How to deal with selective memory loss

Jul 25, 2024 Source: Cainiu Health
Disease description:

I have a friend who suffered a brain injury in a traffic accident and developed selective amnesia. I would like to ask, what is the treatment for selective amnesia?

Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Huang Shichang
The treatment of dissociative amnesia requires comprehensive consideration of the patient's specific circumstances. The following are commonly used treatment approaches: 1. **Psychotherapy**: Psychotherapy is a key approach in addressing dissociative amnesia, including cognitive restructuring, exposure therapy, and hypnosis. These therapies help patients reconstruct and confront the forgotten memories. 2. **Stress Management Training**: Learning relaxation techniques and coping strategies, such as progressive muscle relaxation, can help reduce stress in daily life and work, thereby decreasing episodes of dissociative amnesia. 3. **Medication**: In some cases, anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications may help alleviate associated symptoms such as anxiety and depression that accompany dissociative amnesia. 4. **Lifestyle Adjustments**: Ensuring adequate sleep, maintaining a balanced diet, engaging in moderate exercise, and avoiding excessive stress can improve overall health and support memory recovery. Dissociative amnesia involves complex psychological and potentially physiological factors; therefore, treatment should be conducted under the guidance of a physician.