Can You Do Things Without Remembering?

Dissociative amnesia was formerly called psychogenic amnesia. It occurs when a person blocks out certain information, often associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving the person unable to remember important personal information.

What is it called when you don't remember something?

Amnesia is a dramatic form of memory loss. If you have amnesia you may be unable to recall past information (retrograde amnesia) and/or hold onto new information (anterograde amnesia). Amnesia, in the Greek language, means “forgetfulness.” However, amnesia is far more complicated and severe than everyday forgetfulness.

Is it normal to not remember most of your life?

Occasional lapses in memory are a perfectly normal part of life for all of us. We've all forgotten someone's birthday or misplaced our keys now and then. But when memory lapses are persistent and get in the way of your daily life, they may be an indication that you're experiencing the early stages of a memory disorder.