mind, self, or body) and/or derealization (i.e ., experiences of unreality or detachment from
one’s surroundings). These alte rations of experience are accompanied by intact reality
testing. There is no evidence of any distin ction between individuals with predominantly
depersonalization versus derealization sympto ms. Therefore, individuals with this disor-
der can have depersonalizatio n, derealization, or both.
Dissociative amnesia  is characterized by an inability to recall autobiographical informa-
tion. This amnesia may be localized (i.e., an even t or period of time), selective (i.e., a specific
aspect of an event), or generali zed (i.e., identity and life history). Dissociative amnesia is fun-
damentally an inability to recall autobiographic al information that is inconsistent with nor-
mal forgetting. It may or may not involve purp oseful travel or bewildered wandering (i.e.,
fugue). Although some individual s with amnesia promptly notice  that they have “lost time”
or that they have a gap in their memory, most individuals with dissocia tive disorders are ini-
tially unaware of their amnesias. For them, aw areness of amnesia occu rs only when personal
identity is lost or when circumstances make  these individuals awar e that autobiographical
information is missing (e.g., wh en they discover evidence of events they cannot recall or
when others tell them or ask th em about events they cannot reca ll). Until and unless this hap-
pens, these individuals have “amnesia for their amnesia.” Amnesia is experienced as an es-
sential feature of dissociative amnesia; individuals may experience localized or selective