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Dissociative Disorders

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 20, 2025

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder

Published on: March 8, 2018

Astral Projection: A Strange Out-of-Body Experience in Dissociative Disorder.

Varchasvi Mudgal¹, Rashmi Dhakad¹, Rahul Mathur¹

¹Psychiatry, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Indore, IND.

|September 15, 2021

Summary

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are rare in dissociative identity disorder. This case study highlights a 15-year-old diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder and fugue experiencing OBEs, showing improvement with psychotherapy.

Keywords:

astral projection dissociative disorder dissociative fugue dissociative identity disorder out of body experience

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Psychology

Background:

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by perceiving oneself from an external vantage point.
OBEs are associated with neurological and psychiatric conditions, but rarely reported in dissociative identity disorder.

Observation:

A 15-year-old male presented with an OBE, visualizing his body from a third-person perspective.
Further evaluation led to diagnoses of dissociative identity disorder and dissociative fugue.

Findings:

Dissociative disorders may manifest as OBEs due to repressed trauma and altered self-perception.
The patient's OBEs were linked to dissociative identity disorder and dissociative fugue.

Implications:

This case provides a rare differential diagnosis for OBEs within psychiatric illness.
Findings may inform management strategies for OBEs in dissociative disorders.
Highlights the complex interplay between trauma, dissociation, and altered perceptual experiences.