Dissociative Amnesia: Mental Blackouts Caused By Stress Or Traumatic Experiences
Do you think your blackouts could be a sign of a problem? Discover the causes, symptoms and reasons behind dissociative amnesia and how to treat this problem.
Do you have mental gaps? Have they told you facts that you don’t remember? The dissociative amnesia It is a phenomenon in which people do not remember the information or facts that are associated with a traumatic event or experience. In fact, it usually happens as our brain ‘protects’ us due to the damage these memories create. So, how do you know if you have dissociative amnesia?
The dissociative amnesia It is a dissociative disorder. These types of disorders are mainly characterized by the disconnection between things such as memories, identity and the environment. When someone feels these types of symptoms, they may feel disconnected from the world in some situations.
When suffering from dissociative amnesia, a person blocks certain information, events and experiences that are associated with a very stressful or traumatic event for those who suffer from it. In this way, people with this mental gap They usually do not remember anything that happened during those traumatic moments. So much so that the degree of memory loss goes far beyond normal forgetfulness and ends up affecting the memories most associated with these moments.
This emotional block that implies a memory loss This is not the same phenomenon as simple amnesia, which occurs when there is a loss of memory information due to an illness or injury to the brain.
When it comes to this selective amnesia, memories associated with trauma exist, even though they are buried in the person’s mind and they cannot remember them. However, these memory gaps can be eliminated and memories associated with the trauma in question can be recovered.
Types of dissociative amnesia
There are different types of mental gaps Associated with dissociative amnesia:
Located: The person who suffers from this emotional blockage and its symptoms You do not have the ability to remember events in a specific time period.
Generalized: This is a total memory leak, i.e. this emotional breakdown It ends up affecting aspects associated with a person’s identity and their life story.
Drain: In flight, the person with dissociative amnesia forgets a large part of their personal information and may even end up going places they would never go. In the most extreme cases of this selective amnesia, people can end up acquiring a completely new personal identity. This type of amnesia is extremely rare and extreme.
How do I know if I have dissociative amnesia? Symptoms
There are a series of symptoms that can help us detect if we are facing a case of dissociative amnesia Among the most common, psychologists highlight the following.
Memory loss: The main symptom of dissociative amnesia It is the inability to remember traumatic experiences or things from the past, as well as certain personal information. In fact, this memory loss can be complete or related to a particular period of time.
Association with trauma: This dissociative disorder is always linked to traumatic or stressful things. For example, they often experience this mental breakdown those people who have suffered abuse or participated in a war.
Duration: Most cases of dissociative amnesia are brief, usually lasting between hours and days.
It cannot be explained by another condition: In many cases, memory loss can be explained by another medical condition. On the other hand, in the dissociative amnesia memory loss cannot be associated with other conditions.
What are the possible causes of dissociative amnesia?
According to research, this amnesia is functional since it is a ‘protection’ against the experience of overwhelming stress, as well as other traumatic things such as war, abuse or disasters.
Furthermore, studies reveal that there could also be a genetic link with the development of these dissociative disorders since people who experience them usually have close relatives who have suffered the same types of mental lapses Among the most common reasons why this lack of memories is experienced, we find the following.
Being in combat during a war
Suffering physical, emotional or sexual abuse
Being a victim of a crime or seeing a crime being committed
Experiencing a natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane
Suffering from severe stress related to relationships, lack of money, or work.
There are several thoughts on why these events can lead to a dissociative amnesia In fact, it is likely a combination of them that causes this condition to develop.
The dissociative amnesia It is the result of our brain’s attempts to protect itself from painful memories by dissociating from a traumatic experience.
The stress of traumatic events It interferes with our brain’s ability to retrieve memories related to that moment. Which causes a mental blackout due to this emotional collapse.
In addition, genetics can also play a role in the development of these dissociative episodes
What disorders are blackouts related to?
The dissociative amnesia It is more common in women than in men. In addition, this type of selective amnesia can occur along with other mental health disorders such as sleep disorders, anxiety or depression.
It is very difficult for people to recover the memory of mental blackouts. In fact, these are often completely forgotten. Despite this, in many cases it is better this way since it is a negative memory. To treat these memory gaps psychologists apply strategies with the following objectives.
Relieve the symptoms of amnesia, helping you to reconnect with your environment and surroundings.
Learn to deal with traumatic or painful things in a safe way
Increase level of functioning, through learning new life or coping skills
Furthermore, this selective amnesia It can also be treated through a series of medications, which can be useful in managing the symptoms of this type of dissociative disorder.
