Hey there.
No one but you can explain how you experience derealization depersonalization, as ironic is that is in itself, because everyone experiences it differently.
I experience dissociation in lots of different ways for different reasons, differentiating them from eachother and working out the cause can be difficult but in the end very helpful in identifying the triggers and how to work through them.
To help your boyfriend understand, perhaps it would be helpful to show him some literature about it, something solid...
Perhaps another frame of reference might help him understand.
I don't know if this will help or not but i found this:
Derealization (
DR) is an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems strange or unreal. Other symptoms include feeling as though one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional colouring and depth.
[1] It is a
dissociative symptom of many conditions, such as psychiatric and neurological disorders, and not a standalone disorder. It is also a transient side effect of acute drug intoxication, sleep deprivation, and stress.
Derealization is a subjective experience of unreality of the outside world, while depersonalization is unreality in one's sense of self. Although most authors currently regard derealization (surroundings) and depersonalization (self) as independent constructs, many do not want to separate derealization from depersonalization. The main reason for this is nosological, because these symptoms often co-occur, but there is another reason of great philosophical importance, namely, that the phenomenological experience of self, others, and world is one continuous whole. Thus, feelings of unreality may blend in and the person may puzzle over deciding whether it is the self or the world that feels unreal to them.
Depersonalization disorder (DPD) is a dissociative disorder in which the sufferer is affected by persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization. The symptoms include a sense of automation, going through the motions of life but not experiencing it, feeling as though one is in a movie, feeling as though one is in a dream, feeling a disconnection from one's body; out-of-body experience, a detachment from one's body, environment and difficulty relating oneself to reality.
Occasional moments of mild depersonalization are normal; strong, severe persistent or recurrent feelings are not.
