People Claiming to Be Abducted by Aliens Show Signs of PTSD Like Victims of Kidnapping, Study Says

The individuals who participated in the study claimed to have seen a spaceship and various alien life forms and strange lights in the sky. More than half of the participants had memory loss (that lasted for three hours) from the alleged abduction, while one person claimed their memory was blank for a whole day-and-a-half.

People who claim to have been abducted by aliens display signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and struggle with mental issues just like individuals who have been victims of kidnapping, a new study showed.

According to the findings of the research, which was conducted by researchers from the University of Zaragoza, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on PTSD, rating the frequency and severity of the following issues: nightmares, being nervous and easily frightened, feeling as if they were reliving their abduction, and having physical symptoms when thinking about the incident.

47.3 percent of those surveyed met the criteria of being diagnosed with PTSD. Other people had symptoms of the mental disorder such as intrusive thoughts and negative mood swings.

The results of the study are quite fascinating, researchers say, noting that they suggest that people can be traumatised by something that likely didn’t happen.

"The emotional reaction to memories of an implausible experience can be similar to an individual's response to a genuinely traumatic event. Abductees can have an emotional reaction analogous to PTSD because, regardless of whether their recollections are true or false, their fear is real", the scientists wrote.

Commenting on the testimonies of the participants, who saw strange lights in the sky, spaceships, and various alien life forms, the researchers said that there can be alternative explanations to those details, including sleep paralysis – a state during which individuals is aware but unable to move or speak. During such episodes one may see hallucinations, which often result in fear. Another explanation proposed by the scientists is medical procedures under anesthetic, which could explain the memories of a bright light, nudity, pain, and seeing unfamiliar figures.