Jane Charlton

Founder member and Chair

Jane has suffered from episodic Depersonalisation Disorder since early adulthood.  Her initial episode of Depersonalisation Disorder was triggered by a single use of Cannabis and lasted approximately three years. Panic attacks have triggered subsequent and shorter episodes however her Depersonalisation Disorder has become more chronic of late and Jane is currently in an episode which has lasted approximately five years to date. 

Jane is a founding member of Unreal and is a Civil Servant, mainly working on international policy and is keen to use this to continue raising awareness in political fora.

Jane waited over two years for her initial diagnosis due to a lack of awareness of the condition, and she has been campaigning for the last three years striving to ensure that this situation is not replicated for others. To date, she has campaigned for recognition of the condition in a number of different fora.

The Guardian newspaper featured Jane in an article published in  in September 2015 entitled; ‘Depersonalisation Disorder, the condition you’ve never heard of that affects millions’, and Jane has appeared on the BBC Victoria Derbyshire Show. She also co-authored an article on the condition for inclusion in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), alongside Dr Elaine Hunter, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Professor Anthony David, Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, and participated in the subsequent BMJ podcast. Alongside this she has presented at numerous conferences for clinicians, mental health activists, and those in healthcare management, including NHS Improvement. Jane - and co-facilitator Sonja Jansli – have set up a Rethink peer support group for those managing the condition.

“DPRD has taught me that you often don’t get to choose your path in life – sometimes in the most fundamental ways, and to try every day to work with and try to accept a tiny bit. It’s also taught me admiration for the ‘superheros’ that keep silently battling and grappling with DPRD on a daily basis.”

Jane regularly walks and housesits dogs in her local area, and credits this for some tangible improvement to her anxiety symptoms.