a term introduced by the British psychiatrist R. Laing to denote the experience of one’s own existence, in which a person feels deprived of individuality, integrity and continuity. This is an existential loss of support, when the boundaries between “I” and non-“I” are erased, and one’s own existence seems shaky and unreal. Key aspects:
1) Blurring of boundaries: a clear sense of where one’s own personality ends and the external world begins is lost.
2) Loss of reality: the world and other people can be perceived as unreal, alien and dangerous (derealization).
3) Loss of self: one’s own thoughts, feelings, and body seem alien or detached (depersonalization).