What is dissociative amnesia?

Dissociative amnesia refers to a type of amnesia in which you cannot recall vital information about yourself, including your name, family, friends, or even the history of personal experiences. It can also occur after intense trauma or stress has occurred to a person.

What are the types of dissociative amnesia?

There are two general ways through which dissociative amnesia can function:

• Retrograde: This is the state in which dissociative amnesia affects the retrieval of aged memories. It's a 'glitch' or an error that prevents you from obtaining or verifying a certain memory.
• Anterograde: This is the situation when dissociative amnesia prevents new memories from being formed or their consolidation. In this, experts sometimes refer to the amnesia as "patchy" since it affects some memories but spares others.

What are the symptoms of dissociative amnesia?

The primary symptom of dissociative amnesia is memory loss. Memory loss can present itself in various ways. Some people have only one, while others have more than one. The various forms include:

• Localized: Amnesia affects everything within a short, specific period of your life.
• Selective: Memory loss affects one or all events of a certain type within a specific period. Experts sometimes refer to this as "patchy" amnesia because certain memories may be affected but others are not.
• Generalized: Memory loss affects everything within a long period, measured in months or years.
• Continuous: This is the anterograde type of dissociative amnesia. "Anterograde" refers to your inability to form new memories, so that this type of memory loss occurs when events are taking place.
• Systematized: Memory loss that has an effect on everything under a certain topic or category. It can also refer to a particular person or multiple people (such as your family).

Other dissociative amnesia-related behaviors or characteristics people may develop related to memory loss can include a lack of awareness of gaps in memory, which could exist to the point of affecting parts of a sense of identity. Or maybe it happens due to someone pointing it out or asking him to recall something he would certainly remember but still fails to recall.

• Flashbacks: Patients with dissociative amnesia may have flashbacks as they start remembering. A flashback is more than recalling an unpleasant memory. People who experience them say that it is reliving a traumatic experience or event to the point where they cannot tell whether it is reality or not.
• Confusion or disorientation: Dissociative amnesia (particularly generalized form) often creates an apparent unawareness or a sense that one can't comprehend what's happening. In really severe cases, people appear not to or are not even conscious of themselves.
• Relationship and trust issues: People suffering from dissociative amnesia can't well develop friendships or love for anyone.
• Travelling or wandering (dissociative fugue): If a person wanders or travels during a period they can't remember, this is called dissociative fugue. This is very rare, and memory loss is only for short periods.

Even if people know that some of their memories are missing, they often avoid, minimize, or rationalize why they cannot recall.

What is it that causes dissociative amnesia?

DA is thought to be associated with traumatic or highly stressful events. Such examples can include things such as:

• Being in combat during a war
• Experiencing physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
• Being a victim of a crime or seeing someone commit a crime
• Dealing with a natural disaster such as earthquake or hurricane
• Being under extreme stress is associated with relationships, finances, or your job.

Many thoughts have been given as to why this can result in DA. It is probably an intricate combination of them playing a role in the development of this condition:

• DA occurs when your brain is trying to cope or protect you against painful memories by dissociating itself from a traumatic experience.
• The stress of traumatic occurrences interferes with your brain as it is unable to remember personal memories about that particular time.
• Some research has indicated that genetics may contribute to the formation of dissociative episodes.

What are the risk factors for dissociative amnesia?

Experts believe that several factors increase the risk of developing dissociative amnesia. This is partly because the risk is cumulative or adds up when a person has more risk factors. When the trauma lasts longer, repeats itself, or is worse, this condition usually worsens.

Further studies reveal a possible relationship with genetics. Genes cannot cause a person to develop dissociative amnesia, but they can contribute to lowering the threshold at which it could occur. This means if one has a family history of suffering from this condition, then it would have the capacity to take over by fewer causative factors.

How is dissociative amnesia diagnosed?

A health professional will diagnose dissociative amnesia by asking you questions that have to do with what you cannot or can remember, what is going on, information regarding your life, and details regarding your symptoms. A health professional may also require a questionnaire that has been devised to help in making the diagnosis of dissociative amnesia. These questionnaires serve as a guide or checklist to the health care provider as they work to identify what's affecting you and how severe it is.

If you feel anxious or worried about saying that you do not know or remember something, it is perfectly fine to tell your provider that. A symptom of dissociative amnesia is not remembering something, which can aid in diagnosis when merely confided to someone.

What tests will be done to diagnose this condition?

There is no specific test for diagnosing dissociative amnesia, but other lab, imaging or diagnostic tests may still be performed. These providers will often use these to help rule out other possible conditions that may be contributing to your memory loss. The following are some of the tests likely to be performed:

• Magnetic resonance imaging scans
• Electroencephalogram
• Blood and lab tests in search of evidence that shows there might be other conditions or toxic substances that can cause symptoms.

How is dissociative amnesia treated?

The goals of DA treatment include:

• Reducing symptoms of amnesia so you can again reestablish your environment and surroundings
• Teaching you to cope with traumatic or painful events in a safe manner
• Improving your level of functioning by teaching new life or coping skills

Treatment options for DA include therapy and medications:

• Therapy: This might involve talk therapy (psychotherapy), cognitive behavioral therapy, or hypnosis.
• Medications: There is no recognized medication for the treatment of DA. However, medicines are implemented in the treatment of comorbidity disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

What are the prospects for dissociative amnesia?

DA is usually temporary, but it may last for weeks or even months in a few cases. It is also possible that you may have different episodes of DA throughout your lifetime.

In general, the outlook for DA is positive. Most people recover lost memories without specific treatment, and recovery may be abrupt or progressive over time.

Prognosis varies depending on the nature and degree of amnesia and one's circumstances in life. However, if DA and associated conditions are treated early, the outlook can significantly improve.

How do I take care of myself?

If you have dissociative amnesia, it's something you can't control. Your mind does this on its own in an attempt to protect you. You also can't force yourself to remember. Rather, you should be patient because many people regain lost memories over time.

The mental health provider you wish to feel you can trust to support you in the way a supportive friend would. Trust is very important for the treatment and management of the effects of dissociative amnesia. Not everybody "clicks" with the first provider they visit. You could feel discouraged, if this was the case early

on in the process, but be sure that most people see several professionals before finding one that suits their needs and personality.

When should I seek care?

If you have dissociative amnesia or are concerned that you have it, it is usually a good idea to speak to a mental health provider. They can discuss what's going on with you and can either conduct an evaluation or recommend a provider for one to be done.

After you see a provider, they can recommend a schedule for follow-up visits. You should see them if you are experiencing one of the following:

• Symptoms are changing, especially so in daily activities and life routines. For instance, when you are experiencing nightmares in sleep, flashbacks that could interfere with your work and other activities, etc.
• Mood changes, particularly those that impact your daily schedule or activities, such as increased anxiety, depression, or irritability.
• Treatment effectiveness changes, specifically if you notice that treatments become less effective.

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