Does Memory Loss Change Sexual Orientation?

What we see in movies a sudden loss of memory Let’s push aside the characters who started completely different lives afterwards. Yes, the name we love to pronounce Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind including the movie. Here we will talk by looking towards the side where science sheds light on us.

Because science says; memory loss amnesia What we are talking about is not that everything is permanently deleted from the recycle bin after an accident, It is the forgetting of all kinds of skills, experiences, knowledge and facts accumulated in one’s memory.

Don’t just say it’s amnesia, because there’s so much more underlying it.

Now let’s define amnesia in medicine. Amnesia is the forgetting of memories from the last few years or more recently, or even the last few seconds. Memory loss, you know. Other name amnestic syndromeStop.

Stroke and tumor can also be triggers of this disease. Amnesia; in itself Retrograde, Anterograde, Infantile, Transient Global Amnesia, Dissociative Amnesia, Post-Traumatic Amnesia It is divided into many types such as.

For example, as the name suggests, Post-Traumatic Amnesia develops after a head injury. Infantile is the inability to remember early childhood memories. Very few people can remember their 3-5 year old memories anyway. Let’s take off our hat to those few who remember.

Now we come to the real question: Can amnesia cause people to forget their sexual orientation?

Reply: It could be.

sexual orientation And gender identity It is complex and can be unintentionally influenced by social factors.

Let’s think of someone who is asexual, that is, someone who does not feel sexual attraction to anyone. “Come on, daughter/son, how old are you? Find someone and get married already!” Let’s hear similar voices in our heads. This person may be cutting them off because he doesn’t want to deal with the reactions of those around him.

Or Let’s think of a member of a conservative family who is attracted to the same gender. The emotions and thoughts it reflects are different and constantly changing. Therefore, we cannot say that an orientation is definite and does not change in any way, and individuals behave exactly and according to it.

Going back to the amnesia issue; trauma, It can affect a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity in different ways.

There is no rule that traumas must be due to brain damage. When we poked around the forums a bit, We find someone who claims to be homosexual after a heart attack. Science says this may be true. As crazy as it sounds.

There is only one official case we can find on the internet, for now.

Our neuroscientist brother, who clarified this issue on Reddit, In his research, he could only find one article online. There was only one case mentioned in the article.

Based on his experiences, we say that the brain is a very complex miracle. Because as you said neuropsychology There are many kinds of trauma in the field, which may sound strange. Anything can happen at any moment. Even if it sounds ridiculous or funny.

For example, from believing that your friends and loved ones have been replaced by zombie/robot clones to believing that those who lose their sight are not blind and until he believes in what he can still see expense. In fact, if it is not prevented, very bad things can happen to them.

Exceptions do not break rules. The probability of such an event as ‘erasing’ sexual identity is quite low.

We don’t say no. Anything can happen in human life. Amnesia may not completely erase a person’s sexual orientation and identity, but It may cause him not to remember his past relationships. Of course, there will be changes in this regard, as he cannot remember how he expressed himself in the past.

When someone with amnesia gets the chance to re-experience past emotions can go back to the past through experiences. In other words, this person does not remember his sexual orientation and can return to his essence by going through the stages he went through in the past during exploration.

Of course, it would not be right to think of this incident only in terms of people who are attracted to the same sex. As we mentioned in the statement, individuals who are attracted to the opposite sex also experience post-amnesia symptoms. may experience confusion, It is very normal. He/she may remember things incorrectly, or may not remember things at all.

The essence of the job is to always live humanely, no matter what. Traumas are serious, they can affect anything, and sexual orientation and identity do not determine people’s character and It certainly cannot cause the right to life to be taken away.

Source: Medium, Acıbadem, Reddit