What is dissociative amnesia?
1 Answer
A form of amnesia caused by stress or a traumatic event.
Explanation:
Dissociative amnesia is a type of dissociative disorder that is usually caused by stress, a traumatic event, or stress caused by a traumatic event and is usually developed as a way to cope with trauma. Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out memories from a stressful event, resulting in the inability to recall personal information and memories, or develop a sense of self. This disorder happens in 'episodes' and they can last for minutes, hours, days, or even months or years. This disorder can affect a person's social and work activities, as well as relationships.
The symptoms of Dissociative amnesia include:
- The sudden inability to recall personal information or specific times, people, and events
- The lack of a 'sense of identity'
- Depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts
- The inability to feel emotions
The causes of Dissociative amnesia include:
- Child abuse
- Natural disasters
- War
The treatments for Dissociative amnesia include:
- Psychotherapy
- Medications: used for anti-anxiety or anti-depression
- Family therapy
- Art therapy/Music therapy (and other forms of creative therapy)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Clinical hypnosis
- Cognitive therapy
