How did Jeffrey Abugel recover?

9842 Views 51 Replies 10 Participants Last post by 35467, Oct 7, 2020

jotteff

Discussion Starter · Feb 5, 2018

Hey everybody,

does anybody know how Jeffrey Abugel (author of "Stranger to My Self" and co-author of "Feeling Unreal") recovered from DPD?

If I remember correctly, he never revealed how he cured his DPD. In his book and in an interview on YouTube he says that he had DP for 11 years and that it took him 11 years to even get the right diagnosis (which means that he must have been cured shortly after he got the diagnosis).

I think it would be really interesting to know how he got cured.

Thank you!

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eddy1886

· #2 · Feb 5, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

jotteff said:
Hey everybody,

does anybody know how Jeffrey Abugel (author of "Stranger to My Self" and co-author of "Feeling Unreal") recovered from DPD?

If I remember correctly, he never revealed how he cured his DPD. In his book and in an interview on YouTube he says that he had DP for 11 years and that it took him 11 years to even get the right diagnosis (which means that he must have been cured shortly after he got the diagnosis).

I think it would be really interesting to know how he got cured.

Thank you!

Maybe he isnt cured and just manages it like some others (myself included in that category)

Im always wary of people who write books about recovery stuff but dont actually describe how they managed to do it...

Kinda screams of "Wooohooo I can make a quick few dollars from this" .....Its just like all the therapists who keep giving ya the "See ya next week" spiel but dont actually sort your DP problem out....

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jotteff

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 5, 2018

I heard he is active on Facebook. Maybe somebody could send him a message and ask him? (I don't have Facebook.)

Broken

· #4 · Feb 5, 2018

I assumed from the way he spoke about it he never had recovered and still had it. The same as the guy that directed/wrote (?) the movie 'numb' with Matthew Perry. As far as I'm aware he still has it, but is what I would class as one of the 'high functioning types'. There is noway I could even be around people at the moment, let alone direct a Hollywood movie. Not to say he doesn't suffer of course, but there are seemingly huge variants in this disorder between individuals, which makes it all the more confusing for doctors to diagnose

Reactions: 2

TDX

· #5 · Feb 5, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

does anybody know how Jeffrey Abugel (author of "Stranger to My Self" and co-author of "Feeling Unreal") recovered from DPD?

If I remember correctly, he never revealed how he cured his DPD. In his book and in an interview on YouTube he says that he had DP for 11 years and that it took him 11 years to even get the right diagnosis (which means that he must have been cured shortly after he got the diagnosis).

I think it would be really interesting to know how he got cured.

I wasn't able to read his book completely, because there are only extracts of it on Google Books. For this reason I don't know if he actually recovered. But in his book and on his personal websites he says how he managed to put his depersonalization into remission. He used the irreversible MAO-inhibitor Isocarboxazid. Unless he didn't find another way to really permanently get rid of his symptoms, I assume that he still takes Isocarboxazid and will do so for the remainder of his life.

thanksforbeingalive

· #6 · Feb 5, 2018

Broken said:
I assumed from the way he spoke about it he never had recovered and still had it. The same as the guy that directed/wrote (?) the movie 'numb' with Matthew Perry. As far as I'm aware he still has it, but is what I would class as one of the 'high functioning types'. There is noway I could even be around people at the moment, let alone direct a Hollywood movie. Not to say he doesn't suffer of course, but there are seemingly huge variants in this disorder between individuals, which makes it all the more confusing for doctors to diagnose

If you are talking about Harris Goldberg, he is 100 percent recovered, he spoke about full recovery in his interview and made movie numb only after recovery.How someone could make a movie with DP? it is not possible

jotteff

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 5, 2018

thanksforbeingalive said:
If you are talking about Harris Goldberg, he is 100 percent recovered, he spoke about full recovery in his interview and made movie numb only after recovery.How someone could make a movie with DP? it is not possible

Where did he say that he is fully recovered? Do you have a source?

Broken

· #8 · Feb 5, 2018

Oh yeh... I assumed the movie was about him and he didn't recover in the film.

thanksforbeingalive said:
If you are talking about Harris Goldberg, he is 100 percent recovered, he spoke about full recovery in his interview and made movie numb only after recovery.How someone could make a movie with DP? it is not possible

You say that but many people here work and have jobs I would just find impossible.. so it may not seem possible for us, but it seems the symptoms vary massively from person to person

thanksforbeingalive

· #9 · Feb 5, 2018

jotteff said:
Where did he say that he is fully recovered? Do you have a source?

No Problems at all))

http://theocdstories.com/podcast/harris-goldberg-ocd-in-hollywood/

thanksforbeingalive

· #10 · Feb 5, 2018

Broken said:
Oh yeh... I assumed the movie was about him and he didn't recover in the film.

You say that but many people here work and have jobs I would just find impossible.. so it may not seem possible for us, but it seems the symptoms vary massively from person to person

Despite that my DP was fucking really bad, i went to job everyday and nobody saw a difference. I still do not understand how i was able to do job, make calls, wrote papers, i was in the dark, but in the end it does not even matter.....

jotteff

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 5, 2018

Check out this link:

http://pub48.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=4086229120&frmid=72&msgid=749585&cmd=show

There, Jeffrey Abugel writes:

"By some miracle, a friend referred me to Oscar Janiger, (who is mentioned in our Overview). He knew exactly what I had and for the first time I heard the words Depersonalization Syndrome. He prescribed a powerful monoamineoxidase inhibitor called marplan. Within a few days, I improved. Within a few weeks I felt better than I had in years. I remained on this med for many years."

To me, it sounds like the marplan (Isocarboxazid) helped him very much, but did not fully cure him. Otherwise he would have at least once used a word like "cured" or "recovered".

Can somebody please send him a message on Facebook and ask him whether he is completely cured or still struggles with DP? Thanks!

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thanksforbeingalive

· #12 · Feb 6, 2018

i will try

thanksforbeingalive

· #13 · Feb 6, 2018

Well, he said exactly following: "Yes recovered but it can sometimes return when under stress."

Reactions: 1

spectator162

· #14 · Feb 6, 2018

Did somebody tried marplan (Isocarboxazid) ?

Tim Couch 1999

· #15 · Feb 7, 2018

In a YouTube comment he said SSRI's are what sent him on the road to recovery. Disappointing answer, I know.

jotteff

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 7, 2018

thanksforbeingalive said:
Well, he said exactly following: "Yes recovered but it can sometimes return when under stress."

Thank you!

Maybe you could also ask him how he was cured and if he is still on medication.

Tim Couch 1999 said:
In a YouTube comment he said SSRI's are what sent him on the road to recovery. Disappointing answer, I know.

Where did he say that?

thanksforbeingalive

· #17 · Feb 7, 2018

jotteff said:
Thank you!

Maybe you could also ask him how he was cured and if he is still on medication.

Where did he say that?

Just a maintenance dose. But I have gone long periods without

Reactions: 1

Tim Couch 1999

· #18 · Feb 8, 2018

On the YouTube video called "Depersonalization in the news" he responds to a comment asking for help by saying "try to get a doc to prescribe Anafranil or the powerful MAO inhibitors parnate or marplan." I assume that means those helped him recover.

jotteff

Discussion Starter · #19 · Feb 8, 2018

Tim Couch 1999 said:
On the YouTube video called "Depersonalization in the news" he responds to a comment asking for help by saying "try to get a doc to prescribe Anafranil or the powerful MAO inhibitors parnate or marplan." I assume that means those helped him recover.

I know, but these are not SSRIs but other antidepressants.

35467

· #20 · Oct 5, 2020

I have tried Marplan for 12.weeks at a dose of 60.mg. That is a very high dose. The normal dose for major depression is between 20-40.mg. It is very difficult to get a psychiatrist to prescribe a irreversible MAO due to the risk of fatal rise in blood pressure if the dietary restrictions is broken. There are many psychiatrists who do not prescribe them at all for the same reason. My estimate from Denmark is that 90% of private practicing psychiatrists have not prescribed a MAOI. They have their place in the treatment of major depression and should likely be used more for people who do not respond to other antidepressants. But, I don't think that MAOI is a treatment for depersonalization. He is the only one I have heard of who have benefited from it. He could have suffered from major depression with secondary symptoms of depersonalization and not depersonalization disorder in its primary form.

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