Understanding PTSD Blackouts and Memory Loss

If you’ve had trauma and feel its impact on your daily life, help is available. Through a combination of professional treatment, medication when appropriate, and the development of effective coping strategies, many individuals have found ways to manage their PTSD symptoms and reduce the frequency and intensity of blackouts. Support from loved ones, understanding from the broader community, and ongoing research into trauma and its effects on the brain all contribute to improved outcomes for those affected by PTSD blackouts. Intense arousal ptsd blackouts seems to interfere with proper information processing and the storage of information into narrative (explicit) memory.” Similar to flashbacks, dissociation may range from temporarily losing touch with things that are going on around you, kind of like what happens when you daydream, to having no memories for a prolonged period of time and/or feeling as though you are outside of your body.

Use memory aids

Support systems and resources are crucial for individuals dealing with PTSD blackouts. Support groups, both in-person and online, can provide a sense of community and shared understanding. Family therapy can help loved ones better understand and support the individual experiencing blackouts. Additionally, crisis hotlines and emergency mental health services can offer immediate assistance during particularly challenging episodes.

VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD (

Some people with C-PTSD may have normal memory functioning for particular elements of their lives. C-PTSD can contribute to memory difficulties and gaps through fragmented or dissociative memories, avoidance and suppression, altered memory encoding and retrieval, memory disturbances related to dissociation, and an impact on attention and concentration. Psychological conditions, from depression to anxiety, can be a factor in memory loss among adults of any age. You may not know how one of these conditions, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), could contribute to memory loss related to a specific event or period in your life. In this blog post, we’ll explain the impact C-PTSD has on your short-term and long-term memory, what threats it poses, and how to find help now. By Matthew Tull, PhDMatthew Tull, PhD is a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo, specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD)

Educating loved ones and the broader community about the nature of PTSD blackouts can help reduce stigma and improve support systems for those affected. It’s important to emphasize that blackouts are not a choice or a sign of weakness, but rather a complex symptom of a serious mental health condition that requires compassion and professional support. Some individuals may experience blackouts rarely, perhaps only in response to specific, intense triggers. Others may struggle with more frequent episodes, sometimes occurring daily or multiple times per week. The frequency of blackouts often correlates with the overall severity of PTSD symptoms and the effectiveness of treatment and coping strategies.

General Health

If that isn’t possible (which is often the case), you can prepare by finding ways to cope with your reactions to triggers. Medication may also help reduce PTSD symptoms, especially when used alongside therapy. Therapy and medication are two of the most common treatment options for PTSD.

Lifestyle Quizzes

This poignant analogy aptly describes the experience of many individuals suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who encounter blackouts, a distressing phenomenon that further complicates their journey through trauma recovery. When life becomes intense, dissociative symptoms can be a respite for a while. Next time you experience an episode, revisit what you were feeling and thinking just before the flashback or dissociation occurred. The more ​early warning signs you can come up with, the better able you will be to prevent future episodes. Flashbacks and dissociation can be incredibly disruptive and unpredictable.

The Perspective of Others: Understanding PTSD Blackouts from the Outside

Complex PTSD is characterised by three core post-traumatic symptom clusters, along with chronic and pervasive disturbances in emotion regulation, identity, and relationships. Individuals with complex PTSD typically have sustained or multiple exposures to trauma, such as childhood abuse and domestic or community violence. The disorder has a 1-8% population prevalence and up to 50% prevalence in mental health facilities. Progress in diagnostics, assessment, and differentiation from post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder is reported, along with assessment and treatment of children and adolescents.

• However, there are often some early signs that you may be slipping into a flashback or a dissociative state.
• Another study of va Dijke et al11, correlated the presence of complex trauma in adulthood to complex PTSD symptomatology, specifically dissociation, suggesting a potential link to the dissociative subtype of PTSD.
• They are instructed to recall the traumatic memory as vividly as possible during “trauma scripts” and immediately afterward while the MRI scanner measures oxygen use in different brain areas.

DSM-IV and DSM-5 Approach to CPTSD

With help, you can move ahead, freer and lighter, without leaving parts of yourself in the dark. For the most part, understand that when the brain protects you through this method of dissociation, it may not be readily apparent to you. Work with a therapist will be necessary to help you understand what is happening. Think of this experience as a  significant feeling of detachment from your body. Some people even feel completely alienated from it, unable to recognize their own hands or face. You can find PTSD treatment providers in your area through the Anxiety Disorder Association of America and UCompare HealthCare.

Symptoms and signs of C-PTSD

To understand this phenomenon, we must delve into the neurological mechanisms underlying PTSD-related blackouts. When an individual experiences trauma, the brain’s stress response system becomes hyperactivated, leading to changes in the way memories are processed and stored. The hippocampus, a region crucial for memory formation, can be particularly affected by chronic stress and trauma. We have investigated the neuronal circuitry that underlies reexperiencing/hyperaroused and dissociative responses in PTSD using BOLD fMRI and script-driven imagery. In this paradigm, patients construct a narrative of their traumatic experience that is later read to them while they are in the scanner.

• In this paradigm, patients construct a narrative of their traumatic experience that is later read to them while they are in the scanner.
• Therapies that focus on increasing awareness of dissociative tendencies and developing skills to remain grounded in the present moment can be particularly helpful in managing and reducing the frequency of blackouts.
• The therapist will move a finger from side to side, and the person will follow the movement with their eyes.
• PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can develop after a person experiences a traumatic event.
• In fact, some researchers and psychologists advocate for putting BPD under the umbrella of C-PTSD in future editions of the DSM to acknowledge the link to trauma, foster a better understanding of BPD, and help people with BPD face less stigma.
• Intense emotions might include anger or sadness, and they often seem to come without warning.

Further Reading on Clinical Practice for CPTSD

Unfortunately, there may not be much you can do during a PTSD blackout because you won’t have control of your mind or body at the time. Someone in the room with you may be able to talk you out of the blackout by helping you get grounded – answering questions about the present day, reminding you where you are, telling you who you are with, etc. If you experience a blackout by yourself, you probably will not be aware enough to control your actions in the moment. During a fugue state, an individual may lose awareness of their identity and personal history, sometimes even assuming a new identity temporarily. These episodes can last for hours, days, or even longer, and are often accompanied by unplanned travel or wandering. If you would like some extra support with complex PTSD dissociation and are looking for a psychotherapist, please contact me for a free 30-minute consultation to learn about how I can be of service.