The Reality of Repressed Memories

Memories... millions upon millions of memories form in our minds from the time of birth up until the time we pass on from this life. Some of us have such vivid memories that they can remember their first memories back when they were a few months old, but some do not recall memories until much older such as three or four years of age.

Simply put, a memory is a way that we store, retrieve, and retain information. This information can be as simple as remembering the time just after looking at a clock to remembering the very first time you ever had Grandma's fresh baked apple pie; this memory can entail the taste of the pie, the color of the pie, the smell of the pie, even what Grandma looked like 25 years ago when she handed you that first slice.

Many memories can be triggered by a taste, a smell, a touch, or even a familiar sight that has some relation to that specific moment in time. As we all know, not all memories are as joyous as a homemade slice of pie or the first time you saw a lighted Christmas Tree. Some memories are bad enough that your body is motivated enough by the severity of the memory to temporarily wipe it out of your mind. These memories are called repressed memories.

Repressed memories are usually memories that are blocked out due to a traumatic and severely painful time in one's life. Sometimes it takes years for you to push those memories so far back into your mind that you forget about them, other times, right after the traumatic or shocking event, your mind will push that memory back into your brain's unconscious right away.

Repressed memories, like any other memory, can be triggered by a taste, a touch, or anything else that would have some similar identity to that memory. Many times it's so spontaneous that it occurs in a flashback, with feeling so strong it was like you were reliving the moment once more. Most people are happy with their repressed memories being repressed and want no part of those memories resurfacing, however many believe that by bringing those memories back, they can find a way to rid themselves of them forever and somehow cure themselves of this type of burden. Psychotherapy is one of the ways that many can try to force their minds to recall the buried event.

Psychotherapy can be done by practitioners that have qualifications that include that of counselors, therapists, or even licensed clinical social workers, as well as the obvious psychologists, and psychiatrists. Psychotherapy is mainly described as a way that qualified medical practitioners can help their patients cope with their problems in life. In most situations, this is done by different approaches that influence, even persuade their patient to adapt or change the way their originally thinking.

Repressed memories, as well as the treatment of psychotherapy itself, have caused many problems over the centuries. Because our bodies tend to work on auto-pilot when traumatic events occur, when interrogated or faced with having to recall exact events of a situation or crime, we are left clueless. At times, ten, twenty, or even thirty years can pass before something in your senses triggers this repressed memory, sending crime cases to reopen and dramatic events to unfold again in a court room. In the criminal world, repressed memories that resurface after many years can cause a lot of conflict to whether it is a true repressed memory or a false memory brought on by a clash of stories or other memories that may have not been clear enough to tell them apart.

Psychotherapy is also looked upon carefully because of the way many of the therapists, counselors, and medical practitioners go about their sessions. Influence and persuasion can target people very easily and take hold very quickly. An article in www.skepdic.com states the psychotherapy controversy to go as far as therapists planting false memories of religious rituals, abuse, and even alien abductions into their minds.

Repressed memories have also been pinpointed to be an instigator in some physical and psychological problems that could even lead to death. As much as repressed memories can help you cope with a time in your life or even recall an event you witnessed to save someone else's life, at times it can backfire. When faced with a traumatic event such as rape or abuse, your body and mind can find other ways to redirect the painful memories towards something that makes you feel better about yourself.

Excessive eating has been something that many of us indulge in to make us feel better. That big bowl of ice cream, the endless buffet, or even the bottomless candy jar, any comfort food that is used to deter us from constantly thinking about the traumatic event can unknowingly turn into an ongoing habit that can result in one of the many food disorders.

Food isn't the only comforting sustenance intake that many turn too, alcohol, pills, exercise, caffeine, drugs, and even self mutilation can become ones way of coping with a repressed memory. Many people think that if it is repressed, then how are you trying to find comfort from something that you don't know exists?

Repressed memories, depending on the individual, can be purposely repressed or spontaneously repressed due to your body's way of defending itself. When memories are purposely repressed, you yourself have found a way to push this memory into the deep dark cracks of your mind and are faced with it resurfacing more than you would like... this causes you to constantly seek comfort in something until you are able to force that memory back into its repressed state.

The mind is a very powerful thing, but can also be very deadly. Resurfacing repressed memories that are so traumatic can cause such psychological chaos that many have taken their lives just so they do not have to cope with that particular memory anymore. Those who have become mentally unstable due to the repressed memories may have disturbing thoughts on ways they can forcefully take the memory out of their minds.

Many people associate repressed memories with amnesia, however amnesia is where the memory is disturbed by trauma, brain damage, or drugs to where the memory was not created or the memory had not gone from the immediate memory into the long term memory banks of the brain. Normally when we think about amnesia we think about someone forgetting who they are or where they live, this type of amnesia is extremely rare.

Research and hypothesis supporting repressed memories have been published throughout the centuries with many different theories. One such theory stating that the right brain sores the memories but doesn't communicate it to the left brain. This theory as stated by www.answers.com really doesn't make sense due to the fact that the left side of the brain controls the present and past. Memories are something of the past. The right side of the brain is said to control present and future.

Another theory is that cortisol, the chemical that is released when your in trauma may provoke forgetting. However, if you think about this, when it comes to repressed memories, your really not forgetting them, you are merely misplacing them temporarily.

As much as repressed memories are up for controversy, many of us know just how real and painful they are and can be. Each individual has a different way of dealing with painful memories. On a personal note, after several years in an abusive relationship, even after 5 years there are some situations that I know I was in, however I do not remember any details regarding them just that they happened.

In conclusion, repressed memories can cause pain mentally and emotionally for the rest of your life. The "just deal with it" saying just doesn't cut it. Use common sense when these repressed memories surface and know that turning to other forms of comfort such as food, alcohol, or drugs, will only make more repressed memories instead of making that traumatic one disappear. If you choose to pursue psychotherapy, make sure you do a thorough medical background check. If they start talking about the repressed memory you have of being raped was actually an alien abduction, walk out of the office and call a friend. Nine times out of ten your friend has more counseling credits than the psychiatrist.

And last but certainly not least... believe in yourself. The mind is a powerful thing, if it can repress those memories; you can certainly have control enough to find a way to rid yourself of the power they possess.