do you think as a child you can block unpleasant memories but as an adult you cant unblock them?

Question

seeing how so many people didnt like my last spelling i have changed it for you because i need a serious anwser

Answer 1

you may think you have blocked them but in adulthood they come rushing back. you have to face the memories and deal with them.

Answer 2

blocking unpleasant memories is a 'survival' mechanism and enables children in particluar to deal with certain situations in the only way they know how, (particularly because they often cannot control the situation in any other way) but this will all vary from person to person and depending on circumstances. There can be various problems with unlocking such memories because depending on the age of the child at the time the memory can become very sketchy anyway and then rather than there being details of the actual event there is only the memory of the emotion, ie how it felt to have something happen rather than remember what actually happened. Also if the actual event was too painful to remember at the time then subconsciously you may still be repressing that memory - the fear of opening the door in which case you may need help ie someone asking the right questions which you may be reluctant to ask yourself.

Answer 3

I think that children have just as much trouble blocking unpleasant memories as adults. What is helpful for them is that their brain is still developing, so that they may not be able to recall these memories as they get older. That is not to say they will definitely be gone. Another reason it may seem easier for children is due to the level of understanding. They may not understand the unpleasantness of a situation the same way an adult would. I would be careful unblocking memories, as it can very possibly produce false memories. Our memory is malleable, and subject to new information. For instance, if you had a memory of a scene in your head where you remembered a man in a blue shirt, and a few days later you talked to your friend, and he stated how nice that red shirt on that man was, it is possible that in your memory, he man will now wear a red shirt. This is why eyewitness testimony is not definitive in a court case.

Answer 4

As a child I had some very traumatic things happen to me. I can remember what happened before, and what happened after, but not while the trauma was happening. I believe this is our minds way of protecting us from something hurtful so that we don't feel the pain. I still cannot remember that moment in time, and I am not sure that I want to, because as an adult, I have been able to piece the before and the after together and arrived at the middle (the part I have no memory of). I think some things are just better left unknown until we are strong enough to face them.

Answer 5

The repression of a childhood memory happens when an event is too painful to keep at the conscious level. This actually happens a lot, and it is part of the way the unconscious mind takes care of our conscious mind. My oldest son has a father who, when my son was growing up, spent almost no time with him; and when he was with him, never missed an opportunity to let him know how "inadequate" he was. Not surprisingly, my son (early 30's now) has very few actual memories of being between 5 and 10. He is primarily an angry person who can be and often is very mean, but he does not have any desire to try and remember stuff from his childhood. He thinks that's stupid.

Answer 6

Freud was very keen on the idea of repressing painful memories as a coping mechanism and suggested that psychotherapy and hypnosis could retrieve these memories.

The problem has been that there have been many cases of 'false memory syndrome' where therapists of dubious repute have helped people recover memories of things that never happened, often sexual abuse. This undermines attempts to help people who have genuinely suffered in this way.

Most psychological studies of memory suggest that painful memories are likely to be remembered more clearly, rather than repressed. There is actually little hard evidence for such 'repressed memories'.

Answer 7

Do to trauma it is possible, this becomes one of dissociative disorders. They can be unblocked but this is difficult because one can run the risk of forming memories that have never existed.
For example: a psychologist might be trying to find out if you have been abused as a child, but even if you weren't being abused your mind could fabricate memories. Memory is funny, anything can trigger you to remember your past from taste to smell. You would need to find a trigger to your memory in order for you to remember somethings, again this is all theoretical.

Answer 8

i believe that as a child things a much more easier to overcome and getting over certain events is much easier, but locking out memories, i dont think it is easy for any age. a memory can either be a joyful or regretful memory, and our lives our based on our past. if you could easily block any memories from reaching the surface of your thoughts then you really arent blocking the thought because you are still thinking about it when trying to block it...(i know, that prolly made no sense)

Answer 9

Personally I don't believe in repression at all. Children don't actively block painful memories they are just reluctant to keep processing the memory trace, so it's forgotten like any other unrehersed memory. Parts can be remembered but that's about it...

Answer 10

Are you referring to denial? I've heard of people refusing to recognize how they are being treated by another individual. I think lying to oneself can cause self-destruction and history has proven it many times. No I don't think adults lack the ability to remember or figure out unpleasant situations/memories....not a spiritually mature adult.