Why Can Time Feel Distorted During Mental Health Episodes?

[Shree]

During intense emotional states, time may feel too fast, too slow, or disconnected. This can happen in psychosis, mania, or trauma responses. How do you notice changes in your sense of time? What helps you stay oriented in the present moment?

 

[Hazel]

Time can feel distorted during mental health episodes because your brain’s internal “tracking system” isn’t working consistently.

Stress, anxiety, depression, or mania can all change how attention and memory function. When attention is overloaded or fragmented, moments don’t get stored evenly, so time can feel like it’s speeding up, slowing down, or becoming unclear.

Emotional intensity also plays a role. Highly stressful or emotionally flat states both reduce how clearly events are encoded, which makes periods feel either stretched or compressed when you look back on them.