Question

Richa is a young girl working as an officer in an organization. One day she just disappeared from the city and after two years she was found on the banks of a river. Nobody there knew who she was and where she had come from. But, one day she suddenly 'woke up' and wanted to know how she had reached the banks of the river. Explain this disorder and list the other disorders in the same category.

Answer 1

Richa is suffering from dissociative amnesia which is characterized by extensive but selective memory loss that has an unknown organic cause (e.g., head injury). Some people cannot remember anything about their past. Others can no longer recall specific events, people, places, or objects, while their memory for other events remains intact.

A part of dissociative amnesia i dissociative fugue. The essential features of this could be an unexpected travel away from home and the workplace, the assumption of a new identity, and the inability to recall the previous identity. The fugue usually ends when the person suddenly 'wakes up' with no memory of the events that occurred during the fugue.

Dissociative Identity Disorder, also referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder, is among the most severe dissociative diseases. When someone has it, unpleasant childhood memories are frequently brought to mind. They may or may not be aware of each other's alternate personas when they are suffering from this illness. Depersonalization/Derealization disorder is an additional one. The patient experiences a dream-like state where they feel cut off from themselves and from reality. A change in one's own perspective as well as a temporary loss or alteration of one's perception of reality are both components of depersonalization.