Memories And Trauma
Memories are the result of our minds and bodies processing and integrating information. Events happen and they find a place in us. This is true for events that are frightening and threatening. Just like the body goes into action to heal a physical wound, this processing and integrating helps us make sense of the fear and the threat so that it does not overwhelm us and allows us to choose a response.
Traumatic events are so frightening and threatening that they disrupt the ability of the mind and body to process and integrate. Instead, the trauma gets locked into its own memory, and it is a memory of the event as it was experienced. It is like all the parts of the experience are frozen in time. All of the parts—the images, the bodily sensations, even the smells and the sounds. The thoughts and beliefs that are happening are frozen as well. Because one aspect of trauma is not being able to get away from a threatening event, some of the thoughts are beliefs like “I am not going to survive this.”
If you take a moment right now, you can probably bring to mind a memory of a scary or threatening moment in your life. Or maybe you have a fearful experience in the present that reminds you of a fearful moment in the past. As this happens, you are very aware that it is a memory. You know that you are remembering something that happened years ago; you probably know that the reason you are remembering it now is because of the event that happened in the present. You may think about both events for a while. You might even picture some of the images and thoughts and feelings from both events. But then you will move on.
Happening In Real Time
But imagine what it would be like if the memory from the past is not experienced as a memory; it is like it is really happening. Your heart races. You really smell all the odors and hear all the sounds. You do not realize that the danger of the moment has passed; it is happening right now. This is what happens to people who have experienced trauma when the unprocessed memory gets triggered in the present.
But there’s more. It’s not like you go through your life normally until the trauma is triggered. It is still a part of who you are and shows up in your attitudes, feelings, and behavior. Imagine a young boy who is sexually abused by an adult male. Later in life he may have conflicts with a male manager at work. He may struggle with developing close relationships. He may live his life own edge. There is a part of him that does not want these problems and does not want to feel this way. The traumatic event is locked in its own memory system, but it is still a memory. It shows up in all these areas of his life.
How Can Trauma Treatment Help?
The goal of trauma treatment is to unlock the traumatic event from this memory and to process it in a way that frees it to become one of many other memories stored in our minds. There are a variety of ways to do this. All of them involve stimulating the memory and all of the images, sensations, feelings, and beliefs associated with it. Stimulating does not mean reliving it like a flashback. Instead of not being away of the trauma or doing all you can to avoid it, you and your therapist are willing to be present, really present, to the event in a non-judgmental way so you can have the space to choose a life that gives you meaning.
Trauma treatment does not make the memory go away; instead it gives it a place in your life just like any other memory. You know it is there. You can still know some of the thoughts and feelings that go with it. But now, it feels like “old stuff;” it does not have the ability to control your emotions, your thoughts, your behaviors, your living.
For more information about trauma treatment, click here.