By: A Survivor Not a Victim
March 16, 2016
I found an interesting article from TIME, Why Rape and Trauma Survivors Have Fragmented and Incomplete Memories, written by James Hopper and David Lisak on December 9, 2014, that is a good read.
Trauma survivors often struggle with recalling the details of their experiences due to how the brain reacts during terrifying or life-threatening situations. Consider someone unexpectedly caught in a severe car crash. In the split second before impact, their attention becomes hyper-focused on the imminent danger: the screeching tires, the looming collision, or the feeling of being propelled forward. In that intense moment of panic and adrenaline, details like the color of surrounding vehicles or the specific road signs blur into obscurity. It’s crucial to realize that struggling to remember all the details isn’t because someone wasn’t ready—it’s just how our brains work when we’re in a scary situation. Our brains are built to focus on staying safe in emergencies, which can sometimes mean we don’t remember everything clearly afterward. This can result in our memories of the event being patchy or unclear.
When we feel scared, our brain reacts by shifting its focus. The part of our brain that usually helps us think clearly and stay focused called the prefrontal cortex, can sometimes get overwhelmed by stress chemicals. Instead, another part of the brain, called the amygdala, takes charge. This part is responsible for processing fear, so our attention becomes fixated on specific things like the sound of danger or the sensation of fear. As a result, our ability to remember details, such as the order of events, can become jumbled because another part of the brain, the hippocampus, struggles to process memories clearly when we’re stressed.
Studies indicate that following a traumatic event, our brains may intensely focus on specific moments, capturing them with vivid clarity, while other aspects may become foggy or fade from memory. This awareness is essential, particularly within systems like the legal framework, where expecting trauma survivors to recall every detail flawlessly is unrealistic. Instead, it’s crucial to acknowledge that their recollections may be fragmented and muddled, influenced by the overwhelming emotions experienced during the trauma. Understanding this dynamic enables us to provide better support and empathy to survivors, recognizing the hurdles they encounter in accurately recounting their experiences.
A Survivor Not a Victim 