Shreeya Garg: Week 13 - Repression and Suppression of Memories
After reading the first few chapters of Beloved, I immediately noticed that one prominent theme was the repression of painful memories. Seethe has faced a lot of pain in her life, and she seems to be repressing some of her most traumatic memories. To better understand what she and other trauma survivors go through, I decided to research the repression and suppression of memories.
According to VeryWell Mind, repression and suppression are both “defense mechanism[s]” that help protect your mind from “feelings of guilt and anxiety.” The difference is that repression is when the brain unconsciously blocks unwanted memories, whereas suppression is “deliberately trying to forget” painful memories.
As we all know, the human mind is very powerful, and our brains can actually “‘wall off’ memories of particularly harmful experiences,” such as abuse as a child. The repression of memories “allows a person to [be completely] unaware of the existence of such painful experiences.” While this ability of the mind to subconsciously recognize and block traumatic experiences is certainly impressive, is it beneficial?
While repression can help mitigate the immediate psychological impact of a traumatic experience, it prevents people from coming to terms with their past, and this can have adverse consequences. It is important to realize that although someone might have forgotten a certain traumatic experience, it still occurred, and according to Sigmund Freud, these forgotten experiences “still have the power to influence a person’s day-to-day behavior.” PEDIAA illustrates this phenomenon effectively by providing the example of a sexual abuse victim. Although the victim does not remember the abuse, the “victim will [still] find it hard to trust people and even start a relationship with another.” Not knowing the reason for such negative impulses can understandably lead to “greater anxiety” and “psychological distress.”
Suppression of memories is slightly different because the person is aware of the memories they are holding back. Short-term suppression “is considered a positive and mature defense mechanism,” but long-term suppression prevents people from accepting their past and is harmful to one’s mental health.
Overall, VeryWell Mind finds that “accepting negative emotions (rather than repressing or suppressing them) could help people respond better to stress and contribute to overall psychological health.” Unfortunately, many trauma survivors repress or suppress their memories to help deal with their pain. Luckily therapy can help these trauma victims deal with repressed memories and come to terms with their past. In order to help these trauma survivors get the help they need, we must first recognize the signs of repression or suppression. One warning sign is if someone is having “difficulty talking about their thoughts or feelings, even becoming defensive when asked about them.” Engaging in numbing activities like “drinking alcohol or immersing themselves in social media to avoid difficult feelings,” could also indicate the suppression of traumatic experiences. Hopefully, as we continue to learn more about the psychological effects of traumatic situations, we can better support trauma victims.
Hi Shreeya! I really like how you always tie your blog posts to what we are currently learning about. While I don't invest in a lot of media, I have encountered a fair share of shows and books about memory loss after a traumatic event, and the main plot line is to find out about the traumatic event. I actually really like those books, and I am enjoying reading Beloved so far. As for myself, I wouldn't call it trauma exactly, but I still remember embarrassing mistakes or stupid things I did in elementary school that I wish I could just forget.
ReplyDeleteMemory repression is as you say, a "defense mechanism." I've met and talked to people, especially veterans, who do not mention their service ever. Some of the things they have witnessed are just too much to bear, and it is easier for them to just keep it buried rather then face it in their mind. While thankfully I have not had a truly "traumatic event" yet in my life, it is sure to happen one day. While people say facing it is the smartest and most effective method of dealing with the trauma and shock, I do not know if I will be able to face the pain. Hopefully that event never arrives.
ReplyDeleteThe repression of memory seems to be a common defense mechanism with a whole range of memories. These memories can range from the unfortunate and horrifying visions of war and destruction and can be as mild as simply awkward and cringe-inducing encounters. I know a lot of people who have had especially awkward or poor interactions with society or other people and immediately try to bypass these awkward moments by attempting to repress them. In some cases, this has the opposite effect, and leads to the pretty common theme of people recalling these moments randomly in their lives and regretting things. While I am thankful that I haven't really had a truly terrible event to repress, I can surely tell you there are some pretty embarrassing things I recall in vivid detail that I really wish I couldn't anymore.
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya, I like that your blog connected to what we've been learning in APENG this week; it's very relevant. It's honestly amazing seeing the power of our brain and observing the control it has to just block off memories. As you mention, though, just because these memories are blocked off, it doesn't necessarily mean it is removed from ourselves. That's the reason PTSD can be so detrimental to a person's lifestyle and psyche. I really appreciate the effort that you put into this post, and I look forward to reading more from you!
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya! I could definitely understand how difficult it could be to get over some of our most traumatic and atrocious experiences that we have faced in the past. Something I greatly appreciate from your blog is the direct connection you drew to the current piece of literature we are reading in class. As I read Beloved as well, I emotionally connected to the suppression she was a woman was facing from the society and asked myself the same question on our ability of subconsciously being able to create a blockade to such feelings. As such feelings could have a large effect on one's psychological health, it is important to take in any negative emotions we have and learn to cope up with the stress we are facing to move onto another phase of our life. I agree with this ideology however I cannot completely side with it being a “defense mechanism” since it could post advert consequences to our potential for the amount of anxiety we might end up needing to face. Thank you for your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya! Your blog was certainly enlightening, as I never even stopped to consider the difference between suppressed and repressed memory. Honestly, I feel like I've used the two terms interchangeably to describe ignoring memories, and I probably would've continued to do so if I hadn't seen this blog. Although, I suppose the concept of repressing memories does make sense if you looked at it from an evolutionary perspective. Perhaps it's just a behavior that allowed for better and more efficient survival and that's why it's been passed on through generations. I really enjoyed your blog because it was helpful to learn about the different ways that people address traumatic memories so that I'm more aware of the feelings of those around me.
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya, thank your for clarifying the difference between suppressing memory and repressing memory. I find it interesting how you said that repressing memories has its downside because we can not heal from certain trauma the right way. Suppression is also the same way, so we can come to a pretty solid conclusion. At the end of the day, holding back all painful memories is bad in the long term because we can not properly heal from the memories and in certain situations we can not learn from them either. It was also cool how you related this blog post to the class novel.
ReplyDeleteHey Shreeya! We have been learning about defense mechanisms in AP psychology, but we have not really touched on suppression or intentional repression. We learned more about Freud's theory of the unconscious mind with repressed childhood trauma being the driving factor behind all negative behaviors and attitudes that carry into adulthood. Suppressing any form of emotion whether largely traumatic or not has been proven widely as detrimental to mental health. When there is a lack of healthy emotional expression, a person is likely to project their frustration with themselves onto others in their lives, hurting their relationships. That is why therapy is so effective as it causes people to force themselves to express things they have bottled up for so long so that they no longer have to let the burden of their memory crush them.
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