Can Anxiety Create False Memories?

How Memories Are Created

There are three different types of memories that the brain processes. Working memory is small bits of information used for executive function tasks. Short-term memory is information from a more recent period of time. Like working memory, it is generally temporary information you may or may not need in the long run. Long-term memory is information from different points throughout your lifetime.

The brain receives information from the environment and then labels it under the appropriate category. As more information is received, it is stored with similarly labeled groups. This is a process called encoding.

One key thing to note is that our brains don’t file away information as accurately as you might think. In all actuality, the brain stores away little pieces of information, and when you need to recall something, it pieces all those little parts back together.

Anxiety’s Influence on Memories

Anxiety can have an effect on many aspects of your mind, body, and daily life. When you’re anxious and feeling prolonged periods of stress, your body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. It’s what makes you enter the fight or flight mode. Your body’s resources are allocated to only the essential functions. During this spike, you also can notice brain fog and memory troubles. 

Your anxiety can cause impairments in your working memory to start. It will impact your ability to interpret new information, process or file away this information, and create memory formation.

The stress hormones can also impact your ability to recall details of previous events accurately. As mentioned, memory recall is already an imperfect science, so anxiety can make that worse. When you’re in an anxiety flare up, you may experience difficulty differentiating between what is real memory and false memories.

Anxiety and Cognition

Anxiety can make it difficult to concentrate and focus on what’s going on around you. You may miss certain details that are key pieces of information to an experience. This reduced attention and focus can impact the information being encoded, thus leading to possible false memory recall later on. 

With anxiety, you also may have a harder time accurately receiving information through conversation or auditory processes. If you’re not fully hearing and processing the correct details, it can lead to false memories and recall. 

Additionally, anxiety can impact your decision making skill. You are more susceptible to suggestions from others or even manipulation in certain circumstances. If others persuade you, the information you retain and process can become skewed, further contributing to false memories.

Anxiety and the Racing Mind

Most people with anxiety know that it’s common for the brain to spiral into worst-case scenarios or ruminate over past matters frequently. When you ruminate over the past, you recall and retrieve information repeatedly. Each time you recall these memories, your brain can start to add new details and delete others. Over time, that same memory can experience some minor transformations. This symptom can lend itself to false memories or portions of them.

Do you live with anxiety? Are you concerned about the accuracy of your memory? Professional services may be able to help you understand this challenge and manage it. Contact us to learn more!