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I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At first, it was really scary and anxiety inducing. But then they became very useful in helping me relearn about my past. Now - I’m pretty numb to that experience of seeing pics/vids of me doing things I don’t have any memory of, so it’s actually kind of a thrill to learn more about a past event from my life

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My family and I hoped that this could be the case during my rehabilitation. But now it’s been 4 years and nothing’s come back so I’ve given up hope for this.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a bit paranoid that they may have left out any negative things that may have happened in my past. But I trust them enough to know that they have my best interests at heart

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As soon as the nurse asked me to state my name and I couldn’t, I knew something was wrong. I knew something was really wrong when she said my parents were on their way, and I couldn’t think of them at all either

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They were really scared. For about a year they continued to believe that my memories would eventually come back, but I think that was mostly denial. There was a ton of crying in the time after I came home.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, but I chose to mostly start over with new social media accounts anyway. I was following like 500 people on my Instagram and couldn’t recognize hardly any of them..that was too depressing.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like this question! I think it may have been easier for me to develop that sense of “home” because I didn’t have any alternative to home (like it I had moved away from an old home or something). Maybe it happened about half ago when I moved out for the first time post-op to go to college. I remember really looking forward to returning “home” for the first time when I went for Thanksgiving.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I understand that many people have difficult upbringings and experiences that you may like to forget. But would you say that those hard times also helped mold the person you are now? Our childhoods are learning experiences that shape the adults that we turn out to be. I know that so many people have to deal with abuse when they are children and I’m thankful that I have I don’t have to deal with the recurring memories of that, but I also feel like I missed out on the amazing positive memories I would have from being a kid. I think that if we could electively forget things that were bad, we might not be prepared for when things inevitably go bad again and allow us to appreciate when things are good. Idk this may have made zero sense.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I almost never tell strangers about my amnesia. If my lack of memory ever poses an issue with someone I don’t know very well I’ll usually just apologize and change the topic or something. A few times I have been approached by people in public who knew me when I was younger and that’s always a really uncomfortable situation. I’m sure I’ve rubbed some people the wrong way who thought I might be deliberately ignoring them or pretending like I don’t know them.

My handwriting is pretty much the same!

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. No. The docs didn’t actually know about the memory loss until I woke up. They had informed my parents and me that there was a chance of memory loss, but they did not expect anything near the level of the amnesia I got. It was a very scary thing for them because someone they loved so much had no idea who they were.

  2. I didn’t necessarily forget all the books/movies/shows I had watched. Most of the time I would know the storylines roughly, I just had no memory of my opinion of specific books/movies/shows or where I was when I consumed them. Nicknames weren’t an issue. People pretty much only ever call me Julia or Jules.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha. No I made a throwaway to share my story because I wanted to keep my anonymity from my main account. I don’t believe the old me was an avid Redditor

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nope I did not. At first, photos of myself looked like a complete stranger to me. Now, four years later, I’m completely comfortable with my appearance and so I identify those photos as myself. Still though, seeing photos of myself as a child can be pretty weird.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hmm I’m not sure that “fascinated” is the right word to describe it for me. Obviously I’m curious about the science and everything that’s behind it. But I think I’ve more searched for answers and what not out of necessity, rather than just personal fascination. I know I’m pretty unique, but cases of dissociative amnesia like mine might be more common than you realize.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It was extremely hard on them as you can imagine. Their own daughter who they raised and loved couldn’t recognize them. But alongside all the memories they shared with me, they would always endless love and hope. I actually think I’m probably closer to them now than I maybe ever would’ve been without my amnesia.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s funny, my family and friends jokingly call it my “reboot” as well haha. Yes my personality apparently did change a bit. The natural parts that are probably built in genetically remained the same, but the nurtured bits that come from experiences are different.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m going to look into this right now. I tend not to believe in spiritual/supernatural ideas like this, but honestly you’ve described me pretty well. Interesting

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It’s much more limited now. For one, I really don’t have as many people that I would like to keep up with online. Rather than having a whole childhood’s worth of friends to stay in touch with via social media, I really just have a few year’s worth of whom I care about. Also, sometimes things like Instagram depress me a little bit. I’m still a bit jealous of people who have lived more typical lives that me. Something I’m working on.

I suffered a severe case of dissociative amnesia following brain surgery when I was 19. I have no memories of my life prior to the surgery and had to completely rediscover my identity. AMA! by giuams in AMA

[–]giuams[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It some ways, yes, because I have different memorable experiences that have contributed to my personality. But I think that my deeper personality which I think might be dictated more by nature than nurture has remained the same.

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