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Q&A When should my amnesiac protagonist regain memory?

Amnesiacs usually never regain their memories if memory loss is caused by physical trauma (getting hit in the head by a tree) or drug use (e.g., surgical amnesia). The only way memories are occasio...

posted 9y ago by Kit Z. Fox‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:55:12Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/20351
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Kit Z. Fox‭ · 2019-12-08T04:55:12Z (almost 5 years ago)
Amnesiacs usually never regain their memories if memory loss is caused by physical trauma (getting hit in the head by a tree) or drug use (e.g., surgical amnesia). The only way memories are occasionally regained in real life is when painful memories that have been blocked from consciousness as a means of psychological protection are somehow dealt with, usually through intensive therapy. In these cases, a person is blocking specific memories only. They would not remember being held at gunpoint or seeing a woman get run over by a semi, but they would still remember non-painful things like having gone to the grocery store or having knitted a sweater vest, even though the events happened on the same day.

It is a trope to have a story where an amnesiac recovers their memory as a means of revealing plot. I encourage you not to use it. Consider instead turning the "amnesiac" is a liar. That might make your plot more interesting.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-01-07T17:31:17Z (almost 9 years ago)
Original score: 4