unfortunately or fortunately depending upon point of view, because there are so many normal and not so normal reasons a person may not remember things, the only way to know for sure is through your treatment providers. let me give you an example of what I mean...


medications can cause a person to not remember their childhoods. if you google any medications the side effects say affects memory.


if you google every possible mental disorder physical problem out there you will see that every mental and physical problem has memory issues.


if you google dissociative amnesia you will find that the memory issues associated with this is vary narrow. its not a situation of not remembering your whole childhood all the time 24/7. amnesia (forgetfulness beyond the normal due to dissociation) is one that is trigger related.


example I have dissociative amnesia. I experience a trigger, then everything about and involved with that trigger is not remembered .........until.......... things are once again calm. when I am no longer triggered that memory is back to normal again.


dissociative amnesia is now one of the easiest dissociative problems to solve, it usually only lasts for a couple hours with me, but others that I know its lasted as long as 2 days. anti depressant/ anxiety meds make it so that I no longer get so triggered by things in my childhood that I feel numb and not remember it.


my suggestion since your memory problem spans your whole childhood you might want to contact your medical doctor and see if there is a TBI (a physical problem called Traumatic Brain Injury) or your medications that may be preventing you from remembering your childhood.


if you cant contact your treatment providers heres what I go by while waiting to get in touch with my treatment providers....


dissociation is a normal response to a trigger, though it can cause life long problems where I may constantly dissociate when encountering triggers, dissociation itself is only there for how ever long someone is experiencing the trigger. if Im not remembering something from my childhood then I look around to see what in today is causing me to not remember it.


I also keep in mind that its completely normal not to remember ones childhood. most people only remember isolated situations from their childhood they dont remember every single detail, day, and so on of their childhood, the human brain has an amazing system of throwing out the trash as we live. humans only use a portion of their brains storage space. (you can learn more about the brain using google or taking a class on the brain) even the happy go lucky, great childhood people dont remember their whole childhood. its normal to not remember things.


when I cant get in touch with my doctors, using these 2 bits of information, Im able to remain calm and not have problems over the fact that I cant remember things all the time, then I talk with my doctors when I can.


also here in the USA a person doesnt lose their SSI/ disability for switching doctors. america has a health care system that is separate from social security.


since you have SSI/ disability you automatically have health insurance (medicaid or medicare) here all americans must be covered by health insurance and everyone on SSI is signed up with a health insurance company that covers their doctor appointments and therapy and dental. sometimes people get two different insurance companies.


to change treatment providers just call around and ask treatment providers in your area if they accept your insurance plan. example if I wanted to change treatment providers I would call around asking "hello are you accepting new patients? do you accept Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance?"


here in america you dont lose SSI / disability for changing doctors.