Amnesia and similar disorders are categorized by psychiatrists as dissociative disorders. They include dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, dissociative identity disorder, and depersonalization disorder. Dissociative disorders are usually triggered (precipitated) by overwhelming stress. The stress may be caused by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, accident, or disaster. Or a person may experience inner conflict so intolerable that his mind is forced to separate incompatible or unacceptable information and feelings from conscious thought.

Last full review/revision February 2003