By: Kelsey and Kari

PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA

OUR 3 QUESTIONS

• 1) Are there other names for this disorder?

• 2) What’s the difference between Psychogenic Amnesia and Amnesia?

• 3) What type of people are at higher risk?

ARE THERE ANY OTHER NAMES FOR THIS DISORDER?

• Yes.

• Functional Amnesia

• Dissociative Amnesia

• Two types

• Global – sudden loss of personal identity

• Lasting a few hours to days

• Situation Specific – loss of memory occurs as a result of a severely stressful event

• Common in cases of severe or repeated trauma

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PSYCHOGENIC AMNESIA AND AMNESIA?

• With dissociative amnesia the memories still exist but are deeply buried in the individuals mind and can not be recalled

• Normal amnesia is caused by a head injury which damage was done to the brain

• amnesia is physical disorder and not considered a mental disorder

WHAT TYPE OF PEOPLE ARE AT HIGHER RISK?

• Individuals who are at a great risk of getting psychogenic amnesia are people who have experienced a traumatic event.

• Soldiers

• Victims of domestic violence, sexual / physical abuse

• Terrorist attacks

• Natural disasters

• Child abuse starting at a early age is linked to the disorder

• Psychogenic amnesia falls under the category of dissociative disorders.

• What are dissociative disorders?

• Can be defined as: A condition which is often caused by trauma which a person disconnects from full awareness in order to block unpleasant realities or memories

CAUSES- Extensive psychological stress

- traumatic experiences

- internal problems

- major stressors

- guilt

- Drug use

THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS

• Freudian psychology – psychogenic amnesia is an act of self-preservation (alternative to suicide)

• Cognitive theory- repressing unwanted memories from entering the consciousness by altering neurotransmitters, affection formation and recall of memory

• Betrayal trauma theory suggests it is an adaptive response to childhood abuse

• Normal autobiographical memory processing is blocked by imbalance of stress hormones in the brain.

• Stress may directly affect the medial temporal system, inhibiting the retrieval of autobiographical memories and producing a loss of personal identity.

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Can appear in patients of any age past infancy. However, prevalence is unknown.

• Dissociative Amnesia is estimated at 0.2%, but it is much more common in connections with wars, accidents and natural disasters.

• Controversy among therapists regarding the increase in case reports of the disorder and the accuracy of the memories recovered.

• Psychiatrists in the Us and Canada have significantly different opinions of dissociative disorder diagnoses

• Only 30% of Canadian psychiatrists think that dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder should be included in the DSM -IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

SYMPTOMS

• Difficulty recalling information from their past

• Most patients that suffer from psychogenic amnesia have suffered a history of trauma

• Depression

• The feeling of memory loss is often overwhelming

• Sudden inability to remember past experiences or personal information

• Appear confused

THERAPIES AND TREATMENT• Psychotherapy:

• Primary treatment

• Talk therapy, counselling, psychosocial therapy

• Talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health provider

• Your therapist will work to help understand the cause of your condition and to form new ways of coping with stressful circumstances

• Medication:

• No specific medication to treat dissociative disorders

• Anti-depression/ anti-anxiety medication may benefit and relieve stress and anxiety that comes with the disorder

Video

REFERENCES• http://

my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/dissociative_disorders/hic_dissociative_amnesia.aspx

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16791779

• http://www.memorylossonline.com/glossary/psychogenicamnesia.html

• http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Dissociative-amnesia.html