Skip to main content
. 2006 Feb 7;77(6):760–766. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2005.075473

Table 4 Frequency of symptoms included in the Cox and Swinson depersonalisation/derealisation inventory (2002).

Depersonalisation/derealisation symptoms Healthy subjects Vestibular patients
Before calorics During calorics Before calorics During Calorics
1. Surroundings seem strange and unreal** 10% 40%* 35% 45%
2. Time seems to pass very slowly** 30% 70%* 40% 45%
3. Body feels strange/different in some way** 10% 50%* 55% 60%
4. Feel like you've been here before (déjà vu)** 40% 10%* 30% 20%
5. Feel as though in a dream 10% 10% 30% 20%
6. Body feels numb** 0% 20% 15% 10%
7. Feeling of detachment or separation from surroundings 10% 50%* 30% 55%
8. Numbing of emotions 10% 10% 20% 10%
9. People and objects seem far away 10% 30% 20% 15%
10. Feeling detached or separated from body 10% 30% 15% 25%
11. Thoughts seem blurred 30% 20% 40% 45%
12. Events seem to happen in slow motion 20% 20% 15% 20%
13. Your emotions seem disconnected from yourself 10% 10% 15% 20%
14. Feeling of not being in control of self** 20% 40% 35% 40%
15. People appear strange or unreal 10% 10% 15% 15%
16. Dizziness** 20% 90%* 85% 90%
17. Surroundings appear covered with a haze 10% 10% 35% 30%
18. Vision is dulled 10% 20% 45% 35%
19. Feel as if walking on shifting ground 0% 20% 60% 50%
20. Difficulty understanding what others say to you 20% 10% 35% 20%
21. Difficulty focusing attention 30% 40% 45% 35%
22. Feel as though in a trance 10% 20% 25% 30%
23. The distinction between close and distant is blurred 10% 10% 10% 20%
24. Difficulty concentrating** 30% 30% 50% 30%
25. Feel as though your personality is different 20% 10% 10% 10%
26. Feel confused or bewildered 10% 20% 30% 25%
27. Feel isolated from the world** 10% 30% 20% 20%
28. Feel “spacey” or “spaced out” 10% 40%* 30% 50%

Reported by 20 healthy subjects and 20 vestibular patients, before and during caloric stimulation, within each group (*) and between group changes (**) p<0.05.