Remembering Upsetting Events Reduces their Power

Anyone who has experienced shock or trauma in their lives realizes that it is human instinct to bury or repress memories of upsetting events. In order to “move on” from a stressful period, many individuals will simply resolve to avoid thoughts about the upsetting events. But does refusing to acknowledge bad memories in this manner actually imbue them with more power? And can facing traumatic memories in fact have a therapeutic effect?

Facing up to the Past

Certainly for many years therapists have encouraged patients to address issues from their past and memories that may be affecting their actions in the present, but the positive effects of such therapy has always been believed to be an emotional one. However, research conducted by scientists from New York University would seem to indicate that recalling upsetting memories provides a finite window of opportunity in which their negative power over our physical reactions as well as thoughts and emotions can be effectively removed.

Study into Memory Responses

The study, led by NYU’s Daniela Schiller, examined participants who were conditioned to fear the sight of a colored square as it was shown to them simultaneously with the delivery of a small electric shock. After the fear had been initially instilled in the participants they were left for a period of time before being brought back and once again shown the squares, which had, in their minds become associated with receiving a shock. The second time they were shown the squares, they were not shocked.

The study seemed to show that using the ‘frightening’ squares to “reactivate” the memory of the shocks opened a window that allowed the memory of the traumatic experience to be overlaid with one that was more pleasant, thus removing the fear factor associated with the squares. The study also illustrated that the period during which a memory needed to be recalled and rewritten was a small window of opportunity in which the power of a memory can be reduced.

The research may provide a boon for sufferers of conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety and panic disorders, many symptoms of which feed off memory triggers causing distress and suffering to patients.

Hope for Anxiety Sufferers

If distressing memories can be brought to the fore, faced and overwritten with the help of a professional, then the adverse impact of those memories can be removed, reducing the chances of the sufferer finding themselves at the mercy of extreme emotional and physical reactions associated with the recall of past events. However, in order for any treatment based upon the research to be effective, patients must be willing to face their worst memories and memory triggers, and resist the natural urge to retreat from the recollections of their past traumas.

Those who are sufficiently brave to take such actions may find that they are able to open a door which offers freedom from the prison of memory which has restricted their happiness for so long.

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