REPRESSED MEMORY

Repressed Memory

Table of Contents

Repressed Memory3

Introduction3

The Controversy of Repressed Memories4

After Freud5

Scientific Proof5

Accuracy and authenticity of repressed memory6

Therapist Suggestion7

The Theory behind Repressed memories10

Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT)10

Repressed Memory by various authors11

Conclusion13

Repressed Memory

Introduction

Repressed memory in theory can be said to be a phenomenon used to explain the loss of some part of the human memory sometimes due to trauma which therefore, makes it impossible for the brain to recall events or happenings. Repressed memory is sometimes also referred to as aggravated forgetting whereby humans or the subject in blocks out the part of life that is filled with pain, stress, and/or trauma. Over the years, many people have confused repressed memory for amnesia but the two concepts in theory are not the same. Amnesia is a term used to describe a situation where a memory is not stored in the first instant sometimes due to head injuries or sharp blows on the head and therefore, stopping the short-term memory from being transferred to the long-term memory. Repressed memory, sometimes also referred to as repression is most times confused with psychogenic amnesia and most times are described as the same phenomenon with different names. Repression as a phenomenon was introduced by Freud Sigmund who was an Austrian physician in the end periods of the 19th century. Freud Sigmund was the personality behind the foundation of psychoanalysis and is therefore referred to as the founder (Loftus, 2008).

This paper seeks to give a clear understanding of the concept of repressed memories. The repressed memory is a theoretical concept used to describe a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, which must be available for recovery, also called motivated forgetting in which a thematic sometimes painful or traumatic life. This is not the same as amnesia, which is a term for any case in which memories are stored in the first place (for example, traumatic head injuries when the short-term memory is not transferred to memory long-term) or oblivion. The term used to describe the memories I have disengaged from the conscience, and which have been repressed without dissociation. The repressed memory syndrome, the clinical term, used to describe the repressed memories, often compared to the psychogenic amnesia, and some sources to compare the two as equivalent. According to proponents of the theory of repressed memories can sometimes be recovered years or decades after the event, most often spontaneously, triggered by a smell, taste, or other identification-related memory loss, or the suggestion during psychotherapy (Della Femina, 2009).

The existence of repressed memories is a controversial issue in psychology, some studies have found that can occur in victims of trauma, while others difference. According to the American Psychological Association, which is not currently possible to distinguish a true memory from a false one repressed without corroborating evidence. In Freud's theory of "repression" the mind automatically banishes traumatic events from memory to prevent overwhelming anxiety. Freud further theorized that repressed memories cause "neurosis," which could be cured if the memories were made ...