Question: Does stress ever cause you memory loss in personal memories ?

Alex Reid answered on 15 Nov 2018:

Hi ArchieF1 this is a really interesting question, thank you. I know sudden moments of stress or terror can influence memory a lot. There is something called “the weapon focus effect” which is when people who are getting mugged tend to, rather understandably, focus on the weapon of the person assaulting them. This can make things hard when it comes to identifying criminals later. This might be less of an issue with memory though and more to do with where your attention goes during stressful moments.
In terms of losing memories from stress, I am not so familiar with the literature. I have heard of people who go through traumatic events ‘suppressing’ their memories, so losing them in a sense. I should add though that this is a highly controversial area of psychology (there is a lot of debate about how this happens or even if it happens at all).