Disembarkment syndrome

**Definition:** Disembarkment syndrome, or Mal de debarquement (MdD) occurs when habituation to unfamiliar motion patterns like traveling on a boat, train, or airplane, becomes resistant to re-adaption on return to stable conditions. It results in an illusion of self motion typically described as rocking, bobbing, or swaying. Brief periods of MdD (hours) are common in healthy individuals, this otherwise natural phenomenon can become persistent in some individuals.