Hi all. Hope you’re all good. I’m raising this in honour of a dear friend of all of ours. Jeff Jones who struggled with DPDR to raise awareness for mental health and DPDR as a mental health disorder. A little bit about Jeff for those of you who may not have met him, he was one of the kindest people you could’ve ever meet, always had a smile on his face and a reason to be positive and was always at his best when he was around his family and friends. One of Jeff’s biggest passions was running in line with his active and outgoing personality.

Jeff sadly passed away in January 2024 and he struggled with DPDR. Depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPDR) is a mental health condition that causes people to feel disconnected from their bodies, feelings, and surroundings. People with DPDR may experience depersonalization, which is the feeling of being outside of oneself and observing their thoughts, feelings, or actions from a distance. They may also experience derealization, which is the feeling that the world is unreal, with people and things around them seeming "lifeless" or "foggy". DPDR can come and go over a long period of time, from a few moments to many years. It can be scary and make it difficult to function. The disorder affects men and women equally and can begin in early or middle childhood.

Unreal is a charity that reaches out to people with lived experience of Depersonalisation and Derealisation and their carers and families. They seek to raise awareness of Depersonalisation and Derealisation, to provide support and to promote involvement through providing up to date information, signposting, networking, the sharing of experiences and by celebrating success.