Research Finds Repressed Memories Don't Exist

The idea that traumatised people, especially the victims of child sexual abuse, deliberately repress horrific memories goes all the way back to the 19th century and the theories of Sigmund Freud himself. But now some experts are saying the evidence points the other way.

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Once again, more research that is pertinent to many of the subjects that are discussed on ATS. Be it stories of Satanic rituals or alien abduction the main way these memories are recovered is through things like hypnotherapy, yet it has been long contested that people in these states are prone to suggestion and producing false memories. Now it seems like those proponents of false memory syndrome have even more evidence for their argument.

reply to post by Xcalibur254


A rogue idea two scientists develop in opposition to the rest of the medical scientific community is hardly conclusive and highly doubtful. They are probably the first line of defense for some pedophile who is trying to escape justice with the blessing of the courts.
The report given Congress by these two is step one...

This is how they managed to discredit climate change...
A couple wing nuts float a different theory, get it enough exposure,
it goes viral and we are all sucker punched with a lie. Like that.

Originally posted by rusethorcain
This is how they managed to discredit climate change...

Sorry for the off topicness but just had to comment on this.

The opposition on the subject of climate change are not denying climate change, it is a fact. What we think of as the cause of climate change however is what is in question.

On the subject of repressed memories, I know this is a fact. I dated a girl whom continually had out of control behaviour and she didn't understand really why she was doing the things she was doing, until she was led down the path of psychotherapy.

I think I have to make it clear that there was no hypnosis involved in her treatment, what she finally revealed not only to the doc and her family later on but more importantly herself was that she was abused as a child.

This memory was in her head but somehow blocked off from direct recall, yet there were associations that when she came across in her life would cause her to go out of control.

So talking from personal first hand experience I say the findings in the ~OP~ are just completely wrong.

All the best,

Korg,

And just to add a Big Heart Felt Genuine Hug for all those people whom have been abused out there, Don't let the evil actions of a past event stop you from reaching your potential!!

This is not some rouge theory.
The McMartin preschool case is a great example.
Through intense questioning ( though I don't think hypnosis was used), the kid "victims" came up with all kinds of very detailed memories, none of which proved to be true.
I believe the same goes for alleged abductees. The mind fills in what it cannot remember with fiction, it's called confabulation. When something is strongly suggested, the mind uses the suggestions to fill in the blanks.

Originally posted by OldDragger
This is not some rouge theory.
The McMartin preschool case is a great example.
Through intense questioning ( though I don't think hypnosis was used), the kid "victims" came up with all kinds of very detailed memories, none of which proved to be true.
I believe the same goes for alleged abductees. The mind fills in what it cannot remember with fiction, it's called confabulation. When something is strongly suggested, the mind uses the suggestions to fill in the blanks.

I'm not suggesting that the power of suggestion is not to play in some cases, but lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Korg.

Originally posted by rusethorcain
reply to post by Xcalibur254

 

A rogue idea two scientists develop in opposition to the rest of the medical scientific community is hardly conclusive and highly doubtful. They are probably the first line of defense for some pedophile who is trying to escape justice with the blessing of the courts.
The report given Congress by these two is step one...

This is how they managed to discredit climate change...
A couple wing nuts float a different theory, get it enough exposure,
it goes viral and we are all sucker punched with a lie. Like that.

In case you forget, the very defense that is contested by this study has proven to release more criminals into the hands of "medical professionals" instead of prisons for a long time.

And I think that "repressed memories" are not an excuse for actions anyhow. There may be "reasons", but no one is excused from their actions. We are all responsible for what we do and we all have a choice whether we do something or not... regardless of our mental incapacities or fears.

I disagree with the OP. I have studied the topic of Repression and feel they are valid according to my own experiences. I do believe the idea of "Repressed Memories" is exaggerated by the media and society as a whole, but the phenomenon is real and has been demonstrated in scientific experiments.

reply to post by rusethorcain


This is not a rogue idea. Memory repression has been contested since Freud created the theory without any scientific data to back it up. This study is simply the culmination of decades of research from many different researchers to show that once again psychoanalysis is pseudoscience at best. While I will be willing to admit that Freud and his followers did introduce some interesting theories that turned out to be true, on the whole they were creating theories that had no scientific backing whatsoever.

Actual repressed memories that have been obscured or lost due to trauma are well documented and have been well known for decades. A few new theories might point in another direction but don't suddenly make everything else"Wrong." Thousands of cases and thousands of different subjects and circumstances don't suddenly fit into a new neat theory.

As far as "confabulation" goes, it is a different thing altogether from actual repressed memories.

There is a huge difference between someone that doesn't remember a traumatic event and someone who fabricates false memories.

I just did a study of twenty people who claimed to be stunners, and not one was.
I guess that means there are no stunners in this world.



I can tell you from my own experience that repressed memories do exist.

I was sexually abused by my mother and brothers up until I became pregnant at 13 and was .. ok, can't go into the rest right now ...

After something pretty traumatic I changed, and was no longer afraid of anyone or anything, (except spiders ) realised my family were all enemies and stopped loving them, and fought off any who tried to touch me.

At sixteen I was able to leave home and live with relatives while I kept studying, and was wholly caught up in a new school, new family, new friends, a whole new life in which I could dress in nice clothes, wear make-up, and learn about dating.

At that age, in those circumstances, I never gave a thought to my past. It was GONE. Instead I learned to have fun and work towards a future. It's hard to explain what it means to an isolated and constantly abused child to escape and live a normal life. Just being able to buy myself a little tub of yogurt at the supermarket felt like a miracle.

Some years later, as a young mother moving house, I sent my four year old daughter to stay with my parents for a couple of weeks. She came back a different kid, frightened, refusing to talk, bed-wetting, and playing up badly. But I just thought she'd not coped with being away from me. When she was six I again listened to my mother's pleas to take her for a holiday, skiing, and this time, when she returned, she was different again. But this time I could get her to talk.

Not only had my mother done things to her, but she'd then taken her to a deserted place in the snow and left her there, alone, after dark. And it was not just my daughter's story, my mother ended up admitting the latter part when I put it to her saying she had to because my daughter was evil.

When my daughter told me this I was violently ill, as all the memories came back, and suddenly it seemed I'd known all along, and couldn't understand why I hadn't realised I shouldn't leave my daughter with this woman. I still feel like vomiting with guilt at the thought of what I exposed my daughter to.


Many years later I've discovered that the problem was a split personality, or multiple personality syndrome. I've got a bunch of personalities as a result of the abuse and trauma I went through. Such things shatter a personality into fragments, and I ended up with a different personality for each place, and for each type of activity. One of these personalities was the one who had experienced the sexual abuse directly, and that one is still a frightened little child who rarely appears. There is another that is aware of the abuse, and several that were not. In later years, since turning fifty, these personalities have begun to meld, and share memories.

Before melding, life was always a jigsaw with many pieces missing, but I was not even aware of the holes when they were pointed out. For example, a teacher commented in class that he'd seen me on the weekend at Healesville. I looked at him blankly, thinking he was off his head, and denied having even been to Healesville. Once I got home I knew I'd been to Healesville, but had no memory of this teacher mentioning it. Only much later could the one personality recall both.

By the way, it's usually called a disease, not a syndrome. I refuse to regard it as a disease, because it's a means of survival. It's been damaging in some ways, but it's also enabled me to grow and try new things and survive in this world.

I wonder how many other people have had their personalities shattered like this and thus "forgotten" important pieces of their past. There's no way I'm the only one who has experienced this.

reply to post by Kailassa


You're not the only person to experience this stuff.

But you weren't raised to deal with the crap of life because your mom is the crap of life.

But, now you're a mom, and now you know. And it's time to face the facts.

EVERYONE has trauma in their lives. It is those people who believe they are alone in their suffering that tend to attempt to push it so far away that they alienate a part of themselves.

Honesty in large part will be what makes you put away those illusions and focus on reality again.

Be well.

Recently, two of prominent doctors who were against "repressed memories" have been brought up on charges of pedophilia.

One lady I know was under one of their care. He spent much time trying to convince her in sessions that everything was her Mother's fault, and her father was railroaded.

The "repressed memories are false" crowd is dirty, and apparently draws pedophiles to it to protect themselves and their compatriots in a political culture war.

I can say from my own experience that if you go through something really horrible your mind can blank it out. In my case I can remember that the "event" happened but I can't remember details. What ahppened to me happened over the course of hours but I only have moments of memories. I am OK with that.

Originally posted by TarzanBeta
EVERYONE has trauma in their lives. It is those people who believe they are alone in their suffering that tend to attempt to push it so far away that they alienate a part of themselves.
Honesty in large part will be what makes you put away those illusions and focus on reality again.
Be well.

I've never had the illusion I was alone in suffering.

As a young teenager I was lucky enough to attend a (government) school with a brilliant library. Not realising what I was doing was the best self-treatment, I avidly read every book about teenagers suffering I could find, particularly stories of the children in Hiroshima and in WW2 prison camps. So I never thought "why me?". I just accepted that we each get a different "story" to live, (which I believe we choose between lives just like choosing a college course,) and the important thing is to learn and grow from one's experiences and to make this world a better place, not a worse one.

The people that need our pity, (not that I'm suggesting we go easy on them,) are the abusers. The innocence stolen long-term is their own.

And thank you.

Just to add, the most important thing I learned through my bad times was that the only thing you really own in this world is your own inner self. - Your own hopes and dreams, your own principles, your own character.
If you can survive with these intact, and still be the sort of person you would like for a good friend, you have won.

I would think repressed memories probably do exist.

Though maybe they're only semi-repressed, like your brain ignores them, but you still kinda know they're there?

I am highly fascinated by the Debate false-memories vs. repressed memories and hope to read more from both sides in this thread.

Originally posted by 19872012
I would think repressed memories probably do exist.

Though maybe they're only semi-repressed, like your brain ignores them, but you still kinda know they're there?

It could be that some memories have no reason other than to cause pain so maybe they are better just forgotten? Sometimes it is better to just pay attention to where you're at in life and realize that the past only matters enough to not repeat certain mistakes... but one shouldn't be obsessing over bad memories.

Some things are hard to get over, we've all got those things. But we pick ourselves up and realize that we are alive now and things are okay. Wherever we are at, we stop and focus on the present and realize it's fine.

There is no sense in useless worrying. Worrying in and of itself is completely counter-productive for life.

I think that people who are traumatised that continue to traumatise themselves with their memories instead of looking forward. I think there are people who would blame things they remember about their past for things they have done or are doing or might do. I think that everyone is looking for their "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

The reality is that it doesn't actually matter if people have repressed memories except for maybe cases like the previous poster who had not realized to take her daughter to her grandmother. But, even then, why should one assume the same should happen? Obviously she had done well to forgive and forget... but it is not her fault that her daughter suffered. IT is the grandmother's for not learning her lesson.

How ironic, that the one who is not guilty of the act is the one who feels guilty. That's stupid.

All because one had done WELL.

But, that is how this world is. If you do well, you will be treated maliciously. If you are malicious, you will be treated well out of fear.

But we should aspire to be more than our memories. We should always, every second, forgiving eachothers' and our own mistakes and attempt to not repeat them while at the same time finding joy in every moment of life. This whole crap about how a life of meaning requires to be living in the past and the future... is a JOKE. That is not a life of meaning because that is not even consciousness. To live in the past and the future is to take life for granted.

Plan accordingly if it must be, but live in the present and always, even under moments of severe torcher, remind yourself of how much worse it could be. Appreciate what good we have left, because as long as we are living, there is SOMETHING to appreciate.

Really it's like people who get in a car accident. They often don't remember the wreck due to the extreme stress. Now just take that along the spectrum and along different extremes of abuse and extreme stress and whatnot. Voila, you have repressed memories, along a spectrum. Some easier to recapture than others, but there's certainly something to the theory of repressed memories. We can admit we don't have a perfect map of the mind, and I often despise modern psychology, but this theory is a horrible shot in the dark by those who came up with it, unless I am missing something.

Child abusers do have serious ulterior motives for something like this to be believed, it would take all power away from the child victim/witness. It makes me so mad, it's so despicable, and this turn of events shows that they are aware that what they are doing is WRONG.

Confabulation exists yes, but in my experience it's very general. I doubt anytihng specific enough to be used in the court of law would be a result of confabulation. Of course people make things up, that can happen.

reply to post by Xcalibur254


well, i have first-hand experience of repressed memories resurfacing in my 20's.

at first i thought it was my imagination, but who the EFF would imagine things like that? and then a year or so after i had remembered these things my sister brought up the memories that i had involving her and i was soooo shocked i lied to her at first and just pretended like i knew nothing.

then i had to admit to her that i remembered it to, and that i was present when it was happening to her. and i feel really responsible, but i was only 5 or 6.

anyways, my point is, whether it is as common as some would say or not...i experienced this. and i was NOT under the care of any kind of doctor at the time.

I'll tell you what I think. I think this "research" is disgusting.


You know who one of the leading proponents of "false memories" is? Organized pedophiles. They like to claim that little kids who say they were sexually abused, and were too traumatized to rationalize or even consciously think about what had happened to them, were just making things up or recalling memories that didn't actually exist.

Now this similar line, that repressed memories don't exist and people just make stuff up. BULL.


The Nazis did experiments in concentration camps and found you could give someone multiple personality disorder by torturing them until their conscious mind dissolved and they basically went into trance states where you are talking directly to their subconscious, because they have basically fainted while their body is still awake, if you will.

I guess multiple personality disorder must not exist either according to these people, even though it's been documented thoroughly just like repressed memories themselves have. Why? Because with multiple personality disorder, one personality often doesn't remember anything that the other personality was doing when it was conscious. There is a complete memory-block between the personas. It's the same mechanism.

When you hear about MK Ultra or Manchurian candidates, it's the same thing. They torture people until they develop multiple personality disorder as a coping mechanism to the sheer trauma, and then program their new "personality" however they want. Look up "Greenbaum Speech" on Google for a speech given by a psychiatrist in 1992 on how he had personally been involved with many, many cases of multiple personality disorder and repressed memories of people who had been programmed in exactly this way to do all number of odd jobs for elitists, in which cases the elitists didn't want these people to recall anything they were doing later.


This whole thing reeks of disinformation and the most disgusting kind of bought-and-paid-for "science."

My 2 cents.



Edit to add... I'm glad others have already pointed out the same.

I was so disgusted when I saw the article that I had to respond before reading the other replies.

And if you read the article itself, it uses all the classic disinformation tactics. "You think this is true? No, actually the COMPLETE OPPOSITE is true." "Psychologists are just too inept and are creating these memories in their patients." Etc. etc. etc.

Sorry, but I can tell the difference between real hard evidence, and just making a bunch of excuses to cover your own ass. They are just making accusations based on nothing.

I wouldn't be surprised if the people who wrote this sexually abused children themselves.