What is dissociative amnesia

Dissociative amnesia, also known as psychogenic amnesia or functional amnesia, is a disorder characterized by a loss of memory caused by an intense episode of psychological stress, and which cannot be attributed to neurological brain damage or other organic causes.

Symptoms of dissociative amnesia

It may be characterized by:

  • Presence of retrograde amnesia: inability to retrieve previously stored memories.
  • Absence of anterograde amnesia: inability to create new long-term memories.

Types of dissociative amnesia

Psychogenic amnesia can be of two types:

  • Global amnesia: also called dissociative fugue, it consists of a sudden loss of personal identity that can last from a few hours to several days. Occurs following severe stress and/or depressed mood, intense internal conflict (e.g., confusion because of tormenting remorse) or intolerable life situation.
  • Situation-specific dissociative amnesia: occurs as a result of an intensely stressful experience, such as occurs in the case of post-traumatic stress disorder, from child sexual abuse, military war situations, witnessing a shocking event (suicide, domestic violence, natural disasters, terrorist acts, murder of a loved one), etc.

Treatment of dissociative amnesia

The main objective of the treatment is to reduce the symptoms and improve the problems derived from the disorder.

Psychotherapy, in general terms, helps the person to express and process painful memories, contributing to the development of new coping strategies, recovering a more normalized functioning and improving personal relationships.

On the other hand, pharmacological treatment is not specific for amnesia, although in psychiatric consultations it is almost always indicated as it is a significant help, since it is common for this disorder to coexist with depressive-anxious states.