We’ve all had moments when we’re sure we’ve remembered something perfectly, only to find out that it didn’t happen exactly as we thought. Maybe it’s a conversation that never took place, a detail from childhood that no one else can confirm, or a face you’re certain you’ve seen before but can’t place. These experiences can sometimes be unsettling or even embarrassing. Leaving us wondering, If I can’t trust my own memory, what else might I be getting wrong?
False memories can leave us second-guessing ourselves or leave us feeling shaken by how they seem to change over time. Plus, it’s not uncommon for memories to be distorted by mental health issues such as trauma or anxiety.
To help you better understand why false memories can happen, this page focuses on:
- What false memories are, how they happen, and why
- The connection between false memories and mental health
- The difference between false memories and memory loss
- Treatment approaches and ways to cope with memory uncertainty
- Answers to commonly asked questions about false memories
What Are False Memories?
False memories aren’t lies; they don’t mean we’re making things up, and they’re not simply forgetting. They’re memories that are unintentionally produced with information that feels real but isn’t entirely accurate.[1]
For example, we might recall a conversation word-for-word only to find out it never happened. Or we might swear a childhood event unfolded one way when family members insist it didn’t. These moments can feel jarring because they challenge our assumption that memory equals truth.
But memory is more like a story rather than a recording device. The more we recall information, the more likely the information is to change with each retelling. One day, you might recall that when you were ten, the neighbor next door had a black Labrador, then the next time you retell the story, you might remember it was two huskies. Each retelling can change small details, influenced by emotion, belief, and suggestion. These subtle changes can build into confident, vivid recollections that diverge from reality.
We’re all prone to these distortions, and this is exactly why eye-witness testimony is no longer admissible in court.
How False Memories Form
False memories form because each time we revisit the past, the brain fills in gaps, adjusts details, and sometimes rewrites parts of the story altogether. Changing memories like this isn’t done on purpose; it’s just that memories fade over time, and as time passes, our brains try to remember the details in different ways.
This process happens through a variety of ways, including:
Reconstruction Errors
The brain is not a recording device, where every time we replay a memory, it shows us everything that happened, exactly as it happened. Instead, it rebuilds memories from fragments of sights, sounds, and emotions, and uses context clues to put it all together. The brain doesn’t like inconsistencies, so when minor details are missing, it has a tendency to automatically fill in the gaps.[2] As the brain provides more and more information, these fill-ins can turn into confident but sometimes inaccurate memories.
The Power of Suggestion and Susceptibility
Memory has a way of being influenced by other people, a process called “suggestibility.” Research shows that suggestion is very influential to our memories, with other people being able to subtly shape what we believe we’ve experienced.[3] This suggestibility isn’t always done maliciously or purposefully.
But sometimes when we hear someone describe an event repeatedly, it makes it easier for us to “remember” it ourselves, even if we weren’t there. The brain’s goal isn’t to deceive. It’s to be consistent with the information it encounters, and when we hear something over and over again, our brain often catalogs it as being “true.”
Imagination and Mental Imagery
Sometimes imagination and visualization can blur the lines of reality. When we imagine an event vividly, research suggests this can make the boundary between thought and memory less clear.
This boundary might be unclear because the brain activates the same networks for both remembering real experiences and vividly imagining an event.[4] The hippocampus gets activated for both memories and imagination, making mental images feel just as real as memories.[5]
Time and Repetition
Memories naturally fade with time, and as we retell or revisit memories, the more opportunity there is for details to shift and change. So, when we repeat memories, it doesn’t necessarily mean that information will stay accurate. This continued repetition can actually reinforce an incorrect version of the memory that currently exists in our minds.
False memories aren’t failures of the mind; they’re signs of how adaptive it is. When faced with incomplete information, the brain connects the dots. The challenge comes when those dots don’t quite match the real picture.
What’s the Connection Between False Memories and Mental Health?
Aside from false memories occurring because of our brains’ processes, emotions, stress, and mental health challenges can also influence this phenomenon.
For instance, when we’re anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed, the brain becomes more focused on meaning and threat than precision. The result is a bit like emotional shorthand: memories that reflect how something felt rather than what actually happened.
The following sections discuss the different ways that mental health can affect memory:
Anxiety
False memories and anxiety may happen because anxiety can heighten our attention, but also distort our interpretation. Anxiety also has a way of making us focus on things that might impact us negatively or in a harmful way. This selective attention can lead us to misinterpret events and cause false memories.[6]
Depression
In depression, memory tends to bend toward the negative. Research shows that people with depression are more likely to falsely recall information and that the information they do recall tends to be more negative than positive.[7] These memory distortions can create a cycle of hopelessness and self-blame, even when the memories themselves aren’t fully accurate.
PTSD
Trauma seems to alter the way we process memories.[8] So if you’re dealing with memory distortion and trauma, your memories might feel vivid, like flashes of sound or smell, yet disjointed. Because the brain encoded these moments during a state of intense stress, it may have stored sensations rather than narratives. Later, when those fragments resurface, they can mix with imagined details or emotional impressions that feel entirely real.
Dissociative Memory Issues
Sometimes the mind disconnects to protect itself, known as “dissociation.” When this happens, your brain may record events incompletely. Later, you might have a difficult time recalling what happened or doubt whether what you remember actually occurred.
Psychosis
During psychosis, the line between memory and imagination gets blurred. People with psychosis may believe that images or events experienced during hallucinations or delusions are actual events and get integrated into memory.[9] This can make it difficult to separate perception and reality.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
False memory OCD is a subtype of OCD in which you experience intrusive thoughts about events in the past that did or did not occur.[10] For example, you might constantly doubt events in the past, like worrying whether or not you accidentally stole something or left somewhere without paying. Because the worry about the accuracy of your thoughts is so distressing, you’re also likely to experience compulsions that involve consistently seeking reassurance, mentally replaying events, or recreating scenarios.
Coping with Mental Uncertainty
Evidence-based approaches offer you tools for understanding and managing false memories or the mental health challenges around them.
The following are some approaches that may help:
Cognitive Therapy for Memory
Cognitive therapy, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), focuses on identifying altered thoughts that can affect memory. For instance, you might be dealing with negative talk due to depression, like believing your teacher in school said you were “stupid” for failing a math test.
Through cognitive therapy for memory, you’ll learn to challenge these unhelpful beliefs about what “must have happened,” reduce negative self-talk, and develop healthier ways to relate to uncertainty.
Trauma-Focused Therapy
If your false memories stem from emotional overwhelm or trauma memory recall issues, trauma-informed therapy may help you build a sense of safety in the present. Using techniques like grounding, body awareness, and emotional processing, you’ll be able to calm down enough to focus on what may be real and what’s false.
EMDR and Somatic Approaches
Using side-to-side stimulation, through tapping or eye movements, somatic approaches, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) helps you reorganize and reprocess traumatic or confusing memories and how these memories get stored in the brain. By processing these memories, EMDR can lessen distress and reduce memory distortion trauma linked to overwhelming experiences.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember when choosing a treatment approach is that false memories aren’t always an indication that we’re losing touch with reality. Instead, they often happen to show how deeply our minds want to understand information and protect us.
Mission Connection: Support for Memory-Related Issues
At Mission Connection, we know how unsettling it can feel when memories don’t align. You might struggle with questions around what memories are real, whether you can trust your own recollections, and how your mental health is impacting these memories. Using evidence-based approaches like CBT, EMDR, mindfulness techniques, and trauma-focused therapy, we aim to help you understand how memory and emotion interact.
Whether you’re navigating trauma memory recall issues or ongoing confusion, our goal is to help you reconnect with a sense of stability, confidence, and peace in your own story. Contact Mission Connection today to rebuild trust in your inner experience and find relief.
FAQs About False Memories
While the aim of this page was to help you better understand how and why memory issues can happen, you may still have some concerns. This is both understandable and normal, and it’s why we’ve provided the following responses to FAQs about false memories.
1. Are False Memories a Sign of Mental Illness?
False memories are not necessarily a sign of mental illness. We all have instances where we remember something differently from how it actually happened. This is because false memories are part of how the brain processes information and emotion.
The brain does not like it when there might be gaps, so it works to fill them in, often resulting in inaccurate information. However, false memories might also happen more often in conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, or dissociation.
2. What’s the Difference Between Memory Loss vs. False Memory?
The difference between memory loss and false memory is mainly around awareness. With memory loss, details are missing, so we can’t access the information even when we try. We’re also often aware that there are some details missing. However, with a false memory, our minds fill in the gaps, and we feel confident that we’re remembering correctly.
3. Are False Memories Part of Dementia?
Yes, false memories are a common symptom of dementia. This is also called “confabulation,” in which you may unintentionally create incorrect memories, but without the intent to deceive. This happens because, as memories become lost, the brain is trying to fill in gaps and does so by creating fabricated details.[11]
4. Does Mission Connection Help With False Memories and Mental Health?
Yes, we offer support for addressing false memories and mental health. Using evidence-based, trauma-informed care, we focus on the whole picture. This could be how false memories are impacting your everyday life, or whether your mental health is contributing to more false memories. We’ll help you understand the link between memory, emotion, and identity and provide compassionate, personalized care while we’re at it.
References
- Lentoor, A. G. (2023). Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying false memories: misinformation, distortion or erroneous configuration? AIMS Neuroscience, 10(3), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.3934/neuroscience.2023020
- Lacy, J. W., & Stark, C. E. L. (2013). The neuroscience of memory: implications for the courtroom. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(9), 649–658. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3563
- Van Damme, I., & Smets, K. (2013). The power of emotion versus the power of suggestion: memory for emotional events in the misinformation paradigm. Emotion, 14(2), 310–320. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034629
- Conway, M. A., & Loveday, C. (2015). Remembering, imagining, false memories & personal meanings. Consciousness and Cognition, 33, 574–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2014.12.002
- Kirwan, C. B., Ashby, S. R., & Nash, M. I. (2014). Remembering and imagining differentially engage the hippocampus: a multivariate fmri investigation. Cognitive Neuroscience, 5(3–4), 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2014.933203
- Toffalini, E. et al. (2014). High trait anxiety increases inferential false memories for negative (but not positive) emotional events. Personality and Individual Differences, 75, 201–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.11.029
- Joormann, J., Teachman, B. A., & Gotlib, I. H. (2009). Sadder and less accurate? false memory for negative material in depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118(2), 412–417. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015621
- Bedard-Gilligan, M., Zoellner, L. A., & Feeny, N. C. (2017). Is trauma memory special? trauma narrative fragmentation in ptsd. Clinical Psychological Science, 5(2), 212–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702616676581
- McLachlan, E. et al. (2023). Association between false memories and delusions in alzheimer disease. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(7), 700. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.1012
- Gillette, H. (2023). Understanding false memory ocd. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/ocd/understanding-false-memory-ocd
- Belli, E. et al. (2020). Confabulations in cases of dementia: atypical early sign of alzheimer’s disease or misleading feature in dementia diagnosis? Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 553886. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.553886