Can people "forget" unhappy memories?
Categories: Healthy Relationships, Stress Reduction, Motivation
I've read that when someone recalls a traumatic event, the emotions connected to that event are just as real as the day it first happened. That's what makes conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety so debilitating. But a recent study may someday open the door to a new kind of therapy that lets sufferers actually bury disturbing images and memories to allow themselves to heal.
Because the study didn't involve traumatic events that had actually happened to the participants, it's too early to say whether the findings will translate into care of patients, but during the study participants were able to "turn down" activity of their visual cortex, where images of events are stored in the brain. After actively working to block a disturbing image from their memory, participants in the study could train themselves to no longer associate an image with those memories.
Read more about the full study here.
Because the study didn't involve traumatic events that had actually happened to the participants, it's too early to say whether the findings will translate into care of patients, but during the study participants were able to "turn down" activity of their visual cortex, where images of events are stored in the brain. After actively working to block a disturbing image from their memory, participants in the study could train themselves to no longer associate an image with those memories.
Read more about the full study here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Storm 7-13-2007 @ 1:13PM
I don't think this would work at all. I actually took the drug that they're using right after a rape or traumatic event to "erase" the memory of it...propranolol. I took it for three years for heart racing problems...and all it did was give me AWFUL problems with my basic short term memory...before taking the medicine I was in college studying psychology, in the top 10% of my class with a 3.78 GPA....now, I can't remember what I did the day before...I wake up every morning not remembering a thing from the day before...but my old memories of abuse, rapes, beatings and emotional torture as a child...well, they're as clear as day. So I don't think simply trying to train the mind to forget tragic moments will work out well...seems we always remember the bad with total clarity...and that is what we learn from..the worst moments of our lives teach us the greatest lessons...they make us, literally, become who we are. Think about it...
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B 7-13-2007 @ 3:13PM
I don't believe it's a good idea to forget any memory as each one is a learning process that defines who you are over the course of your life. If taking meds takes those painful memories away for now, what will all those people do when the time comes to deal with them? Each issue, whether good, bad or indifferent needs to be addressed in order for people to move ahead. To "cover" bad memories only prolongs the heartache and when that person dies, that memory will resurface even stronger.
It's best to deal and then move on.
I know this from experience due to a very abusive father who not only physically abused me but mentally and sexually. I went a long time hating him for what he did but forgiving myself and relearning life made all the difference. I now love my father very much even though he has passed on.
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