Difference between amnesia and losing time

Hi. I was directed by Sara to look at this forum because i just lost about two weeks of time and she thought that would help fill in the gaps a little. Its kind of strange because i called my T knowing i just lost a lot more time than i have in a loooong time. T said i have amnesia but that i was here. I can see someone posted in my name but its supposedly me. She also said i am pregnant. I took a home test and she is right. The post also says things to that effect.

So my confusion is that i used to think i had a lot of amnesia but was told that someone else took over. I heard the term "lost time" and it fit so well that i use that. But now someone else didn't take over they say it was me. I guess that is amnesia? Its confusing.

Does anyone else have this happen? If so, how do they get the memories back? I was looking forward to seeing my son trickortreat for the first time and have pics of it but i want to remember it.

DA

Yes, apparently there is a difference between losing time and dissociative amnesia. Losing time is when due to identity alteration and dissociative barriers in the mind you are not there during a period of time. You were not there so of course you don't remember; the memory of that time is in some other compartment of your memory to which you do not have access. Dissociative amnesia is when you are there during a period of time but later you lose the memory of that time, because somehow it has been masked or blocked.

People with DID typically experience both lost time and dissociative amnesia. Not many authors recognize that these are related but separate phenomena. Paul Dell is one who does recognize this and he has begun writing research articles about it.

Even after almost 3 years of therapy I still cannot "remember" my lost time. With effort however I can remember meaning "reverse" my dissociative amnesias. This used to be very difficult for me. One particular amnesia I worked for months to remember, then when I finally remembered it came suddenly. It was like a warming block of ice or lump of butter suddenly melting.

To achieve this "melting" the technique that has worked best for me is to find the margins of the amnesia. I find the edges of what I do still remember, before and after, or even the details I can remember during the time of the amnesia, and dwell on those elements. I have dissociative amnesia for certain people: I can remember an event in detail including contacts during the event with many persons but not one certain person. It is kind of like running a video tape forward and backward over a bad spot, waiting for the video tape player to get a clear reading from the tape. With a damaged video tape this generally is hopeless but with dissociative amnesia it often works.

So, read all your recent posts here on the DID Forum and journal or blog or post or talk with your therapist and others about what you do remember. Find the edges of your amnesia and work from there. Probe that blank spot in your mind. Good luck getting it back soon.

Another possibility to consider is that your therapist may say you were there during those 2 weeks because she encountered an alter who was impersonating you. This would be a case of lost time, not dissociative amnesia. What does all the evidence suggest?

Given what you have going on right now, InfinitD, I am not at all surprised that you are having this problem. Safe hugs!

Thank you Una,
I can always count on you for such good advice. It is very confusing. Sara says Brian was trying to erase Friday and just went overboard since "its tricky" to do. Idk. Usually Brian GIVES memories to me not takes them She said he will try to give me some back but not right now.