Phenomenological Descriptions

'AS IF...' Depersonalization and derealization are dissociative experiences frequently associated with intense and prolonged states of anxiety and stress , emerging as an adaptive response of the organism to such conditions. In depersonalization , the person experiences a sense of distancing from themselves, as if disconnected from their own body, emotions, or thoughts. Derealization , in turn, refers to an alteration in the experience of the world, which comes to be perceived as strange, artificial, lifeless, or “unreal,” even though the person knows, at a cognitive level, that nothing has in fact changed. In both cases, these are not delusions nor a loss of contact with reality, but rather a profound modification in the quality of lived experience . My Experience I experienced continuous symptoms of depersonalization and derealization for five years (from 2004 to 2009), as a consequence of a period of extremely intense anxiety. At the time, I was almost obsessively engaged in...

An alternative explanation for the functioning of EMDR therapy based on phenomenological insights EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapeutic approach created by Francine Shapiro, widely used in the treatment of trauma, especially PTSD, but also applied to anxiety, phobias, grief, and disturbing emotional experiences. Basically, the patient is asked to evoke a disturbing memory ( image, thought, emotion, and bodily sensation ) while receiving alternating bilateral stimulation, mainly through guided eye movements (right–left), although alternating taps on the hands or alternating sounds in the ears can also be used. A possible alternative explanation, grounded in phenomenological insights, for the effects observed in EMDR can be formulated based on the somatodynamic organization of emotional experience. Here, I start from the hypothesis, supported by phenomenological observations, that emotions generally seem to have bodily pathways of tension organizatio...

  Attention from the Inside and from the Outside I notice that there are at least two distinct ways of directing attention to the body: One seems to “ come from inside ,” and the other, “ from outside .” As if attention moved along different axes — one as if it traveled through the body from within, and the other as if it traveled through the body from without, yet both reaching the same point. "From inside" : attention is oriented through an activity in the throat region, moving from its interior and proceeding inward toward the part of the body on which it focuses. This subtle inner posture  seems to be more closely related to emotions (see emotion  and attention ). "From outside": the movement in the throat seems first to ascend toward the eyes — which tense slightly — and, in this way, attention projects outward, then turning back toward the part of the body to which it is directed. In this configuration, perception tends to concentrate more on the surface o...

Surprise , in my view, is also an experience that is difficult to capture phenomenologically — as is, for example, the state of flow or joy as plenitude — but for different reasons. Flow and joy as plenitude are difficult to access because they are rare states, and flow , in particular, tends to dissolve the moment we try to observe it. Surprise , in turn, is not necessarily rare, but depends on a stimulus that is difficult to evoke voluntarily, making its occurrence unpredictable and hard to isolate for an investigative self-observation. The startle reflex — which can be seen as a reaction similar to surprise , though not identical — also depends on something unexpected, but it is easier to elicit, as it can be triggered by sudden, simple sensory stimuli, such as a loud sound or a quick movement. Even when we know a sound is about to occur, if we don't know exactly when it will happen, we can still experience the startle . Thus, surprise is different from other emotions that I ...

Investigating the Attention Process What is Attention? Attention is a process that involves the selection of stimuli in the environment, parts of one's own body, or contents of experience, which are then highlighted and emphasized, influencing how we perceive and interact with the world. Attention can be sustained/concentrated or divided/alternated between multiple tasks, and it can also be voluntary (when I decide to direct it toward an object) – a top-down process – or involuntary (when an object attracts it) – a bottom-up process.  Phenomenologically, it intensifies the clarity of certain aspects of experience, making them more accessible to reflection. Research Method To investigate the experience of paying attention , I employed the methodology of microphenomenological self-interview ( see here ), aiming to understand the process involved in directing attention to different parts of my own body, seeking to identify the pre-reflective micro-gestures underlying this process. T...