This is a report of a second in a series of studies concerned with exploring the nature of the body image experiences that accompany neurotic and schizophrenic disorganization. Stimulus for this work has come from the fact that although there is widespread speculation concerning the varieties of body experiences accompanying psychiatric breakdown we still do not have dependable elementary information concerning their range of occurrence. An excellent example of this point is provided by the phenomenon of depersonalization. The literature abounds with individual case reports of depersonalization sensations (eg, "My body does not feel like it is mine.") in psychiatric patients. But we do not know how representative these case reports are. Does depersonalization characterize 10%, 50%, or 80% of all psychiatric patients? Indeed, does it occur more frequently in patient than in non-patient populations?
An initial attempt to survey body