Can childhood trauma cause memory loss?

Almost everyone has heard about suppressed memories of traumatic events. There has long been controversy regarding “recovered memories” from adults who recount memories of child abuse. That controversy and questions about what memories or real or not have overshadowed a more important aspect of the issue of memory loss associated with child abuse, which is that it can and does happen. Not all memories recovered in therapy or by other means are factual, but it is a fact that violence, sexual abuse, and other traumatic events can lead to dissociative amnesia.

Dissociative amnesia is a process that helps a person cope with a traumatic event by allowing them to forget the details of what has happened temporarily. A person who experiences this type of memory loss suppresses memories of a traumatic event until they are ready to process them, which may not ever occur. People who experience this can make treatment of symptoms they’re experiencing due to trauma difficult. Studies on those experiencing memory loss of specific traumatic memories determined that the inability to recall experiences at the root of present symptoms might impede treatment.

Researchers tend to agree that many memories are lost. Memories before age two or three are thought to be unlikely to be recalled. Adults who remember being abused as children often experience a period of time when they did not remember the abuse. Scientists have studied children who were victims at the time of a documented traumatic experience and then measured how often these victims forget the abuse and discovered that some people forget traumatic experiences in childhood, even though the trauma was documented and known to have occurred.

Scientists have also understood why a person who experienced trauma and lost the memory may later recall that memory. When trauma occurs, the brain makes associations between sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, and other sensations connected with the trauma. Later in time, similar sensations may trigger a memory or a piece of a memory of the event. Many types of experiences can trigger later recall.

If you believe you experienced trauma in childhood that may be impacting you now or are aware that you did experience trauma and have started to recall it, trauma-focused therapies can be helpful in healing. Trauma in childhood can cause problems later in life, including anxiety, depression, hyperarousal, flashbacks of memories, or problems in relationships. Working with a therapist trained to treat trauma can be beneficial in healing and gaining control over the impact of trauma on your life.