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Repressed memories are memories that cannot be easily accessed by one’s conscious mind. The mind walls it off or ‘forgets’ it to ensure the safety of the person.
These are memories of experiences that were so traumatic that they overwhelm one's sense of self, thereby making it difficult to deal with them while they’re happening which is known as dissociative amnesia.
According to the DSM-5, this information is:
• traumatic or stressful
• inconsistent with ordinary forgetting
• successfully stored
• involves a period of time when the patient is unable to recall the experience
• is not caused by a substance or neurological condition
When forgotten trauma resurfaces it can be devastating. There's evidence that shows that even when traumatic memories are repressed, they are never really forgotten. Trauma is stored in fragments, not linear and the fragments don’t always make sense or tell the whole story. With healing and the want to know, memory recall can be possible.
Those who disclose their experiences and are met with negative responses are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This may increase the chances of repressed memory.
PTSD can manifest in various ways, including flashbacks, unwanted thoughts or repressed memories. If left untreated, the memory might resurface at any time, causing your brain to experience the trauma anew each time.
By shutting down sensations and blocking memories, it helped you survive. But, if you didn't fully process the trauma in a safe and supported way, those memories and traumatic energy can get stuck in your body until eventually, they resurface, bringing with them unsettling images, sensations, or emotions.
Experts say that repressed memories are never really forgotten. They stay hidden from our conscious awareness, but intrude upon our daily life in fragments, dreams, triggers, and flashbacks. "Often the memories do not come back as verbal narratives but as symptoms such as dissociative episodes.”
When these memories do come back,
they can be persistent, unsettling, and sometimes re-traumatising; you start having nightmares, emotions, or physical sensations that remind you of a traumatic event from your past.
Recovering from trauma is not a straight path. Acknowledging it and shifting the energy within your body will look different each day. Some days will flow easier than others. Other days may feel like you’re swimming against the current. Either way, you need to feel it to heal it and it’s all part of the journey.
With proper support and coping skills, it’s possible to get through the resurfacing trauma of fear, anger, sadness and helplessness.
Bringing yourself to the present moment is helpful in this type of recovery. Here are some gentle self care practices to consider.
1/. Mindful breathing - focussing on your breath in the present moment really feeling the full inhalation and exhalation of each breath.
2/. Journaling - writing down what you feel and how you feel in the present moment
3/. Daily exercise- getting blood flowing through the veins bringing fresh oxygen and soothing brain chemicals can greatly help cope with the trauma of memory recall
4/. Meditation - is the practice of using your body and the space around you to become aware of the present moment.
5/. Yoga - increase body awareness (interoception) in a safe and controlled way, which can promote feelings of physical, emotional, and psychological safety.
6/. Art as therapy or expression - is a way of healing the pain from within in a safe & gentle manner
7/. Music therapy - is used for people suffering from physical ailments due to its effect on their mental state. It can assist patients in coping with emotional stress and help them feel more confident, cheerful, and connected to the world around them.
https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/repressed-trauma
Please note: for the record, I wrote most of this myself from personal experience so please don’t give me flack for not supplying references. Not everything needs references for validation.
These are memories of experiences that were so traumatic that they overwhelm one's sense of self, thereby making it difficult to deal with them while they’re happening which is known as dissociative amnesia.
According to the DSM-5, this information is:
• traumatic or stressful
• inconsistent with ordinary forgetting
• successfully stored
• involves a period of time when the patient is unable to recall the experience
• is not caused by a substance or neurological condition
When forgotten trauma resurfaces it can be devastating. There's evidence that shows that even when traumatic memories are repressed, they are never really forgotten. Trauma is stored in fragments, not linear and the fragments don’t always make sense or tell the whole story. With healing and the want to know, memory recall can be possible.
Those who disclose their experiences and are met with negative responses are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This may increase the chances of repressed memory.
PTSD can manifest in various ways, including flashbacks, unwanted thoughts or repressed memories. If left untreated, the memory might resurface at any time, causing your brain to experience the trauma anew each time.
By shutting down sensations and blocking memories, it helped you survive. But, if you didn't fully process the trauma in a safe and supported way, those memories and traumatic energy can get stuck in your body until eventually, they resurface, bringing with them unsettling images, sensations, or emotions.
Experts say that repressed memories are never really forgotten. They stay hidden from our conscious awareness, but intrude upon our daily life in fragments, dreams, triggers, and flashbacks. "Often the memories do not come back as verbal narratives but as symptoms such as dissociative episodes.”
When these memories do come back,
they can be persistent, unsettling, and sometimes re-traumatising; you start having nightmares, emotions, or physical sensations that remind you of a traumatic event from your past.
Recovering from trauma is not a straight path. Acknowledging it and shifting the energy within your body will look different each day. Some days will flow easier than others. Other days may feel like you’re swimming against the current. Either way, you need to feel it to heal it and it’s all part of the journey.
With proper support and coping skills, it’s possible to get through the resurfacing trauma of fear, anger, sadness and helplessness.
Bringing yourself to the present moment is helpful in this type of recovery. Here are some gentle self care practices to consider.
1/. Mindful breathing - focussing on your breath in the present moment really feeling the full inhalation and exhalation of each breath.
2/. Journaling - writing down what you feel and how you feel in the present moment
3/. Daily exercise- getting blood flowing through the veins bringing fresh oxygen and soothing brain chemicals can greatly help cope with the trauma of memory recall
4/. Meditation - is the practice of using your body and the space around you to become aware of the present moment.
5/. Yoga - increase body awareness (interoception) in a safe and controlled way, which can promote feelings of physical, emotional, and psychological safety.
6/. Art as therapy or expression - is a way of healing the pain from within in a safe & gentle manner
7/. Music therapy - is used for people suffering from physical ailments due to its effect on their mental state. It can assist patients in coping with emotional stress and help them feel more confident, cheerful, and connected to the world around them.
https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/repressed-trauma
Please note: for the record, I wrote most of this myself from personal experience so please don’t give me flack for not supplying references. Not everything needs references for validation.
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