An Informal Repressed Memories Test

A Tool to Assess Adverse Childhood Experiences from Catalina

Online tests and quizzes aren’t foolproof diagnostic tools. However, they can sometimes help you identify certain symptoms and experiences in yourself so that you can work on them. Often, this is what a repressed memories test serves to do.

Usually, repressed memories relate to childhood trauma. Since it was a long time ago, and you were young, it’s more likely that you have experiences that you don’t recall or fully remember. Trauma can also lead to dissociation and memory issues; a response that our body creates to protect us from difficult experiences.

Tests like a childhood trauma ACE test or quiz can also serve as a form of validation for people who know or suspect that they’ve had traumatic experiences. A childhood trauma test and understanding the different types of traumatic experiences one can experience during childhood can help you understand yourself and your symptoms better in adulthood.

So, what are the possible signs of repressed memories? What about childhood trauma or adverse childhood experiences?

Let’s talk about the ACE childhood trauma test first. Then, we’ll look at signs of informal repressed memories, PTSD, and other effects of trauma. Finally, we’ll discuss how treatment can help and what to expect in Catalina Behavioral Health’s trauma treatment programs.

The content on this page does not replace advice or a diagnosis from a mental health professional. For the most accurate results and treatment guidance, please call Catalina Behavioral Health for a free consultation.

What is an ACE Childhood Trauma Test?

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can take many different forms. Childhood memories of abuse, neglect, or having a close family member or loved one with a mental illness or substance use disorder are a few common examples of ACEs that can continue to affect your life and health as an adult. Many children of alcoholics have found themselves unaware of the trauma often carried into adulthood.

Note that these aren’t the only types of childhood trauma or ACEs. The ACE test isn’t perfect and misses several negative stressors that may occur outside of the home and can also have long-term physical and mental health effects.

Your ACE score can help you detect childhood trauma. Answering “yes” to any of the questions below means that you may have experienced childhood trauma, which can severely affect your life and health as an adult. With that said, here’s an ACE quiz that can help you pinpoint childhood trauma:

• Did one or more of your parents or caregivers put you down, yell at, insult, scare, or humiliate you frequently before your 18th birthday?
• Did you experience physical abuse or violence of any kind before your 18th birthday (e.g., getting hit, slapped, grabbed, or having items thrown at you)?
• Before your 18th birthday, did an adult or individual at least five years older touch, fondle, attempt intercourse with, or engage in any other form of sexual abuse toward you?
• Before your 18th birthday, did you feel that you often did not have enough to eat, did not have clean clothes to wear, or had no one to protect you? Alternatively, was a caregiver often so high or drunk that they couldn’t take care of you or would not have been able to get medical help for you if needed?
• Before your 18th birthday, did you lose connection with a biological parent via abandonment, divorce, or for another reason?
• Before your 18th birthday, did you witness violence among adults in the home (e.g., a parent being hit, slapped, pushed, kicked, bitten, or threatened by the other)?
• Before your 18th birthday, did a household member go to jail or prison?
• As a child, did you frequently feel unloved or unimportant? Alternatively, did you feel that your family didn’t look out for or feel close to one another?
• As a child, did you live with someone with a substance use disorder or notably impactful mental illness?

Most of the questions on the ACE childhood trauma test relate specifically to abuse or neglect from parents and caregivers. Other types of childhood trauma may include but aren’t limited to natural disasters, bullying, or physical illness (whether it affected yourself or one of your close family members — for example, having a parent with cancer). All adverse childhood experiences are worth getting help for.

Our Informal Repressed Memories Test

The bottom line on repressed memories is that it’s possible to have a repressed memory or to forget traumatic experiences that occurred in childhood.

Most people do remember part of their traumatic childhood memories, even if they do not remember the whole thing. With that said, here is an informal repressed memories test for childhood trauma.

• Are you unable to recall memories from a period of time, whether short or long-term?
• Do you remember small parts of traumatic events or distressing occurrences, even if you don’t remember the whole thing?
• Do you have intense emotional responses to trauma triggers?
• Did you answer “yes” to any of the above ACE test questions?
• Do you resonate with a high number of PTSD symptoms?

While an online test for trauma, can’t replace a professional diagnosis, it can help you identify mental health concerns and seek help for childhood trauma. Talking to a mental health professional like a therapist can help you understand what you’re going through and start the healing process.

Catalina Behavioral Health offers all clients a free intake assessment, during which they can discuss their experiences. We have professionals on staff who can diagnose and treat various mental health concerns.

How do Repressed Memories Surface?

Often, repressed memories surface from trauma triggers, and even loved ones and spouses can trigger trauma reactions. You might experience painful childhood memories upon thinking about the event or seeing, hearing, smelling, or otherwise experiencing something that reminds you of the event.

Some people have dreams, flashbacks from traumatic events, or other post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms that remind them of traumatic events. The mind represses memories, either fully or partially, as a natural response to trauma in some cases. Your brain might be trying to protect you through repressed memories.

Once you’re an adult in a safe environment, uncovering childhood trauma and its effects can help you heal from mental health symptoms that could be affecting your life negatively during adulthood.

The Diagnostic Criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Looking out for PTSD symptoms is another way to identify a need for trauma treatment support. PTSD can develop in anyone who experiences, witnesses, or is repeatedly exposed to details of a traumatic event.

For a diagnosis of PTSD to occur, you must experience:

1. One or more of the following intrusion symptoms:

• Recurrent distressing dreams related to the event.
• Recurrent, involuntary, and distressing memories of a traumatic event.
• Dissociative reactions (like flashbacks) that make you feel as though the event is happening again.
• Prolonged or intense psychological distress presenting after exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or remind you of a traumatic event.
• Physical reactions presenting after exposure to internal or external cues that remind you of a traumatic event (e.g., shaking, muscle tension).

2. One or more of the following avoidance symptoms:

• Avoidance of or efforts to avoid memories of a traumatic event.
• Avoidance of or efforts to avoid external reminders (people, places, situations, objects, conversations, or associated stimuli) of a traumatic event.

3. Two or more of the following mood or cognitive symptoms:

• Trouble experiencing positive emotions (e.g., joy or happiness).
• Feeling detached or estranged from other people.
• Diminished interest in significant activities (e.g., important hobbies, work, or school).
• Inability to remember an important part of a traumatic event due to dissociative amnesia.*
• A persistently negative emotional stage (e.g., ongoing sadness, numbness, fear, anger, horror, guilt, or shame).
• Exaggerated negative beliefs about oneself, other people, or the world (e.g., “I am bad,” “My mental health/life is permanently ruined,” or “no one can be trusted”).

4. Two or more of the following alterations in arousal or reactivity:

• Sleep disturbance.
• Trouble concentrating or focusing.
• Exaggerated startle response.
• Hypervigilance.
• Risky or self-destructive behavior.
• Irritability or angry outbursts.

*This may indicate repressed memories.

Other Effects of Unaddressed Trauma

Outside of PTSD, what might a person experience as a result of unaddressed trauma? People who score high on the ACE test are significantly more likely to experience a broad range of physical and mental health effects.

Physical and mental health effects of childhood trauma or ACEs include but aren’t limited to the following:

• An increased risk of heart disease and other physical health conditions, like TMJ disorder and chronic pain.
• An increased risk of substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
• Difficulty in interpersonal relationships during adulthood, including romantic relationships and friendships.
• A higher likelihood of problems at work, school, or with finances.

Whether you score high on the childhood trauma test or face challenges with substance abuse, anxiety, relationships, depression, and other mental health concerns, it can’t be stressed enough that anyone who has problems with their emotional and physical well-being deserves adequate treatment and support.

Treating trauma can improve your quality of life and reduce or alleviate symptom severity. Even if you score high on the ACE quiz, healing and building a life that you value, enjoy, and find greater ease in is entirely possible.

Why Trauma Treatment is Essential for Adverse Childhood Experiences

Scoring high on an ACE quiz or childhood trauma test is not a life sentence, even if your symptoms are severe. We see positive outcomes of trauma treatment in clients every day.

Here are some possible benefits of trauma treatment for individuals with a high childhood trauma test, PTSD symptom, or ACE score.

Better Mental and Physical Health

Research on trauma treatment shows that therapies like those used at Catalina Behavioral Health can lead to reduced symptom severity. This includes lower PTSD, depression, and anxiety scores.

If you have co-occurring substance abuse or another mental health condition, like a personality disorder or an eating disorder, treatment can also help. We offer dual-diagnosis treatment for clients with addiction and one or more other mental health concerns, including trauma, for the best treatment outcomes.

Childhood trauma increases your risk of toxic stress, which can affect your physical well-being severely. If you score high on a childhood trauma test or ACE test and notice symptoms like muscle tension or trouble sleeping, treatment may help relieve these symptoms.

Improved Interpersonal Relationships

Childhood trauma is heavily associated with attachment issues and instability in adult relationships. Survivors of childhood trauma sometimes develop complex PTSD, which carries additional symptoms compared to traditional PTSD, one of which is difficulty in interpersonal relationships. This can include romantic relationships or other bonds in your life.

Treatment can help you feel more secure, communicate effectively, and discover what a healthy relationship feels like, one not bound by bonding due to trauma. Social relationships are essential for our well-being, and we have seen many childhood trauma survivors pursue healthy connections.

Positive Effects on Daily Life

If trauma symptoms currently interfere with your daily life, working through traumas in treatment will likely improve your day-to-day life overall. For example, those who score high on a childhood trauma test might see improvement in daily emotions, feelings about themselves, others, or the world, or better functioning at work or school following treatment.

Many people who have been through childhood trauma, whether memories are repressed or not, have experienced PTSD symptoms or other effects of trauma for so long that they may start to believe that they’re an unavoidable part of life.

You can see this in the list of PTSD symptom criteria above. The reality is that relieving trauma symptoms is possible, and the evidence-based trauma therapies used at our facility can help.

What to Expect in Trauma Treatment at Catalina Behavioral

Our facilities at Catalina Behavioral Health are a safe place to overcome the effects of trauma. Our programs include group therapy, individual therapy, supportive recreation activities, life skills, and other services, like medication management and aftercare. Staff use a combination of evidence-based and holistic treatments to help you achieve whole-person healing.

We’re trauma-informed and aware that people with similar experiences may not share the same symptoms or benefit from the same treatments. Every client at Catalina Behavioral Health gets an individualized treatment plan, so the therapies and activities you engage in will support your specific needs.

We serve adults with all types and levels of childhood trauma. Our center offers detox, inpatient, and outpatient treatment services so that you can choose the treatment program that works for you. Clients with more severe symptoms may benefit from inpatient treatment, whereas clients who need to attend work or school while getting help may find that one of our outpatient trauma treatment programs is the right fit.

Some clients opt to start with a higher level of care, like an inpatient or partial hospitalization program, and move down to a lower level of care as they progress. After a thorough intake assessment, during which staff members ask questions about your symptoms and current treatment needs, we’ll help you decide on a starting level of care.

Get Help for Childhood Trauma at Catalina Behavioral Health

Asking for help is an integral first step to overcoming past traumas of any kind. To make services easily accessible, our programs at Catalina Behavioral Health take most forms of health insurance, including AHCCCS. If you or one of your loved ones scores high on the ACE test, or repressed memory test, or has trauma symptoms they want to overcome, we’re here to help.

To verify your insurance, schedule an intake assessment, or ask questions about treatment, please call Catalina Behavioral Health today. Our admissions line is available 24/7/365, with friendly staff members here to answer your call.

FAQs Regarding Childhood Trauma and Repressed Memories

What happens when you remember a repressed memory?

Remembering a repressed memory can be jarring, but it can also be validating. When you remember repressed memories, you might experience a range of emotions or emotional distress.

Anyone who remembers a traumatic event deserves support. Professional help in the form of therapy can help you relieve symptoms of trauma that may affect your daily life and health severely.

How do you uncover past trauma?

Reminders of traumatic events can trigger memories of past trauma. Talking about your experiences in therapy can also help uncover traumatic memories. It is recommended that you move through this process with mental health professionals so that you have support while uncovering, working through, and overcoming the effects of traumatic memories.

References

1. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html
2. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/media-coverage/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean/
3. https://www.umt.edu/ccfwd/resource_library/physical-health/aces/acesfactsheet.pdf
4. https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma/memories
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/box/part1_ch3.box16/ https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families