Are suppressed memories of sexual abuse possible ? Posted: 06-20-07 02:41am
My husband and I split up earlier this
year because he was being abusive towards
me. At first I only thought he had only
been psychologically, mentally verbally
and emtotionally abusive to me. When I
first started counselling I was told to
write down anything I started to remember
about the times I was abused. I didn't
think much of it at that very moment until
later on that night. I was having a
conversation with my mom and someting she
said triggered memories of physical abuse
that I had been suppressing. I wrote it
down. Now I am having vivid memories of
being sexually assaulted in my bedroom but
I do not know if it was a dream or not. I
can remember everyting but the persons
face. Could this just be a dream or
potentially the beginning of remembering
another suppressed memory?
You didn’t describe how your husband was
abusing you. Sexual abuse in marriage is
often very difficult to prove. However,
when you talk about these incomplete
memories and abuse in the past it seems
likely that your husband’s behavior
awakened older, suppressed memories in
you. Maybe your husband wasn’t as
abusive as you perceived. Perhaps you were
sexually abused during childhood but your
mind forgot that by suppressing the memory
in the subconsciousness (psychogenic
amnesia).
Memory of psycho-emotional suffering can't
be erased completely. Suppressed memories
will find their way to be expressed by
creating associations in the present or
via nightmares. People that experience
sexual suffering during childhood have
difficulties in sustaining strong
relationship with members of the opposite
sex. It seems that this might be the cause
of the problem. If so, you'll need expert
help from a mental health professional.
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