Repression is a concept that is regularly argued within the psychology world. Whilst most psychologists believe this condition exists, the scientists have other thoughts.
The concept around repressed memory is that something shocking happens, and the mind pushes it into your unconscious as a way of coping. It can remain there for years or even decades and one day the memory can emerge into consciousness and be triggered by various elements or situations.
Commonly repression can happen when childhood trauma occurs such as sexual abuse that allegedly has been repressed for decades, until recovered in therapy. Following the discovery of repressed memory, can come Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
As adults, we would rather forget traumatic experiences, and whilst we can forget the small details, we still retain the emotions that come with those types of experiences. As a child though, it’s natural to store fragmented memories of events. Many psychotherapists also believe that a high level of all psychological disorders is due to repressed memories of childhood events, trauma and abuse.
Repressed memory is also commonly known as Memory Blanks. People can experience memory blanks of a year or several years during childhood. Now before we jump to conclusions, just because someone doesn’t remember every single detail about their childhood, this doesn’t necessarily mean they are experiencing memory blanks or repression. However, if you are also experiencing problem relationships, sexual dysfunction, panic attacks, phobias, suicide attempts or other issues around self-worth then it’s probably worth having a chat with someone.
Your memory is a funny instrument and works differently to organs that are physical such as the brain. A persons memory has been described in the past as a filing cabinet full of notes, stored away; however, it’s workings are a little more complex than that.
It’s interesting to know that your memory is made up of several small segments and these segments all work together to ensure you remember things such as when it’s a red light you stop or that when it rains you will get wet! All of these segments work together playing a different role in creating, storing and recalling your memories.
Even scientists still do not fully understand how the memory works, so the concept of repressed memory or memory lapsed seems plausible. It’s essential that if you feel you are suffering from either Repressed Memory or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to seek advice from your GP or Psychologist asap.