Two of my sisters came forward about an adult cousin molesting them and I was just wondering if it was possible for me to have blocked it out of memory if it happened to me. If it did happen to me I honestly dont remember it. We are all over age now but when it was done they were minors and I would have been a minor as well. We are 22, 20, and 18. I would like serious answers only please because the second I get a rude or smartass one I am reporting the person.
2006-08-10 14:07:03 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
Is there anything aside from hypnosis I can do to try and remember anything if anything happened without it just being my imagination?
2006-08-10 14:11:01 · update #1
ok first of all it would have been a family member and I never did drink anything over there but water (it was at my aunts house this all took place with my sisters) I didnt need a smartass answer. I would have been pretty young probably 11 up to when I got pregnant by my xboyfriend at age 16
2006-08-10 14:12:41 · update #2
there is no way they could have made the stories up. when the 20 year old had it happen it was me and her at the aunts house. when it happened to my 18 year old sister she was 17 and living at my aunts with my aunt. Plus I doubt my 20 year old sister would make up something that would have happened to her when she was like 8 or 9 and suddenly decided to tell. I know it happened because he had tried to follow me to the bathroom but another relative was in the home and it stopped him.
2006-08-10 14:14:58 · update #3
I always get a feeling down in my stomach like he did something to me when I am around him. This was before my sisters ever said anything to me about it. I still get sick to my stomach even hearing his name or seeing him.
2006-08-10 14:17:03 · update #4
BY THE WAY I AM THE OLDEST AT 22, THEN THERE IS THE 20 YR OLD AND THE 18 YR OLD.
2006-08-10 14:20:58 · update #5
Yes, it is possible. I was in counseling 2 yrs. ago and we were
talking and out of the blue I remembered an incident that happened over 25 yrs. ago. My cousin "touched" me and I just
completely blocked it out! Then, it came out and I was absolutely
horrified! My counselor stopped the session, blocked all his calls
and we talked for over 2 hrs., until the memory was released and
I remembered it and dealt with it. It is the most awful thing. I was
11 yrs. old when it happened & 34 when the memory surfaced.
so, yes, it is possible. This is the God's honest truth. The thing
is, with him being my cousin, we now do not talk because of some things going on in the family, & to top it off he has MD now
so is that justice? I don't know, I don't wish him bad, but I think
the fact he did it & hurt me so bad just really sucks. I hope he
has an answer to God when he passes away, because I will not
judge him - only God has that right. But I've put it behind me - I
can tell you that I had trouble with guys, trusting them... I am not
sure if it's related or not, but when it surfaces, I hope you are with
someone who CAN help you because it will hit you right between
the eyes!
2006-08-10 16:46:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
It is possible, yes. This isn't to say that you should go assuming that it happened to you too--but it certainly is possible.
What happens--as best as people understand it--is that trauma causes some people, especially very young people, to block out the incident since they had no way of understanding or dealing with it. Since it made no sense, it got "buried." Or else it was so overwhelming and frightening that it got blacked out.
Memory is a complex organism. A lot of it exists because of association--physical details are linked to sensory impressions and emotional feelings, for example. This is why a certain smell can give you a very vibrant picture of a particular scene in your life--if that smell was present during a scene from your past, then the smell in the present "activates" the portion of your memory where that scene is stored. And voila: You remember everything surrounding the smell.
Now, if you have a traumatic experience, and there is no way to understand or process it, it will get blocked off in its own little place, unlinked to anything known or common. So the memory could just remain inactive, since nothing ordinary calls it to mind. OR, it could be "cordoned off" in a "danger zone" that says, essential, "Don't go here." This could be because what it's linked to--fear, powerlessness, terror, rage, and so forth--could have been perceived as very dangerous and overwhelming at the time.
I don't know if I'm doing a good enough job of explaining repressed memories. But they can and do exist. It just takes the right key to activate them--and who knows what that key is. It is a totally individual thing.
2006-08-10 14:14:13 · answer #2 · answered by Gestalt 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would be interesting to know if you are younger than your
sisters. If you were extremely young and the youngest of all the sisters, you might not remember. You definitely could have repressed the memory, as well. Do you show any signs that you may be repressing a memory? Do you have illogical fears? Do
you have a drug or alcohol problem? Some of things may suggest that you might have a repressed memory of abuse.
If could be that you just were the lucky one who got away without being abused. Maybe the cousin didn't have access to you like he did the other girls.
I believe in therapy. I think that your sisters should definitely be in therapy to help them get over the molestation and you may want
to go on your own- just to help you with life in general and see if you have any survivor guilt, if you find that you weren't molested.
No, I'm not a professional, so you may take what I have said with
a grain of salt. It's just my personal opinion. But, it's what I'd do.
Good luck to you and your sisters. You didn't cause it. Get the molester off the streets!
2006-08-10 14:18:17 · answer #3 · answered by Linda S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Memory is much less stable than we would all like to believe. It's possible to block out memories of things that really happened, just as it's possible to remember things that never happened.
If your sisters are talking about it but they haven't included you in the scenario, maybe that means you weren't involved. Do you think they would have said something if they remembered your being involved?
If you're living a happy, healthy life, it's probably not helpful to get focused on something like this and let it derail you. The only really practical thing you could do about it now would be to get tested for STDs.
2006-08-10 14:16:32 · answer #4 · answered by Grammar=Fun 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's possible, but not probable. It could be that the other two sisters said or did something that scared the older cousin away from you so that he left you alone, or maybe you were too young at the time when he was doing it? Honestly, follow your heart, and/or contact a hypnotist to help.
2006-08-10 14:11:19 · answer #5 · answered by wellbeing 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is what happend to me i become raped with the aid of a pal taking off at the same time as i become 7. i began masturbating round an same time and that i also experience ashamed I blocked it from my ideas till i become 16. round that aspect i become growing sexually lively for the first time. My boyfriend touching me in a particular way is what presented on it for me and that i began to shop in ideas further and extra. I provide you with a warning at the moment if you're searching to set off the memories and also you discover out you've been raped you'll favor specialist help. there is not any longer some thing that ought to practice you for remembering each and every component of your rape and that is the worst adventure contained in the international. there's a reason your ideas blocks it
2016-11-29 21:24:02 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It often happens that the mind blocks out traumatic experiences. If it happened and you are ready to remember then you will. I don't think I would go for hypnosis since the therapist can unwittingly place false memories there.
2006-08-10 14:15:16 · answer #7 · answered by synchronicity915 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can. Some people block it out. It is called disassociation. Hypnosis isn't a reliable way to retrieve blocked memories. An experienced therapist in this area can help you. I highly recommend going to talk to one to see what they can do.
2006-08-10 14:11:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is possible. People have been known to block off all kinds of really bad trauma like sexual molestation. It's doubly bad if the bad memories start resurfacing later. I'm sorry for your sisters and you.
2006-08-10 14:14:47 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is possible to block out sexual trauma. It is also possible to have false memories. If both sisters independently remembered the trauma and one did not "remind" the other then is it likely a true memory.
2006-08-10 14:11:23 · answer #10 · answered by Diane D 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋