Many trauma victims keep their memories close to them. They may think about them all the time. Flashbacks are a common occurrence for them, and they have trouble escaping them once they take place.
However, that is not the case for many people with traumatic pasts. Repressed traumatic memories are very real, and it’s not uncommon for people to discover them later on. Once those memories resurface, they can do a lot of damage within a person’s life.
What are Repressed Memories?
Repressed memories are memories that people will subconsciously push to the backs of their minds. This is usually because they’re too painful for them to continue to think about it. Consciously, they may not have any recollection of an event that took place. However, there is always the possibility that a repressed memory can be recovered later on. If and when it is, it can be quite damaging.
In his book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk discusses repressed memories in great detail. He tells a story of a young man who had once been a victim of molestation at the hands of a Catholic priest.
At the time the memory resurfaced, he was serving as a military policeman on an Air Force base. He was talking with his girlfriend on the phone when she told him a priest had been arrested for molesting young boys in Massachusetts. It was in that moment that the memory returned. He had, in fact, suffered the same fate at the hands of that same priest.
The Outcome When Repressed Memories Resurface
There are multiple possible outcomes when repressed memories resurface. People may:
- Go into a panic and become unable to function in normal, everyday life
- Turn to a life of crime as a way to make sense of their pasts
- Become aggressive, non-verbal or angry
- Develop any number of psychiatric illnesses
It’s also important to remember that sometimes, repressed memories simply do not resurface. They may always lie there, within the subconscious mind. What’s curious is that even though they’re subconscious memories, they can still affect behaviors. Repressed traumatic memories may actually be factors within many cases of mental illness. The sufferers just don’t realize the possibility is there.
Are You a Victim of Trauma?
Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you recently had a repressed memory re-enter your conscious mind. When it did, it stunned and shocked you. You had no idea why you repressed it, and you certainly didn’t know what to do with it once you remembered.
Or, it’s possible that you are battling a mental illness, but you can’t shake the feeling that there might be something more to it. You’ve contemplated talking to someone who specializes in trauma therapy, but you just haven’t done it yet.
In both of these cases, you need help. Talking with a trauma therapist can help to answer so many questions you might have on your mind. Contact me today if you’d like to learn more about how I can help you.
