What she described is called “dissociation,” and it’s defined as “a mental process where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity” (BHC, 2012). You may also hear it referred to as “depersonalization.”

Here’s the problem. The study didn’t actually include people who experienced trauma. It simulated trauma with 52 healthy college students by having them watch a 12-minute film and then tested them on their memory of the film with and without having played Tetris.