People experience similar intrusions about past and future autobiographical negative experiences

Background: We know much about people’s problematic reactions—such as distressing intrusions—to negative, stressful, or traumatic past events. But emerging evidence suggests people react similarly to negative and potentially-traumatic future events. Given similar processes underlie remembering the past and imagining the future more generally, we wondered how similar intrusions are for experienced vs. anticipated events. We focused primarily on intrusions because they are a transdiagnostic reaction to traumatic events. Methods: We asked subjects to report either a very stressful event they had experienced in the past 6 months, or one they anticipated they could experience in the next 6 months. We measured the frequency of intrusions about these reported events, and intrusions’ phenomenological characteristics (such as emotional intensity), negative appraisals about their meaning, and reactions to them more generally. Results: Overall, we found intrusions about experienced vs. anticipated autobiographical events were similarly troubling. This pattern supports the idea that anticipating the future can be aversive and elicit post-traumatic-stress disorder-like symptoms, just as remembering the past can. Limitations: Subjects’ nominated events varied in scope and were often non-specific (i.e., not constrained to a particular time and place), and we did not measure subject’s lifetime trauma exposure. Conclusions: Our findings have implications for theoretical models of traumatic-stress and treatment of traumatic-stress symptoms.