Many of the features of DPD such as alienation, isolation and altered perceptions have for centuries been used as themes for visual arts.
Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream depicts the essence of a private hell and detachment of all things outside of one’s self. I have included this painting, as this can be linked to the features of depersonalization.
Depersonalization In Literature and Philosophy
Salvador Dali- Famous for painting many landscapes which depicted the dream state, which is important in surrealism. His works can be closely realated to depersonalization and the feelings of unreality.
Henri-Frédéric Amiel – The Journal Intime (1882)
Published posthumously in 1882, which add to the curiosity surrounding the journal, it documents Amiel’s intimate thoughts and observations on many subjects including European culture, politics, religion, women and in particular his own identity. Amiel’s descriptions of detachment, have lead many researchers and examiners to believe Amiel was experiencing depersonalization.
Jean Paul Sartre- Nausea (1935)
Existential thoughts are often recurring in sufferers of DPD. French writer and philospher Jean Paul Sartre's novel Nausea highlights existential angst.
Suzanne Segal- Collision with the Infinite (2002)
This is a unique account of the experience of a young woman who suddenly felt the loss of her personal identity while getting on a bus. She is then found to be suffering from DPD.
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