Identity alteration: Difference between revisions

<onlyinclude>'''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>

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.

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]].

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>

* 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]].

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.

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:

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