repressed memory syndrome
repressed-memory syndrome. A memory disorder characterized by an intermittent and extensive inability to recall important personal information, usu. following or concerning a traumatic or highly stressful occurrence, when the memory lapses cannot be dismissed as normal forgetfulness. • The theoretical basis for this syndrome was proposed by Sigmund Freud in 1895. The American Psychiatric Association has recognized the syndrome officially by the medical term dissociative amnesia. Although the APA has affirmed that some people suffering partial or total dissociative amnesia may later recover some or all of the memory of the traumatic or stressful event, the existence of the syndrome is controversial. Some studies indicate that “repressed” memories, at least in some patients, may be a product of suggestions made by mental-health therapists rather than of any actual experience. — Abbr. RMS. — Also termed recovered-memory syndrome; dissociative amnesia. Cf. FALSE-MEMORY SYNDROME.
