Dissociative amnesia disorder is a condition that causes memory loss. It often results from stress or trauma, and doctors diagnose it when they cannot link the amnesia to other causes, such as brain injury or dementia.
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People with dissociative amnesia may struggle to remember information about themselves. They may not remember their name, where they live, and who they are, among other details.
Stints of amnesia usually come on suddenly, and they can last hours, days, or, in rare cases, weeks.
According to the American Psychiatric Association [APA], dissociative amnesia often occurs due to traumatic or stressful events, such as childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect. Dissociative amnesia can also stem from issues relating to personal identity and past experiences.
Read on to learn about how dissociative amnesia affects people, the different types of amnesia, what treatments are available, and the outlook for people with this condition.
Dissociative amnesia is the most common dissociative disorder. People with this condition have episodes of amnesia, during which they forget important personal information.
These bouts of amnesia are extensive, and they go beyond the realm of normal forgetfulness. The information that people forget is often of a sensitive or traumatic nature.
People with dissociative amnesia disorder can experience different types of amnesia. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-5], people with this disorder can experience different types of amnesia: localized, selective, continuous, systematized, generalized, and dissociative fugue.
Localized amnesia
Localized amnesia means that someone cannot recall a specific event or series of events, which creates a gap in their memory.
These memory gaps often relate to stress or trauma. For example, someone who experienced childhood abuse may forget that entire chunk of time. Those with localized amnesia often have more than one episode of memory loss.
Selective amnesia
Selective amnesia involves losing only some of one’s memory from a certain period. For instance, this could mean forgetting some parts of a traumatic event, but not all of it.
A person can have both selective and localized amnesia.
Continuous amnesia
In this type of amnesia, a person forgets each new event as it occurs. A certain traumatic event may trigger this continuous forgetting.
Systematized amnesia
Systematized amnesia is a loss of memories related to a specific category or individual. For example, someone may forget all of their memories involving a particular person.
Generalized amnesia
This rare form of amnesia occurs when an individual completely forgets their own identity and life experiences. They can forget who they are, who they spoke to, where they went, what they did, and how they felt.
Some people with generalized amnesia may lose previously well-established skills.
This form of amnesia often occurs in sexual assault survivors, combat veterans, and those experiencing extreme stress or conflict.
Dissociative fugue
Dissociative fugue sometimes occurs in people with dissociative amnesia disorder. It is severe and rare, affecting just 0.2% of the general population.
It typically manifests as sudden, unexpected travel away from a person’s home. A person with dissociative fugue may wander about in a bewildered, confused manner. They may also have memory loss and an inability to recognize people they know.
It can last for just a few hours or go on for months.
During the fugue, people appear to act relatively normally. However, once it ends, they suddenly find themselves in a strange new situation. For instance, in some cases, a person will start a new job, assume a new identity, and essentially begin a new life. The end of the fugue may leave them feeling shame, depression, or grief.
The primary symptom of dissociative amnesia is memory loss that is more extensive than normal forgetfulness. People with dissociative amnesia forget crucial personal information. Amnesic episodes can last several minutes or many months.
Those who have recently experienced amnesia may feel confused or depressed.
A traumatic event or stressor usually causes dissociative amnesia. The trauma is typically something that the individual experienced during childhood, such as sexual abuse or emotional neglect.
People may also develop dissociative amnesia following a natural disaster, sexual assault, or military combat.
There is no average age of onset. People can experience multiple episodes of dissociative amnesia throughout their life.
Those who experienced physical or sexual abuse during childhood have an increased risk of dissociative amnesia. The most significant risk factor for dissociative amnesia is exposure to an overwhelming traumatic experience, either once or continually.
According to Johns Hopkins, some researchers believe that the condition is more common among sexual assault survivors and war veterans. Others think it mainly affects vulnerable individuals with other preexisting mental health conditions.
Although research has not revealed what exactly causes dissociative amnesia, it is clear that the disorder has a relationship to trauma.
Doctors diagnose dissociative amnesia based on whether or not an individual meets the criteria set out in the DSM-5. The criteria are:
- A person cannot recall important personal or family information.
- A person’s symptoms cause distress.
- A person’s symptoms prevent them from functioning normally in social settings.
A doctor will also perform a medical and physical examination to rule out other potential causes.
They can use MRI scans to check for structural causes, blood and urine tests to analyze toxic causes, and an electroencephalogram [EEG] to rule out a seizure disorder.
They will also ensure that a person’s symptoms are not due to a medication or psychiatric disorder.
The treatment for dissociative amnesia depends on the severity of a person’s memory loss. If the memory loss spans a short period, supportive therapy is usually the first-line treatment.
Individuals with more severe memory loss require more care, including a safe, supportive environment, which helps them naturally recover lost memories.
If that is unsuccessful, a person can undergo hypnosis. Doctors use hypnosis carefully because retrieving these memories can also lead to memories of a traumatic situation.
Once the individual has recovered from amnesia, doctors may use various types of psychotherapy to reduce the frequency of these episodes and help the person cope. These approaches include:
There are currently no known ways of preventing dissociative amnesia.
However, if the person receives treatment as soon as symptoms present, it can limit future amnesic episodes. Intervening immediately after the traumatic event has happened may also reduce the likelihood of developing these disorders.
The outlook for people with dissociative amnesia is good. If an individual is no longer in a stressful or traumatic situation, treatment can help them recover lost memories.
Memories can return suddenly or gradually, even without treatment. However, some individuals never recover their missing memories.
Whether or not someone’s memories return depends on their stress levels, the conflicts associated with their trauma, and their overall mental adjustment. Timely treatment can significantly improve someone’s outlook.
Dissociative amnesia is a disorder causing amnesic episodes that make a person forget important personal information, including, in severe cases, their identity.
It often stems from extreme stress, childhood abuse, or another traumatic experience.
Doctors use thorough clinical and physical evaluations to diagnose dissociative amnesia and rule out other conditions that may be causing a person’s symptoms.
Treatment involves creating a safe, comfortable space that will allow memories to return. In some cases, doctors will recommend hypnosis and psychotherapy.
Most individuals with dissociative amnesia recover their memories once their amnesia resolves.
Medically Reviewed by Jennifer Casarella, MD on April 21, 2021
Dissociative amnesia is one of a group of conditions called dissociative disorders. Dissociative disorders are mental illnesses that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, consciousness, awareness, identity, and/or perception. When one or more of these functions is disrupted, symptoms can result. These symptoms can interfere with a person's general functioning, including social and work activities, and relationships. Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving them unable to remember important personal information. With this disorder, the degree of memory loss goes beyond normal forgetfulness and includes gaps in memory for long periods of time or of memories involving the traumatic event. Dissociative amnesia is not the same as simple amnesia, which involves a loss of information from memory, usually as the result of disease or injury to the brain. With dissociative amnesia, the memories still exist but are deeply buried within the person's mind and cannot be recalled. However, the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person's surroundings. There is some debate among professionals as to when “buried” memories may not always be true, and some experts warn against about the risks of “recovering” false traumatic memories. Dissociative amnesia has been linked to overwhelming stress, which might be the result of traumatic events -- such as war, abuse, accidents, or disasters -- that the person has experienced or witnessed. There also might be a genetic link to the development of dissociative disorders, including dissociative amnesia, because people with these disorders sometimes have close relatives who have had similar conditions. Dissociative amnesia is more common in women than in men. The frequency of dissociative amnesia tends to increase during stressful or traumatic periods, such as during wartime or after a natural disaster. The primary symptom of dissociative amnesia is the sudden inability to remember past experiences or personal information. Some people with this disorder also might appear confused and suffer from depression and/or anxiety, or psychiatri disorders.
If symptoms of dissociative amnesia are present, the doctor will begin an evaluation by performing a complete medical history and physical exam. Although there are no lab tests to specifically diagnose dissociative disorders, the doctor might use various diagnostic tests, such as as neuroimaging, electroencephalograms [EEGs], or blood tests, to rule out neurological or other illnesses or medication side effects as the cause of the symptoms. Certain conditions, including brain diseases, head injuries, drug and alcohol intoxication, and sleep deprivation, can lead to symptoms similar to those of dissociative disorders, including amnesia. If no physical illness is found, the person might be referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist, health care professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a dissociative disorder. The first goal of treatment for dissociative amnesia is to relieve symptoms and control any problem behavior. Treatment then aims to help the person safely express and process painful memories, develop new coping and life skills, restore functioning, and improve relationships. The best treatment approach depends on the individual and the severity of their symptoms. Treatments may include the following:
The outlook for people with dissociative amnesia depends on several factors, including the person's life situation, the availability of support systems, and the individual's response to treatment. For most people with dissociative amnesia, memory returns with time, making the overall outlook very good. Although it may not be possible to prevent dissociative amnesia, it might be helpful to begin treatment in people as soon as they begin to have symptoms. Immediate intervention after a traumatic event or emotionally distressing experience can help to reduce the likelihood of dissociative disorders.