Temporal disorientation in episodic memory involves recalling events that are difficult to place in time. This paper argues for a constrained functional analogy between mental time travel and spatial navigation, characterizing temporal orientation as coordination between egocentric anchors and temporal structure (order, interval, and calendrical constraints). Temporal disorientation arises when this coordination breaks down. Drawing on constructive accounts of episodic memory, specifically the Scenario Construction Framework, the authors identify two distinct experiences: uncertainty whether an event occurred, and difficulty constructing the temporal sequence of remembered content. They propose that navigation in mental time and the feeling of temporal disorientation scaffold episodic construction, opening new paths for investigating mental navigation's role in memory.
During the Covid-19 restrictions, people reported unusual disruptions in their experience of time, such as time passing both slower and faster, or feeling unreal. An analysis of 149 subjective reports from France and the UK in March 2021 identified three forms of temporal disorientation: loss of temporal landmarks making orientation harder and causing episodic disorientation; sustained temporal disbelief, an existential form where past perspective was severely distorted; and a future-oriented form marked by anxiety and hopelessness, with inability to project into the future. The findings suggest that providing future landmarks could help those most exposed to dissociative temporal experiences during crises.