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Bad memories can be supressed

People are able to make themselves forget disturbing images.

People can will themselves to forget traumatic or emotional scenes, researchers have found. When the brain conducts such deletions, brain regions that process vision and emotion go quiet.

Read the story here.

Posted by Nicola Jones on July 12, 2007
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I am 48 & male. I suffered horrible abuse as a child which I never EVER forgot.

I raised my children and thank God I never did to them and prevented what happened me from happening to them.

Finally in my mid 30's I sought help. It has really been in the past two years I can say I finally have been getting the help I need or perhaps I'm more open to it.

I simply cannot shut down my emotions anymore like I was able to do before.

So when I read that memories are able to be 'turned off' so to speak, I worry.

How does this affect someone who has not forgotten? Doesn't the person still have to deal with himself/herself? Isn't it like a patchwork quilt having pieces missing?

Who then does the person become?

I certainly would not want to be a beta tester for something like this.

Will it turn off the nightmares? Should it turn off the nightmares? What happens if it turns off the memories and the nightmares remain? Wouldn't that cause more of a problem for such a person?

Many unanswered questions and I am sure I am not the only one.

How do you turn off the memories of a horrible parent AND two horrible parents? Then what does that person have to remember as a child? A blank? What happens when this person is asked about his/her life from strangers? There is nothing to say or fill?

Is it worse saying I was abused/neglected/raped as a child or better to say, I do not remember my life as a child, most of it has been erased? Either way, such a person responding to the questions of others will be thought of as a freak! Giving a person a blank page/s of life, wouldn't that cause more confusion and a desire to know what happened?

How do you turn off horrible memories and leave intact the memory/desire to have them erased?

Although this is being tried for relief of victims and developed, I hope, by those who really want to aid such people and not just out of money or for defense purposes, I have many concerns for the person who will go through this procedure.

To study a handful over a lifetime is still not studying a 1000 around the world in different environments, cultures, etc.

It is a scary thing to read about.

Humans are too hateful and controlling of others (just the events of the 20th century shows our capability to use something meant for the good and turn it into evil purposes).

There are far too many issues here to really praise this.

Posted by: Mike | July 18, 2007 05:34 PM

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