Dissociative Amnesia: What It Is, Symptoms & Treatment

PTSD treatment options often include taking medications and engaging in psychotherapy. Complementary and alternative therapies exist, as well, and include options like yoga and acupuncture. You may find that you spend so much time focused on your fear, anger, or shame, for instance, that it affects your memory.

Traumatic causes of blackouts

Soothing and relaxing activities can bolster your mental health and ensure your safety. In addition to psychotherapy, your healthcare team may also recommend medications to address PTSD symptoms such as anxiety or depression. Research says that taking medications alongside therapy can be even more effective than taking either treatment option alone. If you’re feeling anxious or worried about answering that you don’t know or remember something, it’s okay to tell your provider that. Not remembering something is a symptom of dissociative amnesia and telling them can help them make the diagnosis.

What are the signs and symptoms of PTSD?

While these symptoms are well-documented, the impact of PTSD on memory processes is less widely understood by the general public. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can give ptsd blackouts rise to a multitude of symptoms, one of which is blackouts. These episodes, characterized by a sudden loss of consciousness or memory, can significantly disrupt daily life. The symptoms of PTSD blackouts can vary widely among individuals, but common experiences include feelings of disorientation, confusion, and a sense of lost time.

How to Handle and Prevent PTSD Blackouts

That means the emotional and physical feelings of anger are more intense. Anger helps us cope with life’s stresses by giving us energy to keep going in the face of danger or trouble. Because of its broad effects on the nervous system, PTSD can cause some less well-known symptoms, too, including dissociation, brain fog, and physical pain. For instance, some people might find themselves constantly on edge and feel as they are perpetually two seconds away from screaming at the first person to cross their path. Some will constantly feel on the verge of weeping and may feel everything is suddenly too overwhelming to handle.

Managing and Treating PTSD-Related Memory Loss

Older children and teens usually show symptoms more like those seen in adults. They also may develop disruptive, disrespectful, or destructive behaviors. Older children and teens may feel guilty for not preventing injury or deaths. The latest information and resources on mental disorders shared on X, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. The Division of Intramural Research Programs (IRP) is the internal research division of the NIMH. Over 40 research groups conduct basic neuroscience research and clinical investigations of mental illnesses, brain function, and behavior at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

PTSD Symptoms in Adults

That’s partly because the risk is cumulative, meaning it goes up when a person has more risk factors. When the trauma is longer-lasting, repeated or more severe, that usually makes this condition worse. Complex PTSD, on the other hand, is related to a series of traumatic events over time or one prolonged event. The symptoms of complex PTSD can be similar but more enduring and extreme than those of PTSD. Blackouts may arise from a variety of conditions or events that affect the brain.

• The National Center for PTSD describes the relationship between inflammation and PTSD as bidirectional causal, which means the two cause or contribute to each other.
• If you’re not sure where to get help, a health care provider can refer you to a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist with experience treating PTSD.
• During this response, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol.
• A generally harmless form of blackout is known as vasovagal syncope.

Related Conditions

Your provider may also use a questionnaire designed to help diagnose dissociative amnesia. These questionnaires are like guides or checklists to your provider, helping them as they try to determine what’s affecting you and how severe it is. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder known for four primary characteristics. These characteristics include avoidance, recurring or intrusive thoughts, mood or behavior changes, and physical behavior changes or responses.

What kind of trauma causes memory loss?

They also identify a link between PTSD and autoimmune disorders, which research shows are also inflammation-driven. Details about upcoming events—including meetings, conferences, workshops, lectures, webinars, and chats—sponsored by NIMH. Find out how NIMH engages a range of stakeholder organizations as part of its efforts to ensure the greatest public health impact of the research we support.