mental health disorders
Dissociative Amnesia
Symptoms of Dissociative Amnesia
The most common symptom of dissociative amnesia is memory loss. Memory loss may involve any of the following: A specific event or events or a specific period of time, such as the months or years of being abused as a child or the days spent in intense combat (localized amnesia) Only certain aspects of an event or only certain events during a period of time (selective amnesia) Personal identity and entire life story, sometimes including well-learned skills and information about the world (generalized amnesia) Information in a specific category, such as all information about a particular person or about their family (systematized amnesia) Each new event as it occurs (continuous amnesia) Generalized amnesia is rare. It is more common among combat veterans, people who have been sexually assaulted, and people experiencing extreme stress or conflict. It usually begins suddenly. Amnesia may not appear immediately after a traumatic or stressful event. It may take hours, days, or longer to appear. Shortly after loss of memory, some people seem confused. Some are very distressed. Others are strangely indifferent. Most people with dissociative amnesia have one or more gaps in their memory. Gaps usually span a few minutes to a few hours or days but may span years, decades, or even an entire life. Most people are unaware or only partly aware that they have gaps in their memory. They become aware only later, when memories reappear or they are confronted with evidence of things that they have done but do not recall. Affected people have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships. Some people have flashbacks, as occur in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (PTSD). That is, they relive events as if they were actually happening, and they are unaware of their subsequent personal history—for example, that they survived the trauma. Flashbacks may alternate with amnesia for what happened during the flashback. Some people with dissociative amnesia develop PTSD later, especially when they become aware of the traumatic or stressful events that triggered their amnesia. People may also have vague symptoms, such as fatigue, weakness, or problems sleeping. Depression and suicidal and other self-destructive behaviors (such as Overview of Substance-Related Disorders and reckless sexual behavior) are common. Risk of Rarely, people with an extreme form of dissociative amnesia suddenly travel from their home for a period of time. During this time, they do not remember some or all of their past life, including who they are (their identity). These episodes are called Dissociative Fugue . 