In fact, I’d say that there are multiple paths to selective amnesia, that show up really differently in hypnosis sessions when subjects are asked to forget something like their name or a number. For some people the forgotten item is there, on the tip of their tongue, but just out of reach. For others, it exists inside their mind, but they can’t say it out loud. (Stage hypnotist will often give instructions telling people explicitly that they can’t name the item to reinforce this.)

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What I find interesting is what happens the day after a subject is told to forget something. Post-hypnotic suggestions fade over time, so the question is – after the instruction to forget fades, does the person remember? This would suggest the memory was suppressed or avoided. Or, is the memory gone for good? This would suggest that the memory was never transferred from short-term memory to long-term storage. I’ve seen both, which tells me different subjects use different strategies.

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There are also people who dissociate completely under hypnosis. These people will generally, without instruction, not remember anything of their sessions, even the first time they are hypnotized. Their hypnotized self will maintain its own memories, though, that are just not available to their conscious mind. It’s like they’ve been partitioned. There is an unproven theory (which I hope is wrong) that this ability comes from experiencing deep trauma, such as childhood abuse or war.

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