Depersonalization Disorder

Depersonalization Disorder is where a person "looks at themselves from the outside", and observes their own physical actions or mental processes as if they were an observer instead of themselves. This often brings a sense of unreality, and an alteration in the perception of the environment around them, as well as the person fearing they are not in full control of themselves. Depersonalization can occur during a number of different times, and not be a disorder. In order to qualify as a disorder, it must be recurrent to the point that it interferes with daily functioning in at least one major area of life.

Dementia an overveiw

Dementia is categorized as being caused by four subtypes: Alzheimer's disease (the most common subtype, accounting for 50% of dementias); Vascular reasons (such as a stroke or hypertension, accounting for 9-15% of dementias); Substance abuse persisting dementias (accounting for 7-9% of dementias, with alcohol the major cause of most of these; and General medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington disease, and other neurological illnesses (accounting for 20-30%). Psuedodementia can also be caused by other mental illnesses such as Major Depressive Disorder and Psychosis. Regardless of the cause, the dementias all have common factors. Initially in dementia, there is memory loss for recent events such as stoves being left on, keys being misplaced, conversations forgotten. Later, people begin to get lost while driving roads that they once knew very well, and questions must be repeated because the questions and answers are quickly forgotten. The long-ago memories are retained and dwelled upon. Personality changes occur, and the person may manifest changes that are the complete opposite from their previous personality. Poor judgment and impulse control often go hand-in-hand. They may speak crudely, make lewd gestures and display their genitals.