This study investigates the use of metaphor in the dissociative disorder depersonalization/derealization – the feeling of unreality or detachment from the senses or surrounding events. While the debilitating experience of depersonalization/derealization is prevalent, it is also under-acknowledged, such that it is often expressed through metaphor, with more typical metaphor described in diagnostic criteria. Using naturally occurring text from two prominent English language depersonalization/derealization support fora, in the current study a systematic survey is made of metaphor to communicate the experience of depersonalization/derealization in context. It is concluded that metaphor described in the formal diagnostic criteria for depersonalization/derealization does not completely represent metaphor use in the contexts investigated. A summary is made of metaphor for the experiences of depersonalization, and derealization, and depersonalization/derealization more generally, across both the contexts investigated, that may support vital understanding and diagnosis of this debilitating, under-recognized experience, across a wider demographic.

中文翻译：

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隐喻在人格解体/现实解体中的使用

本研究调查了隐喻在解离性障碍（人格解体/现实解体）中的使用，即不真实的感觉或与感官或周围事件的分离。虽然人格解体/现实解体的令人衰弱的经历很普遍，但它也未被充分认识，因此它经常通过隐喻来表达，诊断标准中描述了更典型的隐喻。在当前的研究中，使用来自两个著名的英语语言解体/现实解体支持论坛的自然出现的文本，对隐喻进行了系统的调查，以在上下文中传达解体/解体的体验。结论是，人格解体/现实解体的正式诊断标准中描述的隐喻并不完全代表所调查背景中隐喻的使用。