system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Can you actually forget/repress completely a traumatic event?

Like, say someone experienced some type of abuse as a child. Is it possible for them to repress this event so strongly they don't remember it in their adult life? Just feel the effects of unexplained mental illness? Or is this just a thing in the movies?
gpt
Yes, but often not purposefully. This is why victims of traumatic events often don't remember exactly what happened, when it happened, or how it happened. This is also a part of why police sketches are flawed, as people forget details, and this can lead to false convictions.