Traumatic memories are often fragmented – a psychologist explains how and why that happens

A psychologist explains that trauma disrupts memory formation because the amygdala's fear response overwhelms the hippocampus's usual storage function, producing fragmented sensations rather than a linear narrative. Survivors may also respond with freeze or 'fawn' reactions rather than fight or flight, including outwardly calm behavior that observers wrongly interpret as evidence nothing happened.

Roughly 70% of people worldwide report experiencing a traumatic event, and most do not develop PTSD, though many still experience distress without meeting diagnostic criteria. False reports of sexual assault, cited as one example where credibility is often unfairly questioned, occur at rates of only 2% to 10%.

Attorneys, journalists, and clinicians unfamiliar with these patterns risk misreading normal trauma responses as signs of deception, particularly when survivors testify in the presence of the person who harmed them. A trauma-informed approach, prioritizing curiosity over judgment, is shown in research to increase empathy toward survivors.

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