Does childhood trauma cause forgetfulness?

Yes, childhood trauma can cause memory loss, including fragmented memories, gaps in time, and a general difficulty recalling past events. This often happens due to the brain’s use of dissociation as a defense mechanism to cope with overwhelming stress, which can disconnect a person from their experiences, making it hard to form and retain memories. 

How trauma affects memory

• Dissociation: As a coping mechanism, a child’s mind may dissociate, or “space out,” during a traumatic event to feel detached from the experience. This can lead to a lack of memory formation around that time, creating gaps in a person’s personal history. 
• Impact on verbal memory: Studies have shown that childhood trauma can be associated with long-term deficits in verbal memory, while visual memory may be less affected. 
• Cognitive function: Childhood trauma can also impact overall cognitive functions and may be linked to cognitive impairment later in life. 

Yesterday, I had an early appointment with my new ObGyn. I left early, read some chapters out of “The Power of Neuro-Plasticity” in the parking lot, and went in for my appointment. I was there at 725a and the doors weren’t open. Oops. 😛

All the same, I got in, filled out and signed a single paper (I love doing online pre-check-in), and was called back to a room. Went through the whole list of new patient questions (totally used to that) with the nurse, had some vitals taken, and waited for the NP to come in. When she did, I was able to tell her about my issues with my period making my medications stop working, etc.

Turns out, she had a viable solution. Apparently, this isn’t an uncommon issue. Given that I’m 43, an IUD to stop my periods and hopefully induce menopause and ease the symptoms is the direction to go. With all that, the medications I take for mental health “should” work much better. I’m slated to go back for that simple procedure in about 3 weeks.

I’ll be damned. I was wrong about my doctor sending me to an ObGyn instead of Endocrinology. Provided that this helps, anyway. I mean, there are more hormones in my body than just female ones, but… I really hope that this works out as well as she says it should. It would go a long way in helping my mental health and maybe I won’t have to change medications again.

Due to that, the rest of the day (laaaazyyyyy), and the not-so-great-end to our check-in last night… I completely forgot to blog yesterday. So, I’m making up for that today. Such is life, I guess. Maybe today will be better. I’m certainly not feeling it.