Depersonalization Help

Get back to normal with
the 3-step method that
ended my DPDR in 60 days.

Still feeling strange and terrified after all the recovery advice?
Let's break the Stuck Pattern™ keeping your symptoms going.
I'll guide you through a simple 3-step process so you can get your life back.

Book your free 15-minute call
1-on-1 mentorship
Research

I read over 100 scientific papers so you don’t have to.

The advice on Reddit and YouTube didn't help me.
So I built my own 3-step DPDR recovery method
based on latest research.

2024 · Wang et al.
The Treatment of Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder:
A Systematic Review
2022 · Saini et al.
Depersonalization disorder as a systematic downregulation of interoceptive signals
2010 · Masuda et al.
The effects of cognitive defusion and thought distraction on emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts
+128
more
papers

I tried it all — but nothing worked

Because none of it was built to break DPDR.

  • Keto
  • Grounding
  • Sound frequencies
  • Mindfulness
  • Therapy
  • Supplements

After eight months of suffering I finally found the answer.
Not on Reddit. Not on YouTube.
It was buried in research papers.

DPDR isn’t just anxiety. It isn’t just stress.

It’s a self‑sustaining loop.

Most DPDR advice manages the symptoms — it doesn’t break the loop.

Book your free 15-minute call

Once you understand the Stuck Pattern™
recovery becomes simple.

STRESS Life pressure, uncertainty, overwhelm DPDR Feeling unreal, disconnected, numb THREAT RESPONSE 01 CHECK Symptoms 02 ANALYZE What’s wrong? 03 CONTROL Fix or avoid MORE STRESS More pressure, more uncertainty, more overwhelm

DPDR symptoms feel strange, so your nervous
system starts treating them as danger.

This shifts your body into battle-ready mode
and pushes you to check, analyze, and worry.

“Am I back to normal?”
“What does this symptom mean?”
“Will I ever be back to normal?”

These reactions feel necessary but they also

increase stress and uncertainty

the same things that triggered DPDR in the first place.

The way out isn’t trying harder — it’s doing less
of what’s keeping you stuck.

In the mentorship program, I’ll personally guide you through
a simple 3-step process to break the Stuck Pattern™.

Book your free 15-minute call
The method

The Recovery Roadmap.

The 3-step method we’ll follow together to help you get back to normal.

01

Understand

Know what causes symptoms, why DPDR stays stuck and how to recover.

02

Calm the storm

Break free from the check-analyze-fear loop.

03

Reconnect

Feel connected again with work,
school, relationships and hobbies.

Get guidance from someone who overcame DPDR — and spent years studying it.

Just overcoming DPDR didn’t make me an expert.

  • Researched100+ scientific papers
  • Developeda 3-step recovery method
  • Wrotea 148-page book on DPDR Feel Normal Again, the book by Jarmo Liukanen

Now I use that experience to help others get back to normal through 1-on-1 mentorship sessions.

Book your free 15-minute call

Is personalized mentorship right for you?

Good fit
You’ve been stuck in DPDR for months, and common advice hasn’t moved you forward.
You want to change what keeps DPDR stuck, not just reassurance or coping tips.
You want someone with years of DPDR recovery experience to guide you step by step.
Poor fit
You don’t want to follow a 3-step method for changing the patterns keeping DPDR stuck.
You’re looking for an instant cure.
You’re in acute crisis or need diagnosis
or medication advice.
My story

Stop losing more of your
life to DPDR.
Let’s break the Stuck
Pattern™ together.

I lost eight months of my life to DPDR.

I dropped out of university and was terrified I might never feel normal again.

But I wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. I was watching YouTube videos, reading Reddit recovery stories and Googling cures.

It felt like I was working towards recovery.

But weeks turned into months, and I was still feeling strange and terrified.

What finally led to my recovery wasn’t another isolated recovery tip.
It was changing the reactions that were feeding the Stuck Pattern™.

Jarmo Liukanen
DPDR Researcher & Recovery Expert

You don’t need another hundred recovery videos.
Let me guide you through the changes that actually count.

Book your free 15-minute call

Frequently asked
questions.

01 What happens during the free 15-minute call?

We’ll talk about what you’re going through, what you’ve tried so far, and how the 3-step method applies to your situation.

02 How does the free call work?
03 Is the call really free?
04 What happens if I want to continue working with you?
05 Is this therapy or medical treatment?
06 Can this help if my DPDR was triggered by panic, weed, stress, or burnout?
Book your free 15-minute call
Depersonalization Help

A DPDR education and mentorship project
operated by Jarmo Liukanen, Estonia.

© 2026 Depersonalization Help. All rights reserved.
Depersonalization Help

Get back to normal with the 3-step method that ended my DPDR in 60 days.

1-on-1 mentorship

Still feeling strange and terrified after all the recovery advice? Let's break the Stuck Pattern™ keeping your symptoms going. I'll guide you through a simple 3-step process so you can get your life back.

Book your free 15-minute call
Research

I read over 100 scientific papers so you don’t have to.

The advice on Reddit and YouTube didn't help me. So I built my own 3-step DPDR recovery method based on latest research.

2024 · Wang et al.
The Treatment of Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder: A Systematic Review
2022 · Saini et al.
Depersonalization disorder as a systematic downregulation of interoceptive signals
2010 · Masuda et al.
The effects of cognitive defusion and thought distraction on emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts
+128
more
papers

I tried it all — but nothing worked

Because none of it was built to break DPDR.

Keto Grounding Sound frequencies Mindfulness Therapy Supplements

After eight months of suffering
I finally found the answer.
Not on Reddit. Not on YouTube.
It was buried in research papers.

DPDR isn’t just anxiety. It isn’t just stress.

It’s a self‑sustaining loop.

Most DPDR advice manages the symptoms — it doesn’t break the loop.

Book your free 15-minute call

Once you understand the Stuck Pattern™, recovery becomes simple.

DPDR symptoms feel strange, so your nervous system starts treating them as danger.

This shifts your body into battle-ready mode and pushes you to check, analyze, and worry.

These reactions feel necessary but they also create a trap.

“Am I back to normal?”
“What does this symptom mean?”
“Will I ever be back to normal?”
increases stress and uncertainty

the same things that triggered DPDR
in the first place.

That’s the Stuck Pattern™.

STRESS Life pressure, uncertainty, overwhelm DPDR Feeling unreal, disconnected, numb THREAT RESPONSE 01 CHECK Symptoms 02 ANALYZE What’s wrong? 03 CONTROL Fix or avoid MORE STRESS More pressure, more uncertainty, more overwhelm

The way out isn’t trying harder — it’s doing less of what’s keeping you stuck.

In the mentorship program, I’ll personally guide you through a simple 3-step process to break the Stuck Pattern™.

Book your free 15-minute call
The method

The Recovery Roadmap.

The 3-step method we’ll follow together to help you get back to normal.

01
02
03
Understand
Know what causes symptoms, why DPDR stays stuck and how to recover.
Calm the storm
Break free from the check-analyze-fear loop.
Reconnect
Feel connected again with work, school, relationships and hobbies.
Your mentor

Get guidance from someone who overcame DPDR and spent years studying it.

Just overcoming DPDR didn’t make me
an expert.

Researched 100+
scientific papers
Developed a 3-step
recovery method
Wrote a 148‑page
book on DPDR

Now I use that experience to help others get back to normal through 1-on-1 mentorship sessions.

Book your free 15-minute call

Is personalized
mentorship right for you?

Good fit
You’ve been stuck in DPDR for months, and common advice hasn’t moved you forward.
You want to change what keeps DPDR stuck, not just reassurance or coping tips.
You want someone with years of DPDR recovery experience to guide you step by step.
Poor fit
You don’t want to follow a 3-step method for changing the patterns keeping DPDR stuck.
You’re looking for an instant cure.
You’re in acute crisis or need diagnosis or medication advice.
My story

Stop losing more of your life to DPDR. Let’s break the Stuck Pattern™ together.

I lost eight months of my life to DPDR.

I dropped out of university and was terrified I might never feel normal again.

But I wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. I was watching YouTube videos, reading Reddit recovery stories and Googling cures.

It felt like I was working towards recovery.

But weeks turned into months, and I was still feeling strange and terrified.

What finally led to my recovery wasn’t another isolated recovery tip. It was changing the reactions that were feeding the Stuck Pattern™.

Jarmo Liukanen
DPDR Researcher & Recovery Expert

You don’t need another hundred recovery videos. Let me guide you through the changes that actually count.

Book your free 15-minute call

Frequently asked questions.

01 What happens during the free 15-minute call?

We’ll talk about what you’re going through, what you’ve tried so far, and how the 3-step method applies to your situation.

02 How does the free call work?
03 Is the call really free?
04 What happens if I want to continue working with you?
05 Is this therapy or medical treatment?
06 Can this help if my DPDR was triggered by panic, weed, stress, or burnout?
Book your free 15-minute call
Depersonalization Help

A DPDR education and mentorship project operated by Jarmo Liukanen, Estonia.

support@depersonalizationhelp.com
Terms of Sale Privacy Policy
© 2026 Depersonalization Help. All rights reserved.

Research library

Explore the research behind the Recovery Roadmap, organized by subject.

DPDR mechanisms and clinical context (19 papers)
  1. Ciaunica et al. (2022) — I overthink—Therefore I am not: An active inference account of altered sense of self and agency in depersonalisation disorder
  2. Ciaunica et al. (2024) — Explicit and implicit sense of agency in depersonalisation experiences
  3. Deane (2020) — Imprecise internal models and interoceptive inference: The role of uncertainty in depersonalization/derealization
  4. Gatus, Jamieson & Stevenson (2022) — Past and future explanations for depersonalization and derealization disorder: A role for predictive coding
  5. Hunter et al. (2003) — Depersonalisation disorder: A cognitive–behavioural conceptualisation
  6. Medford & Critchley (2010) — Conjoint activity of anterior insular and anterior cingulate cortex: Awareness and response
  7. Medford (2012) — Emotion and the unreal self: Depersonalization disorder and de-affectualization
  8. Michal & Beutel (2009) — Depersonalisation/Derealisation – clinical picture, diagnostics and therapy
  9. Michal et al. (2016) — A case series of 223 patients with depersonalization-derealization syndrome
  10. Saini et al. (2022) — Depersonalization disorder as a systematic downregulation of interoceptive signals
  11. Seth & Suzuki (2014) — Depersonalization disorder: Disconnection of predictions from self-related interoceptive signals
  12. Seth & Tsakiris (2018) — Being a Beast Machine: The Somatic Basis of Selfhood
  13. Seth (2013) — Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self
  14. Seth, Suzuki & Critchley (2012) — An interoceptive predictive coding model of conscious presence
  15. Sierra & Berrios (1998) — Depersonalization: Neurobiological perspectives
  16. Sierra & David (2011) — Depersonalization: A selective impairment of self-awareness
  17. Sierra et al. (2002) — Autonomic response in depersonalization disorder
  18. Sierra, Phillips, Krystal & David (2003) — A neuroanatomical model of depersonalization disorder
  19. Černis et al. (2025) — Depersonalisation-derealisation as a transdiagnostic treatment target: a scoping review of the evidence in anxiety, depression, and psychosis
Fear, acceptance and regulation (38 papers)
  1. Bae et al. (2021) — Increased exhalation to inhalation ratio during breathing enhances high-frequency heart rate variability in healthy adults
  2. Cathey & Zettle (2016) — The Development of Novel Interoceptive Exposure Methods for Inducing Derealization and Depersonalization Symptoms
  3. Chalmers et al. (2014) — Anxiety disorders are associated with reduced heart rate variability: A meta-analysis
  4. Craske et al. (2014) — Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach
  5. Farris et al. (2025) — Getting comfortable with physical discomfort: A scoping review of interoceptive exposure in physical and mental health conditions
  6. Flückiger et al. (2022) — Introducing a Group Therapy Program (PLAN D) for Young Outpatients with Derealization and Depersonalization: A Pilot Study
  7. Fortuna & Golonka (2024) — When you avoid your feelings, you may feel even worse: how depersonalization puts you at risk of depression
  8. Geng et al. (2022) — The effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on HRV in healthy young people
  9. Gloster et al. (2015) — Treating Treatment-Resistant Patients with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia Using Psychotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Switching Trial
  10. Goessl et al. (2017) — The effect of heart rate variability biofeedback training on stress and anxiety: A meta-analysis
  11. Heiss et al. (2021) — Heart rate variability as a biobehavioral marker of diverse psychopathologies: A review and argument for an "ideal range"
  12. Hunter et al. (2005) — Cognitive-behaviour therapy for depersonalisation disorder: an open study
  13. Hunter et al. (2023) — Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Depersonalization Derealization Disorder: a self-controlled cross-over study of waiting list vs. active treatment
  14. Hunter et al. (2025/2026) — Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder (CBT-f-DDD): a feasibility randomized trial
  15. Hölzel et al. (2011) — How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective
  16. Kumpula et al. (2011) — Peritraumatic Dissociation and Experiential Avoidance as Prospective Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms
  17. Laborde et al. (2022) — Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and a meta-analysis
  18. Lehrer et al. (2020) — Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis
  19. Levin, Gornish & Quigley (2022) — Mindfulness and Depersonalization: a Nuanced Relationship
  20. Levitt et al. (2004) — The effects of acceptance versus suppression of emotion on subjective and psychophysiological response to carbon dioxide challenge in patients with panic disorder
  21. Luo et al. (2025) — The effect of slow breathing in regulating anxiety
  22. Ma et al. (2017) — The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults
  23. Machulska & Klucken (2025) — The interplay between perceived stress, psychological flexibility, and interpretation biases in undergraduate mental health
  24. Magnon et al. (2021) — Benefits from one session of deep and slow breathing on vagal tone and anxiety in young and older adults
  25. Marx & Sloan (2005) — Peritraumatic dissociation and experiential avoidance as predictors of posttraumatic stress symptomatology
  26. Masuda et al. (2010) — The effects of cognitive defusion and thought distraction on emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts
  27. McRedmond et al. (2024) — Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Depersonalisation Derealisation Disorder (CBT-f-DDD): Study protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial
  28. Mishra & Das (2022) — Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Depersonalization–Derealization Disorder: A Case Report
  29. Owens et al. (2015) — Abnormal cardiovascular sympathetic and parasympathetic responses to physical and emotional stimuli in depersonalization disorder
  30. Polusny et al. (2015) — Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial
  31. Rutschmann et al. (2024) — Increasing psychological flexibility is associated with positive therapy outcomes following a transdiagnostic ACT treatment
  32. Salkovskis (1991) — The importance of behaviour in the maintenance of anxiety and panic: A cognitive account
  33. Sclocco et al. (2020) — Stimulus frequency modulates brainstem response to respiratory-gated transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation
  34. Thome et al. (2022) — Contrasting Associations Between Heart Rate Variability and Brainstem-Limbic Connectivity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Its Dissociative Subtype: A Pilot Study
  35. To & Schuman-Olivier (2024) — Integrating choice points into mindfulness training for the dissociative subtype of PTSD: A case report
  36. Weiner & McKay (2013) — A preliminary evaluation of repeated exposure for depersonalization and derealization
  37. Wolgast (2014) — What does the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) really measure?
  38. Zaccaro et al. (2018) — How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psychophysiological Correlates of Slow Breathing
Attention, action and engagement (15 papers)
  1. Bramwell & Richardson (2018) — Improvements in Depression and Mental Health After Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are Related to Changes in Defusion and Values-Based Action
  2. Brand et al. (2012) — Treatment of dissociative identity disorder and dissociative disorders: Guidelines for clinicians
  3. Callinan et al. (2015) — A randomised controlled study of the effects of attention training on traumatic stress symptoms
  4. Cuijpers et al. (2007) — Behavioral activation treatments of depression: A meta-analysis
  5. Ekers et al. (2014) — Behavioural activation for depression
  6. Han & Kim (2022) — The Effects of Internet-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Process Measures: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
  7. Hunter et al. (2014) — Attributions, appraisals and attention for symptoms in depersonalisation disorder
  8. Knowles et al. (2016) — Attention training technique as a treatment for high trait anxiety: A randomized trial
  9. Lambert et al. (2018) — Web-Based Intervention Using Behavioral Activation and Physical Activity for Adults With Depression (The eMotion Study): Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
  10. Lambrecht et al. (2019) — The effect of emotional intensity on embodiment in a depersonalization context
  11. Loftus et al. (2024) — Group-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for PTSD in a HMO Psychiatry Clinic: An Open Trial
  12. Merritt Millman et al. (2023) — Online structured dance/movement therapy reduces bodily detachment in depersonalization-derealization disorder
  13. Mor & Winquist (2002) — Self-focused attention and negative affect: A meta-analysis
  14. O’Regan & Noë (2001) — A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness
  15. Sturmey (2009) — Behavioral Activation Is an Evidenced-Based Treatment for Depression
Stress, cognitive load and environmental factors (45 papers)
  1. Adler et al. (2014) — Altered orientation of spatial attention in depersonalization disorder
  2. Borkovec et al. (1983) — Preliminary exploration of worry: some characteristics and processes
  3. Boswell et al. (2013) — Intolerance of uncertainty: A common factor in the treatment of emotional disorders
  4. Browning et al. (2015) — Anxious individuals have difficulty learning the causal statistics of aversive environments
  5. Carleton (2016) — Into the unknown: A review and synthesis of contemporary models involving uncertainty
  6. Ciaunica et al. (2022) — Zoomed out: digital media use and depersonalization experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown
  7. Cowan (2010) — The magical mystery four: How is working memory capacity limited, and why?
  8. Dhabhar (2018) — The short-term stress response
  9. Dugas et al. (2010) — CBT versus applied relaxation in generalized anxiety disorder
  10. Dugas, Gagnon, Ladouceur & Freeston (1998) — Generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary test of a conceptual model
  11. D’Amico, Amestoy & Fiocco (2020) — The association between allostatic load and cognitive function
  12. Firth et al. (2019) — The effects of dietary improvement on symptoms of depression and anxiety
  13. Freeman et al. (2017) — Effects of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia on paranoia and mental health
  14. Gavelin et al. (2022) — Cognitive function in clinical burnout
  15. Geißler et al. (2023) — Time-dependent effects of acute stress on working memory: A systematic review
  16. Grossi et al. (2015) — Stress-related exhaustion disorder--clinical manifestation of burnout? A review of assessment methods, sleep impairments, cognitive disturbances, and neuro-biological and physiological changes in clinical burnout
  17. Grupe & Nitschke (2013) — Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: an integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective
  18. Guitart-Masip et al. (2023) — Anxiety associated with perceived uncontrollable stress enhances expectations of environmental volatility and impairs reward learning
  19. Guralnik et al. (2007) — Cognitive functioning in depersonalization disorder
  20. Hayes, Hirsch & Mathews (2008) — Worry and working memory
  21. Hebert & Dugas (2019) — Behavioral Experiments for Intolerance of Uncertainty: Challenging the Unknown in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  22. Hirsch & Mathews (2012) — A cognitive model of pathological worry
  23. Hirsh, Mar & Peterson (2012) — Psychological entropy: A framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety
  24. Hoyer et al. (2013) — Depersonalization/derealization during acute social stress in social phobia
  25. Kiliç et al. (2015) — The effects of sleep deprivation on dissociation and profiles of mood
  26. Lassale et al. (2018) — Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes
  27. Lemche et al. (2016) — Cognitive load and autonomic response in depersonalization disorder
  28. Loock & Schwabe (2024) — Cognitive Training Prevents Stress-Induced Working Memory Deficits
  29. Mahoney & McEvoy (2012) — A transdiagnostic examination of intolerance of uncertainty across anxiety and depressive disorders
  30. Malouff et al. (2007) — The efficacy of problem solving therapy in reducing mental and physical health problems: A meta-analysis
  31. Mark et al. (2012) — Email cuts and stress / workplace no-email experiment
  32. Masicampo & Baumeister (2011) — Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals
  33. McEwen & Wingfield (2003) — The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine
  34. Morgan et al. (2001) — Symptoms of dissociation in humans experiencing acute, uncontrollable stress
  35. Ophir, Nass & Wagner (2009) — Cognitive control in media multitaskers
  36. Ottaviani et al. (2016) — Physiological concomitants of perseverative cognition: A systematic review and meta-analysis
  37. Qin et al. (2009) — Acute psychological stress reduces working memory-related activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
  38. Ramirez & Beilock (2011) — Writing about testing worries boosts exam performance in the classroom
  39. Scullin & Gunn (2018) — The effects of bedtime writing on difficulty falling asleep: A polysomnographic study comparing to-do lists and completed activity lists
  40. Shields, Sazma & Yonelinas (2016) — The effects of acute stress on core executive functions
  41. Stubbs et al. (2017) — An examination of the anxiolytic effects of exercise: a meta-analysis
  42. Sweeny, Reynolds et al. (2016) — Two definitions of waiting well
  43. Twohig-Bennett & Jones (2018) — The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis
  44. Wiradhany & Körner (2019) — Cognitive control in media multitaskers: A meta-analysis
  45. Zeigarnik (1927) — Über das Behalten von erledigten und unerledigten Handlungen
Fear, threat and metacognition (4 papers)
  1. Carleton (2012) — The intolerance of uncertainty construct in the context of anxiety disorders: theoretical and practical perspectives
  2. Carleton (2016) — Fear of the unknown: One fear to rule them all?
  3. Craske et al. (2011) — Cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder and comorbid depression: A randomized clinical trial
  4. Haselton & Nettle (2006) — The paranoid optimist: An integrative evolutionary model of cognitive biases
Treatment evidence and clinical interventions (11 papers)
  1. Jay et al. (2014) — Testing a neurobiological model of depersonalization disorder using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
  2. Jay et al. (2016) — Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depersonalization disorder: a consecutive case series
  3. Nuller et al. (2001) — Effect of naloxone therapy on depersonalization: a pilot study
  4. Schoenberg et al. (2012) — Psychophysiological investigations in depersonalization disorder: electrodermal biofeedback
  5. Sierra et al. (2003) — A placebo-controlled, cross-over trial of lamotrigine in depersonalization disorder
  6. Sierra et al. (2006) — Lamotrigine as an add-on treatment for depersonalization disorder: a retrospective study of 32 cases
  7. Simeon & Knutelska (2005) — An open trial of naltrexone in the treatment of depersonalization disorder
  8. Simeon et al. (2004) — Fluoxetine therapy in depersonalisation disorder: randomised controlled trial
  9. Somer, Amos-Williams & Stein (2013) — Evidence-based treatment for Depersonalisation-derealisation Disorder
  10. Sutar & Sahu (2019) — Pharmacotherapy for dissociative disorders: A systematic review
  11. Wang et al. (2024) — The Treatment of Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder: A Systematic Review