forgetting a traumatic event

[sus14]

on tuesday i posted (since deleted) a thread after my ex attacked me. as usual mums netters were massively supported and I did report it.

however, only 2 days later, i can't remember the details of the event. I know what happened, as I have told people, and my daughter has also told people, but i actually can't remember it. Is this weird? Should I be worried - or just be grateful? It kind of feels like a big part of my brain is holding onto it but i can't access it.

anyone had this? Is it just like how you forget childbirth - so does't really matter?!

Hi Sus, sometimes your brain will kind of "self-censor" traumatic events because they are too overwhelming for your emotions to deal with. It is quite common for this to happen in people with PTSD.

I won't bore you with the detailed science thing, but current leading theory states that memories which are recorded during a time of trauma are recorded in a different part of the brain than normal everyday memories. This means you may not be able to bring them to conscious recall at all times, but they are more likely to suddenly flash into your mind when you don't want them to (aka "flashbacks"), often triggered by something external, for example a smell or sound or sensation which is similar to what happened.

There is a relatively new treatment called EFT or "tapping" which can help to control these traumatic memories and put them in "proper storage" in your brain, so that you have control over them. Might be worth your investigating to see if there are any counsellors near you which offer this?

I remember your thread and I'm glad you're doing okay.

that's really helpful pocketsaviour thanks so much, that does make a lot of sense, a friend actually was diagnosed with ptsd after a way more traumatic event and her therapy was to keep going over specific details, over and over , and so i can understand it now.

hopefully with me it's more a matter of time heals, i was in fight mode on the day then was ok yesterday morning and went back to work, but as the day wore on i felt increasingly sore (despite being uninjured) and that made me realise the enormity of what had happened i think, and it's been since then that i've been unable to remember the episode properly. It's also because it really came out of nowhere ,no big build up etc, so i just didn't expect it and that makes it hard to process.

I have counselling through my work place (on the phone) tomorrow which i've been doing for a few weeks now, so i can talk it over with her, which should help.

mumsnet real truly came into its own for me on tuesday, i think i would have done the right thing anyway but it would have been harder and taken me longer i think, had i not had all the supportive messages. I think i'd be feeling a lot worse now had i not reported it. so thanks to everyone who took the time to post.