How can I explain gaps in my memory when people ask me about what happened?

it is not uncommon to forget traumatic experiences, or loose bits of memory. The mind is there to protect you and keep you from enduring that extra pain. You can always say you'd rather not talk about it, you dont remember, or give your best guess on what events occurred to ease the difficulty of explaining

Although i get yelled at for it, i personally i tell people that i simply forgot. I think it is better to tell the truth rather than lying.

Sometimes we force ourselves to forget painful details in traumatic experiences. We don't want to deal with the pain and forgetting is easier than actually dealing with our negative feelings.

Loss of memory is real, and sometimes there is no explanation for not being able to remember what has happened. The main thing is figuring out how this happens and why.

Do you mean why you have gaps in your memory? Well It could be disassociation or disassosiative identity disorder. I have that too. No shame.

Surpressed memories. I simply do not want to remember therefore i dont. I dont talk to people much either about me. I do that here on 7cups

Just simply say that I forget some object in some time, then ask him/her to pray for me to enhance our memories.

It's important to educate people, you will be helping to break down walls and reduce stigma. Explain to them how it's a common defence mechanism and sometimes the brain tends to forget memories that don't hold any use or advantages.