Identity alteration: Difference between revisions

'''Identity alteration''' can be defined as the experience of one's sense of self becoming temporarily changed to feel as if constituted by different concepts than that which it previously did. For example, while a person may usually feel that they are exclusively their “ego” or a combination of their “ego” and physical body, during this state their sense of identity can change to include the external environment or an object they are interacting with. Alternatively, a person could feel as if their sense of self embodies nothing at all, which is an experience commonly referred to as [[depersonalisation]].  

The concept of '''identity''' itself can be defined as a fundamental and near universal component of human perception that provides the experience of feeling like a self, a separate system intrinsically differentiated from the external world. This feeling is commonly referred to as one's sense of identity, ego or selfhood. In general conversation, it is referred to using pronouns such as "I", "me", "mine" and "myself" as a tool for contrasting one's self from other people and any other system which is not felt to be them.

However, it is worth noting that rather than being a static, unmoving, or objective concept that it is often assumed to be, one's identity can actually be experienced in many ways. There is no component of the human brain, body, or consciousness which can be singled out as the location of a person's individual selfhood. The self is thus speculated to be a learned and constructed concept that arises through a combination of experience, the structure of language, and social interactions with other people. This notion is in stark contrast to the common Western cultural conception that human beings each contain a tangible identity that is a real and separate system from that which resides around it.

Within traditional religions, the intrinsic nature of human identity differs depending on the specific doctrine. For example, Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam use an inherently dualist approach which claims that the self is a soul which resides within the body and is inherently separate from its external environment.<ref>The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions (Dualism) | https://books.google.com/books?id=IR6DCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA416&lpg=PA416&dq=abrahamic+religions+dualism&source=bl&ots=QbSwQ9NwFL&sig=DbBYFrrpk9MYJG7RDNNmu3h3dtY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik9K3HkvnOAhWJyyYKHZOnBWMQ6AEILTAC#v=onepage&q=abrahamic%20religions%20dualism&f=false</ref> In contrast, eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism take an approach known as monism, or nondualism which generally speaking, assumes that the separate self is illusory and that there is no difference between one's identity or soul and the "external" universe which it resides in.<ref>Hindu and Buddhist Nonduality: Conflict in the New Church Mind? | http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/isi-news-nonduality.html</ref>

In regard to identity alteration, there are a total of 5 distinct levels of identity which a person can experience during this state. These various altered states of identity have been arranged into a levelling system that orders its different states from least to most number of concepts one's identity is currently attributed to. These levels are described and documented below:

The lowest level of identity can be described as the sensation that there is a complete absence of having any sense of self at all. This is referred to in psychiatry as "depersonalization". It can be described as an anomaly of self-awareness that consists of a feeling of watching oneself act as one normally would, while also feeling is if they have no control over the situation. It can occur under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]ic substances, particularly [[dissociative]]s,<ref>Walsh, S. L., Strain, E. C., Abreu, M. E., & Bigelow, G. E. (2001). Enadoline, a selective kappa opioid agonist: comparison with butorphanol and hydromorphone in humans. Psychopharmacology, 157(2), 151-162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130100788</ref> and may persist for some time after sobriety.<ref>American Psychiatric Association (2004). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Text Revision). American Psychiatric Association. ISBN 0-89042-024-6.</ref><ref name="Espiard2005">Espiard, M. L., Lecardeur, L., Abadie, P., Halbecq, I., & Dollfus, S. (2005). Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study. European Psychiatry, 20(5), 458-460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2005.04.008</ref> During this state, the affected person may feel that they are "[[physical autonomy|on autopilot]]" and that the world has become vague, dreamlike, less real, or lacking in significance. Individuals who experience depersonalization often feel divorced from their own personal physicality by no longer sensing their body sensations, feelings, emotions and behaviors as belonging to a person or identity.<ref>http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depersonalization-derealization-disorder/basics/definition/con-20033401</ref> It is also often claimed by people who have depersonalization that reality seems unreal, distant or hazy. Depersonalization can sometimes be distressing to the user, who may become disoriented by the loss of a sense that their self is the origin of their thoughts and actions. However, it does not have to be an inherently negative altered state of awareness, as it does not directly affect one's emotions or thought patterns.

In psychology, chronic depersonalization that persists during sobriety for prolonged periods of time is identified as "depersonalization disorder" and is classified by the DSM-IV as a dissociative disorder. While degrees of depersonalization are common and can happen temporarily to anyone who is subject to an anxiety or stress provoking situation, chronic depersonalization is more common within individuals who have experienced a severe trauma or prolonged stress and anxiety. The symptoms of both chronic derealization and depersonalization are common within the general population, with a lifetime prevalence of up to 26-74% and 31–66% at the time of a traumatic event.<ref>The epidemiology of depersonalisation and derealisation. A systematic review | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15022041</ref> It has also been demonstrated that derealization may be caused by a dysfunction within the brains visual processing center (occipital lobe) or the temporal lobe, which is used for processing the meaning of sensory input, language comprehension, and emotion association.<ref>Separating depersonalisation and derealisation: the relevance of the “lesion method” (bmj.com) | http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/72/4/530</ref>

Depersonalization is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as [[anxiety]] and a very similar psychological disorder known as [[derealization]].<ref name="Espiard2005"/>  It is most commonly induced under the influence of [[dosage#common|moderate]] [[dosage|dosages]] of [[dissociative]] compounds, such as [[ketamine]], [[PCP]] and [[DXM]]. However, it can also occur to a lesser extent during the [[withdrawal]] symptoms of [[stimulant|stimulants]] and [[depressant|depressants]].

The second level of identity can be described as feeling as if one's identity is attributed to their brain and/or body. This is often said to feel as if one is a consciousness, the guiding force located within a body which is immersed in and interacting with a distinctly separate external environment. It is usually accompanied with a sense of free will or agency over all the thoughts and actions one makes, which results in the person feeling as if their decision-making processes are arising from an internal source which is not necessarily determined by cause and effect in the same manner as external systems.

A self-contained separate identity is by far the most common form of identity. Mainstream western cultural notions consider this conception of the self to be the self-evident or logical way to perceive the world and the only form of identity which isn't intrinsically [[delusions|delusional]]. Despite being culturally normative, this belief has received considerable debate and criticism within modern neuroscience and philosophy.<ref>The self is an illusion: a conceptual framework for psychotherapy (sagepub.com) | http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1039856216689531</ref><ref>The self-illusion and psychotherapy (PsychologyToday) | https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-shrink/201703/the-self-illusion-and-psychotherapy</ref>

<ref>The Self is Not an Illusion (PsychologyToday)https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-self-illusion/201205/what-is-the-self-illusion</ref><ref>The Ego Tunnel (pdf) | http://xenopraxis.net/readings/metzinger_egotunnel.pdf</ref><ref>The Illusion of the Self An Interview with Bruce Hood | https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-illusion-of-the-self2</ref><ref>The illusion of the self (philosophynow) | https://philosophynow.org/issues/97/The_Illusion_of_the_Self</ref><ref>https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201704/the-self-is-not-illusion</ref>

Although drastically altered in comparison to that of sobriety, it is worth noting that hallucinatory states such as [[ego replacement]] and [[Internal_hallucinations#Perspective_alterations|2nd person perspective alterations]] typically still fall under the classification of this level. In both cases, a person still feels as if they are a separate agent facing the external world, but have the perception of being a different identity than their sober self.

* Becoming unified with and identifying with a specific object one is interacting with

* Becoming unified with and identifying with another person or multiple people (particularly common if engaging in sexual or romantic activities)

* Becoming unified with and identifying with the entirety of one's own physical body

* Becoming unified with and identifying with large crowds of people (particularly common at raves and music festivals)

* Becoming unified with and identifying with the external environment, but not the people within it

This level of identity alteration most commonly occurs during intense states of focus, [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen|hallucinogens]] such as [[psychedelic|psychedelics]].

The experience itself is often described as a loss of perceived boundaries between a person’s identity and the entirety of their sensory input or the currently perceivable external environment. It creates a sensation in the person that they have “become one with their surroundings.” This is felt to be the result of a person’s sense of self becoming attributed to not just primarily the internal narrative of the ego, but in equal measure to the body itself and everything around it which it is physically perceiving through the senses. This sensation creates the compelling perspective that one is the external environment experiencing itself through a specific point within it, namely the physical sensory perceptions of the body one's consciousness currently resides in.

It is at this point that a key component of the high-level identity alteration experience becomes an extremely noticeable factor. Once a person's sense of self has become attributed to the entirety of their surroundings, this new perspective completely changes how it feels to physically interact with what was previously felt to be an external environment. For example, when one is not in this state and is interacting with a physical object, it typically feels as though one is a central agent acting on the separate world around them.  

This level of identity alteration most commonly occurs during intense states of focus, [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s.

When experienced, the effect creates the sudden perspective that one is not a separate agent approaching an external reality, but is instead the entire universe as a whole experiencing itself, exploring itself, and performing actions upon itself through the specific point in space and time which this particular body and conscious perception happens to currently reside within. People who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion, with the revelation often described as some sort of profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.”  

Although they are not necessarily literal truths about reality, at this point, many commonly reported conclusions of a religious and metaphysical nature often begin to manifest themselves as profound realizations. These are described and listed below:

* The sudden and total acceptance of death as a fundamental complement of life. Death is no longer felt to be the destruction of oneself, but simply the end of this specific point of a greater whole, which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides. Therefore, the death of a small part of the whole is seen as an inevitable, and not worthy of grief or any emotional attachment, but simply a fact of reality.

* The subjective perspective that one's preconceived notions of "god" or deities can be felt as identical to the nature of existence and the totality of its contents, including oneself. This typically entails the intuition that if the universe contains all possible power (omnipotence), all possible knowledge (omniscience), is self-creating, and self-sustaining then on either a semantic or literal level the universe and its contents could also be viewed as god.

* The subjective perspective that one, by nature of being the universe, is personally responsible for the [[feelings of self-design|design]], planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the entirety of the universe. This naturally includes personal responsibility for all humanity's sufferings and flaws, but also includes its acts of love and achievements.

This state most commonly occurs during intense states of well-practiced [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s.

*'''[[wikipedia:Egolessness|Egolessness]]''' is a documented emotional state within psychology where one feels no ego (or self) and no distinct sense of self apart from the world around oneself. This is often described as feelings of oneness and being inextricably woven to the fabric of one’s surroundings or environment.

*'''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_monism Dialectical monism]''' is a philosophical position which argues that the appearance of duality arises from the mind's need to impose divisions and boundaries upon an essentially unified whole. Thus, for the dialectical monist, reality is ultimately one but can usually only be experienced in terms of division.

*'''[http://beingtheuniverse.tumblr.com/ Being The Universe (tumblr)]'''

 

[[Category:Psychology]]