For anyone reading, I think this is the best description of derealization in the thread. The window metaphor is good. I even had a quite literal experience of this "window" kind of effect. I took a strong dose of salvia (known to cause derealization, as a dissociative drug) and actually saw my vision as a small "window" at a distance from my actual "self". It was like being aware of the blackness around my vision.
Later I took a much smaller dose of salvia and I didn't hallucinate but still got the strong feeling of derealization. It's so hard to describe but everything seemed "fake" or "plastic". Like hollow and so lonely. Maybe, I guess, what looking at a scene through VR would look like. The sun didn't feel warm, the grass I was touching had no feeling of comfort with it (?). Ah, I thought I could describe it but it's so hard to describe, I give up.
If you take a small dose of salvia you can understand what it feels like. Definitely don't recommend but as far as I know, it's harmless and (for me) impermanent.
Later I took a much smaller dose of salvia and I didn't hallucinate but still got the strong feeling of derealization. It's so hard to describe but everything seemed "fake" or "plastic". Like hollow and so lonely. Maybe, I guess, what looking at a scene through VR would look like. The sun didn't feel warm, the grass I was touching had no feeling of comfort with it (?). Ah, I thought I could describe it but it's so hard to describe, I give up.
If you take a small dose of salvia you can understand what it feels like. Definitely don't recommend but as far as I know, it's harmless and (for me) impermanent.