Forgetting the past

[weinbeck]

I have just read a fascinating article on false memory by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus. Apparently she'd invited Alan Alda (Hawkeye from MASH) to her university and has shown him round the campus. She then took him on a picnic and offered him a hard boiled egg which he politely turned down, recounting how, as a child, he once scoffed so many they actually made him physically sick, and that was why he could no longer stand not only the taste but also the smell of hard boiled eggs. So what's so fascinating about the story - it never happened! She had, over a period of time suggested his aversion to eggs in such a subtle way, he actually believed it! Such psychological suggestion obviously realises serious consequences where it comes to giving evidence in court, but if your mind is so finely balanced that it can recall non-events in your life, under the same rule of thumb it should also be able to be applied to block out of one's mind completely certain events that have scarred one mentally through either sexual abuse or any other traumatic events. Theoretically, not only should it be possible to block out events, it should be possible, with time, to delete from one's mind completely of certain individuals even if they are living relatives who have wronged you to such a degree that you find it impossible to get on with your life. In fact, using this false memory ability, there is no reason why it shouldn't be impossible to create an entirely new identity. What do you think - are there people in your life you detest with such vigour you have actually seen a psychologist/head shrinker to delete somebody from your memory?

[Nomad]

I think this might explain why abused children might only have cognizance of trauma much later in life and how perhaps some of these instances could be imaginary.

Or not.

[DelicateDominatrix]

I think we all have moments in life we block out for one reason or another.

[Accountable]

I only remember snippets of the day my mother died (I was twelve and alone with her during her heart attack) and only have rare very vague memories of anything before that day.

[minks]

Our mind is an amazing thing isn't it. It acts in weird and wonderful ways that we may never ever understand. It's our protector, our embellisher, our entertainer, our meants of functioning, our healer. Seems endless and it's crazy it can be manipulated so easily.

[neffy]

i use to train has a nurse on the itu,we use to get lot of people hurt in cars etc.They could nor would they remeber what happened.I asked why this was and one of the doctors said it is natures way of healing.

[Mia]

My first memory is having a professional photo taken when I was three.I was not happy being made to sit still and refused to smile.After that I remember certain traumatic events like parents arguments, illness when I had to take nasty tasting medicine,certain toys I loved,and being molested by a dirty old man.These memories are true to me,I don't think any suggestions from someone could make me think differently.You cannot be hypnotised if you don't want to be,at least that is what I am led to believe.But I could be wrong.

[theia]

As children we often have to blank out or dissociate from traumatic events, as a protective mechanism because we aren't able to cope with them. Then years later, as Nomad says, they often resurface, perhaps because they are still affecting our lives negatively and they need looking at now that we are more able to cope with them then. They can appear in dreams or flashbacks and can be very frightening.

But however real they may seem to us, others sometimes think we are imagining them, or suffering from false memory syndrome. This is a pity because it's hard enough to try and clear them but even harder if people doubt what you say. I suppose the bottom line is that if you can trust your psyche enough to acknowledge the truth of the memories, you can work them through with a therapist...no-one else need be involved.