#generalized localized selective continuous and systematized amnesia are all types of dissociative amnesia only

[thestarseersystem]

Generalized Amnesia specifically is when others lose not only time but also skills and general knowledge. Systems with this type of amnesia often have alters who split and retain little idea of how to do things other alters may be able to do.

Continuous Amnesia, however, is more accurate to what blackout switches are. But those with Generalized Amnesia are more likely to have blackout switches.

These types of amnesia are all types of dissociative amnesia, and only can be experienced by those with dissociative amnesia. These do not apply to singlets without dissociative disorders.

As well as there is dissociative fugue and systematized amnesia, other types of dissociative amnesia not mentioned here.

Here is an article discussing them.

Types of Amnesia

Diagram created by me

General criteria for amnesia:

Memory loss

Confusion

Inability to recognize familiar figures/places

Difficulty recalling names or places

Not remembering where you went

Worser ability to remember things that had happened

Generalized Amnesia Where a person completely forgets everything about themself and have no recollection of what, where, and who they spoke to. This can describe a blackout switch and may still recognize who they are.

Localized Amnesia Where a person is unable to recall a specific/series of event from the whole, which creates an incomplete picture of the situation. For example, remembering childhood but not the abuse.

Selective Amnesia Where a person only lost some and retain the rest, forgetting parts yet not all of them. This can describe greyouts as it grasps some information/sensory yet not enough to tell what exactly happened. One example is playing the phone and unable to recall what occured, only to jump its memory right to being at bed.

Emotional Amnesia Where a person has an intact memory and it's details on what had happened, but do not remember what the event feels like (e.g. was scared, happy, etc.). One description is that you're watching something that didn't happen to you, because you don't feel like being in the scene itself.

Continuous Amnesia Where a person fails to retain full parts of the event/day, for a set period of time (can vary from minutes to days) and create an accumulative, small bits of selective amnesias, continuously, leaving many gaps in a chronological timeline. This usually happens in times or stress, or abuse.

Fragmented Amnesia Where a person has an unrelated, and/or disjointed memories that does not go with the timeline's order, creating confusion and difficult to grasp the cohesive picture of what truly happened. Emotional amnesia may be present in this type. Bonus for systems:

Amnesia barriers Where a person fronting is not able to recall other alter's memories, which is a form of retrograde amnesia and compartmentalization. Because the fronter will only retain any information before switching out with the next one, the rest experiences anterograde amnesia as it cannot form and remember those memories, unless being coconcious or cofronting (even though, this is not always guaranteed).

Take notes that amnesia can still happen outside system things due to comorbidities like anxiety disorders or depression, this does mean systems are bound to experience more amnesia compared to non-systems folks out there.

Do you have any discussions about this? Or would like to describe your own way of seeing these different types of amnesia? Or have more to add? Feel free to tell them here!

- j

[antimisinfo]

Not realy misinfo but something we could really use some clarification on if y'all can help:

what even actually constitutes amnesia in a disassociative context. 'Cause like weve figured out we have some big holes in our memory as well as that thing where we find ourselves forgetting little things like what we were doing or where we put stuff (even if we just put it down in some cases). But like is that amnesia or is that just adhd forgetfulness; or like where even is the line between the two

i'm assuming you mean dissociative amnesia so i'm just going to explain what that is / what counts as dissociative amnesia !! ^^ ((feel free to clarify otherwise))

" Dissociative amnesia is when you can’t remember important information about yourself. These memories are often distressing or upsetting events. It’s most likely to happen with severe or long-term trauma, especially experiencing abuse, neglect or violence of any kind. This condition is treatable, and most people can regain their memories. "

there are two types of dissociative amnesia, Retrograde and Anterograde.

" Retrograde: This is when dissociative amnesia affects finding old memories. It’s like a glitch or error that keeps you from accessing or checking out a specific memory.

Anterograde: This is when dissociative amnesia blocks the formation or storage of new memories. It’s like a gap in the recording or your brain misplacing the book after creating it. This form is less common than retrograde dissociative amnesia. "

the different types of memory loss plausible with dissociative amnesia:

" Localized: Memory loss affects everything within a short, specific time period in your life.

Selective: Memory loss affects one event or all events of a certain type within a specific time period in your life. Experts sometimes call this “patchy” amnesia because it affects certain memories but not others.

Generalized: Memory loss affects everything within a longer period (months or years).

Continuous: This is the anterograde form of dissociative amnesia. “Anterograde” means it affects your ability to form new memories, so this is memory loss that happens as events occur.

Systematized: Memory loss that affects everything under a particular topic or category. It can also apply to a specific person or multiple people (like your family). "

other traits related to dissociative amnesia are:

" Lack of awareness. People with dissociative amnesia may not realize they have gaps in their memory. This can last until memory loss affects part of their sense of identity or if someone brings up or asks something a person knows they should remember but can’t.

Flashbacks. People with dissociative amnesia may develop flashbacks as they regain their memories. A flashback is more than just remembering something unpleasant. People who have them describe them as reliving a traumatic event or experience to the point where they can’t tell it apart from reality.

Confusion or disorientation. People with dissociative amnesia (especially the generalized form) may seem unaware, or like they’re having trouble understanding what’s going on around them. In very severe cases, people may not seem or be aware of their own identity.

Relationship and trust issues. People with dissociative amnesia often have trouble forming friendships or romantic attachments.

Travel or wandering (dissociative fugue). When someone wanders or travels during a period they can’t remember, it’s known as dissociative fugue. This is rare, and the memory loss usually only affects brief periods. "

also heres a few other sources on dissociative amnesia that could help a little:

MSD manuals - dissociative amnesia

NIH - national library of medicine - dissociative amnesia

mayoclinic - dissociative disorders

apologies if this wasn't very helpful, i'm not 100% sure i understood the question but i hope this helps at least a little bit! i believe your issues may count, but since i'm not a professional and i don't know you well i can't really tell you if it is or isn't dissociative amnesia

also for the differences between amnesia and general forgetfulness:

"Amnesia is when a person can no longer recall information stored in their memory. There are many types of amnesia. Their symptoms can overlap, and a person can have multiple types.

A person who is a little forgetful in their day-to-day life does not have amnesia. Amnesia refers to a large-scale loss of long-term memory due to illness, brain injury, or psychological trauma."

also i'm pretty sure general forgetfulness does not apply to trauma or personal information, so theres another big difference

[thestarseersystem]

would you mind elaborating on the types of amnesia a little? and/or have somewhere i can read about it?

(i don’t know the tone tag for this but my question isn’t malicious i promise! im a system.)

Oh u can just use /gen for genuine!

You can just google, but here's a medical article! I'll list the different types of dissociative amnesia.

Continuous Amnesia. This is usually what people mean by "switching amnesia". In this type, a person forgets each new event as it occurs. A certain traumatic event may trigger this continuous forgetting. (This can happen in both possession and non-possession switching).

Localized Amnesia. This type means that someone cannot recall a specific event or series of events, which creates a gap in their memory. This is something that seems to happen in almost every system I meet, usually this is where people forget memories of childhood or a specific type of trauma.

Selective Amnesia. This is quite similar to the one above, but this involves losing only some of one’s memory from a certain period. For instance, this could mean forgetting some parts of a traumatic event, but not all of it. (I think I experienced Selective and Localized Amnesia).

Systematized Amnesia. This is a loss of memories related to a specific category or individual. Like if you forgot a specific person in your past and don't know who they are anymore.

Generalized Amnesia. This rare form of amnesia occurs when an individual completely forgets their own identity and life experiences. They can forget who they are, who they spoke to, where they went, what they did, and how they felt. Some people with generalized amnesia may lose previously well-established skills. This might also occur when dissociative barriers are so thick that some alters can't do things that other alters can, but that doesn't seem that common.

And there's one more, but it doesn't seem like it happens in systems too often. Dissociative Fugue. It typically manifests as sudden, unexpected travel away from a person’s home. A person with dissociative fugue may wander about in a bewildered, confused manner. They may also have memory loss and an inability to recognize people they know. It can last for just a few hours or go on for months. During the fugue, people appear to act relatively normally. However, once it ends, they suddenly find themselves in a strange new situation. For instance, in some cases, a person will start a new job, assume a new identity, and essentially begin a new life. The end of the fugue may leave them feeling shame, depression, or grief.

It seems that only some systems experience Continuous Amnesia (and even fewer experience Generalized Amnesia), while other systems do not. But most systems I've met, regardless of diagnosis, have experienced Localized or Selective Amnesia. (That's why I think DID and OSDD-1 is a spectrum, but yeah).

That's why it's not so simple on whether or not you experience dissociative amnesia, there's 5-6 different types.

[informationsorter]

Types of amnesia?

Dissociative amnesia is caused by trauma or stress, and the amnesia covers “autobiographic memory” - meaning that with dissociative amnesia you forget what you have done in the amnesiac period. Although your subconscious may retain the information and influence your behaviour.

"The amnesia appears to be caused by traumatic or stressful experiences endured or witnessed (eg, physical or s**ual abuse, r***, combat, genocide, natural disasters, death of a loved one, serious financial troubles) or by tremendous internal conflict (eg, turmoil over guilt-ridden impulses or actions, apparently unresolvable interpersonal difficulties, criminal behaviors)."

"In dissociative amnesia, the information lost would normally be part of conscious awareness and would be described as autobiographic memory.

Although the forgotten information may be inaccessible to consciousness, it sometimes continues to influence behavior (eg, a woman who was r***d in an elevator refuses to ride in elevators even though she cannot recall the r***)."

Localized amnesia is often seen in cases of child abuse. It refers to the amnesia which covers the period of abuse/trauma. Meaning this is the reason you may not remember much of your childhood.

"Localized amnesia involves being unable to recall a specific event or events or a specific period of time; these gaps in memory are usually related to trauma or stress. For example, patients may forget the months or years of being abused as a child or the days spent in intense combat. The amnesia may not manifest for hours, days, or longer after the traumatic period. Usually, the forgotten time period, which can range from minutes to decades, is clearly demarcated. Typically, patients experience one or more episodes of memory loss.”

Selective amnesia is when you can remember some things, but can’t remember others, even if they happened at the same time.

“Selective amnesia involves forgetting only some of the events during a certain period of time or only part of a traumatic event. Patients may have both localized and selective amnesia.”

Generalized amnesia is the type you see in soap operas - no memory of who they are, no memory of their past, and potentially loss of skills/information.

“In generalized amnesia, patients forget their identify and life history—eg, who they are, where they went, to whom they spoke, and what they did, said, thought, experienced, and felt. Some patients can no longer access well-learned skills and lose formerly known information about the world. Generalized dissociative amnesia is rare; it is more common among combat veterans, people who have been sexually assaulted, and people experiencing extreme stress or conflict. Onset is usually sudden.” Systematized amnesia is amnesia for only certain categories.

“In systematized amnesia, patients forget information in a specific category, such as all information about a particular person or about their family."

Flashbacks of memory:

"Some patients report flashbacks, as occur in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); flashbacks may alternate with amnesia for the contents of the flashbacks. "

- That is to say, when you have a flashback, and the flashback ends, you may not be able to recall what was in the flashback. * All quotes taken from msdmanuals.com (Warning: this source is NOT censored, & contains triggering words/topics.) *

[dissociart]

Trauma Related Dissociation and Associated Conditions

There are 5 types of dissociation

 1. Amnesia: Dissociative amnesia is characterized by an absence of memory for a period or periods of time in the person’s life. The memory loss may take a variety of different patterns. These include:

Localized- Not being able to recall events that took place during a limited period time

Selective- Being able to recall only some, but not all events that took place in a limited time period.

Generalized- Not being able to recall anything from their whole life (considered the rarest form of amnesia)

Continuous- Not being able to remember anything from the time of a traumatic event until the present 

Systematized- Amnesia for certain categories (such as a person)

2. Identity Alteration: A shift in aspects of someone’s identity that alters your behavior (example: someone with DID switching from one alter to another).

3. Identity confusion: an inner struggle about one’s sense of self/identity, which may involve uncertainty, puzzlement or conflict. (from traumadissociation.com)

4. Depersonalization: This is often described as watching yourself as if you are an outside bystander or as if you are watching a movie of yourself. You may feel as if you are not real.

5. Derealization: The feeling that the world is not real, feeling as though you are looking at the world through a fog.

_______________________________________________________________________

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), also called Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS)

C-PTSD is caused by prolonged and/or repeated traumas. Traumas may include longterm emotional abuse by a parent/guardian, living in a war zone, repeated sexual abuse, neglect, bullying, and many other kinds of trauma. C-PTSD can developed at any age. 

C-PTSD involves dissociation but is not categorized as a dissociative disorder. Repeated and/or prolonged trauma encourages the person to dissociate as a way to survive. C-PTSD is not a diagnosis in the DSM but is used among clinicians since it has many symptoms that PTSD does not, such as:

Emotional Regulation. May include persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, explosive anger, or inhibited anger.

Consciousness. Includes forgetting traumatic events, reliving traumatic events, or having episodes in which one feels detached from one’s mental processes or body (dissociation).

Self-Perception. May include helplessness, shame, guilt, stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings.

Distorted Perceptions of the Perpetrator. Examples include attributing total power to the perpetrator, becoming preoccupied with the relationship to the perpetrator, or preoccupied with revenge.

Relations with Others. Examples include isolation, distrust, or a repeated search for a rescuer.

One’s System of Meanings. May include a loss of sustaining faith or a sense of hopelessness and despair.

             (from the National Center for PTSD)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is caused by a single traumatic incident. Rape, sexual assault, car accidents, natural disasters, robbery, war, and physical assault are common causes of PTSD. PTSD is not a dissociative disorder and usually does not include as many dissociative experiences as others on this list. In the DSM-5 there is a subtype for dissociative PTSD:

Specify if: With dissociative symptoms.

In addition to meeting criteria for diagnosis, an individual experiences high levels of either of the following in reaction to trauma-related stimuli:

Depersonalization: experience of being an outside observer of or detached from oneself (e.g., feeling as if “this is not happening to me” or one were in a dream).

Derealization: experience of unreality, distance, or distortion (e.g., “things are not real”).

(Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th Edition)

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Although BPD is not always caused by trauma, many people with the cluster B personality disorder have experienced trauma. Dissociation experienced in BPD usually includes derealization, depersonalization, and/or dissociative amnesia. 2/3 of those with BPD experience dissociation, and around 82% have experienced abuse and/or neglect (Borderline Personality Disorder, Childhood Trauma and Structural Dissociation of the Personality).

-Other conditions can be accompanied by dissociation, but BPD, PTSD, and cPTSD (and dissociative disorders) are more associated with trauma related dissociation than other disorders-

______________________________________________________________________

Dissociative Disorders:

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

DID is defined by having at least 2 distinct self-states (which means host and 1+ part, though the host is also considered a part, as well as not every system having one host). Amnesia must be present between parts (alters) at least some of the time to be classified as DID (the DSM-5 puts any amnesia, including amnesia solely for traumatic events, as DID, not OSDD-1b). Derealization and depersonalization are often experienced by individuals with DID, as well as dissociative trance. Many people with DID do not see alters as the problem but rather the amnesia and trauma responses that come with it. 

DID is caused by chronic childhood trauma before ages 6-9. Different children have different thresholds for stress and trauma therefore trauma that can cause DID can range from chronic bullying and/or emotional abuse to ritual abuse, however, those with primary caretakers who promoted disorganized attachment seem to be more likely to develop DID than those who experienced other attachment forms.  PTSD/cPTSD is almost always present in a person with DID due to the nature of how it forms.

Many people believe DID is not real or is extremely rare, when in realty 1-3% of the general population have DID. Some people believe that they have never met someone with DID due to representation in TV and movies showing the character as having extremely obvious switches, when in reality only 6% of people with DID experience the disorder in an overt way (having overt DID is just as valid as covert, though, just less common). It is very probable that any given person has met many people with DID, but didn’t know it.

Dissociative amnesia

Dissociative amnesia is present in DID but can also be experienced by itself. Around 7% of the population will experience dissociative amnesia at some point in their life. Trauma is the biggest cause of this dissociative disorder. Dissociative fugue is now part of dissociative amnesia, instead of its own diagnosis, as of the DSM 5.

Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD)

OSDD was previously called DDNOS until the release of the DSM 5. There are 4 types of OSDD. OSDD-1 has 2 subtypes.

OSDD-1a is extremely similar to DID, but the parts are not distinct enough to be counted as those found in a DID system. Amnesia is present.

OSDD-1b is the same as DID minus the amnesia. To be classified as OSDD-1b the person must have at least 2 distinct self-states.

*OSDD-1 is caused by trauma similar (or the same) as trauma that can cause DID.

OSDD-2 is a dissociative disorder that results from “intense coercive persuasion.” The person experiences a change and/or confusion in personality due to the coercion.

OSDD-3 is a dissociative disorder that is experienced as transient and usually  lasts less than a month. Dissociative symptoms may include (but are not limited to) depersonalization and/or derealization, micro-amnesia (short periods of amnesia), and poor motor skills. OSDD-3 is a disorder that comes from stressful events.

OSDD-4, also known as dissociative trance, is characterized by an acute narrowing or complete loss of awareness of immediate surroundings that manifest as profound unresponsiveness or insensitivity to environmental stimuli. Those who experience dissociative trance may seem unresponsive and look dazed. (from traumadissociation.com/)

Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder (DpDr)

DpDr is not strictly a result of trauma, but often is. Common thoughts found in those with DpDr can include (but are not limited to) “I’m not real”, “I am not a person”, “Nothing is real”, and “The world is fake”. Experiences often include seeing the world through a fog, the person watching themselves outside of their body, and feeling as if they themselves are not real and/or the world is not real. 

 Unspecified Dissociative Disorder (UDD)

This diagnosis is given when there is not enough information to diagnose a specific dissociative disorder, often in hospitals. Before the DSM-5, UDD was categorized under DDNOS, as was OSDD. Click here for more information on UDD.