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Dissociative amnesia is a medical condition, in which inabilities to recall essential personal information, generally of a stressful or traumatic nature, which is extremely extensive to be exaplined by normal forgetfulness occurs. Individuals, who have dissociative amnesia commonly have 1 or more memory gaps spanning over several minutes to several hours, or days. However, memory gaps spans several years or even throughout the entire life. Commonly, boundaries surrounding the memory gap are clear. Most individuals are aware that they have lost some time, but those with dissociative amnesia become aware of loss of time only when they confront or realize with evidence that they have performed tasks that they do not recall. Some patients with dissociative amnesia forget certain but not all things over a period of time, others may not recall their whole past life or forget events as they happen. The cause of dissociative amnesia is not known, but such a disorder is more likely to occur in young adults. Dissociative amnesia is more common in individuals, who have been involved in natural disasters, accidents, or war. The disorder may happen after a traumatic event and memory can return as a result of information the individual received, later event, or treatment. Dissociative amnesia may be caused by tremendous internal conflict, severe life stress, or traumatic experience witnessed or endured. Incidences of dissociative amnesia can be preceded by abusive sexual or physical episodes and emotional overwhelming situations, where there are injuries or threats (for instance, combat, or natural disasters, such as fire or blood). Main life stresses usually consist of the life threatening of a loved one, abandonment, or financial ruin. Dissociative amnesia’s major symptom is memory loss. Just after becoming amnesic, a patient can become confused. Many individuals with dissociative amnesia are at some point depressed. Some individuals with this disorder are extremely distressed by their amnesia; while others are not. Diagnosis of dissociative amnesia depends on psychiatric and physical evaluations. The patient’s urine and blood tests may determine whether a toxic substance including an illicit drug could be resulting in dissociative amnesia. A procedure, called electroencephalogram can be done to confirm whether a seizure disorder is responsible. Certain psychologic tests may help the physician define the patient’s dissociative experience. The treatment may consist of memory retrieval techniques, hypnosis, or drug-facilated interviews.
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