children do not feel hunger or thirst, they feel that their body parts live their own lives. Usually, such rudiments of symptoms are observed in children with schizophrenia or epilepsy.
The beginnings of allopsychic depersonalization can be noticed from the age of ten. They manifest themselves in attacks of deja vu or jemé vu. Such attacks are also characteristic of epileptics or epileptoid conditions, early schizophrenia.
In the process of development, a cognitive form of self-awareness is born from children's self-perceptions, giving the growing individual the opportunity to separate his inner world from what is happening outside. The child begins to distinguish the act of his own consciousness from external influences, to objectify his "I", to analyze his thoughts and behavior.
"Adult" complaints about manifestations of depersonalization in adolescents are formed by late puberty and are manifested mainly by mental anesthesia, visual and auditory disturbances. Much less frequently, disorders of taste and tactile sensations, phenomena of deja vu and jemé vu are observed.
Teenagers often experience a personal transformation with alienation of emotions. The somatopsychic form of the phenomenon is represented by sensations of loss of unity of one's own body, changes in its proportions, absence of some parts. Depersonalization and derealization disorders are typical for adolescence due to the fact that during this period the personality is formed, physical growth and physiological changes in the body are rapid, emotions are seething. During this period, the tendency to get stuck and introspection increases. Experts believe that such disorders are quite common in adolescence, it is just difficult for teenagers to express their feelings.
Correction of depersonalization in children
An excitable child may develop feelings similar to depersonalization against the background of a psychotraumatic situation. They may also be caused by the child's wild imagination or a movie watched the day before that is not intended for children.
Depersonalization in children can go away on its own, however, if the symptoms persist for some time, it is better to consult a child psychologist or psychiatrist. Especially if this condition is accompanied by panic fear.
The state of alienation of one's own "I" from the body in a child can be dangerous and lead to suicide, since in childhood the concept of physical death is still absent.
In pediatric practice, they try to limit themselves to psychocorrection, without resorting to medications. The daily routine is adjusted, classes are held in a playful form. The child's parents are taught such practices.
Methods of psychological and pedagogical correction of depersonalization symptoms in children can be divided into three groups - the use of games, art therapy, and fairy tale therapy. In a playful form, with the help of drawing or verbalization of fears, the child is taught to switch to positive thoughts and actions, and not to be afraid of their fears, imagining them as pathetic, small and cowardly.
Correction is carried out mainly individually, since there are not many children with depersonalization. At the final stage, there may be group sessions with children who have other problems. The main task of children's psychocorrection is to teach the child to switch to positive emotions, which has a good effect on the child's psyche.
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