Types of Dissociative Amnesia

According to the American Psychiatric Association, dissociative amnesia is the inability to recall information related to a specific traumatic or stressful event that cannot be explained by normal forgetfulness. The lack of recall must not be substance induced or medically related (such as a head injury.) There are five types of dissociative amnesia.

Localized amnesia

The person suffering from localized amnesia cannot recall details of an event (usually traumatic) for a specific amount of time after the event took place. It can last from a few hours to a few days. For example, a survivor of a horrific car accident has no memory of the crash until a few days later.

Generalized amnesia

With generalized amnesia, the person cannot recall anything about himself including his entire life and even identity. This type of dissociative amnesia is very rare.

Selective amnesia

When a person can only recall certain details of an event, she is said to be suffering from selective amnesia. An example would be a woman who escapes from a burning building. She recalls the smoke and running out the front door, but little else about the event.

Continuous amnesia

Continuous amnesia is defined at the inability to recall a traumatic event and any events that have occurred since then. If we use the example above with the woman who escapes from the burning building, she would not only be unable to recall the fire, but anything else that has occurred since then. This is also a very rare type of dissociative amnesia.

Systematized amnesia

The person who suffers from systematized amnesia cannot recall any events related to one specific category, person, or event. For example, let's say a young man suffered terrible abuse at the hands of his father while growing up. As an adult, he may experience no memory of his childhood (category), his father (person), or the abuse itself (event.)

Treatment for dissociative amnesia

Episodes of dissociative amnesia tend to resolve on their own when the person is taken out of the stressful or traumatic situation. If this does not occur, a drug called amobarbital (a sedative hypnotic) can be used to help retrieve lost memory. Psychotherapy is often recommended after the administration of amobarbital so the patient can learn to cope with the memory of these events.

Note: this article is for informational purposes only. Please speak with your doctor if your or someone you know may be suffering from a form of dissociative amnesia.

Sources:

Cleveland Clinic, Dissociative Amnesia, reviewed May 11, 2005

RxList.com, Amytal Sodium (Amobarbital), reviewed August 21, 2009

Townsend, Mary C. (2009), Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (6^th ed), F.A. Davis Company: Philadelphia, pp 600 and 612.

PsychiatryOnline.com (American Psychiatric Association), Dissociative Amnesia (formerly Psychogenic Amnesia), 2000