Total amnesia is most common in victims of childhood sexual abuse, ranging from 19 to 38 percent.

The disorientation in generalized amnesia is typically visible enough for emergency services to become notified of the occurrence. Generalized amnesia is 'a complete loss of memory of one's life history,' including personal identity, semantic knowledge, and skills. In selective amnesia, the individual can recall some but not all parts of the event, still usually within the same general circumstances and time frame as localized. Localized amnesia involves the inability to recall certain events for a limited period of time after they occur, usually for a few hours after a traumatic or otherwise stressful event but at times lasting for days after. Dissociative amnesia can be experienced as part of another disorder.ġ.8% of the US population has dissociative amnesia. Young adults are the demographic most commonly affected by dissociative amnesia, and war veterans are typically the most severely impacted. The extent of memory loss can vary from day to day, but there is a consistent core to what cannot be recalled. Histories of trauma are common among those with dissociative amnesia. Individuals with dissociative amnesia are frequently mostly or completely unaware of their amnesia before it is pointed out to them and attempt to minimize the severity.

Memories lost in dissociative amnesia are capable of being retrieved. This loss of recollection causes serious distress in social and daily functioning. Please take care when reading if you are sensitive to such content.ĭissociative Amnesia, formerly Psychogenic Amnesia, is a dissociative disorder characterized by an inability to remember personal information, usually including traumatic events but at times also including identity information such as one's name or family. This article contains sensitive or potentially triggering content regarding amnesia, memory loss, false memories, and child sexual abuse.

Selective dissociative amnesia