Looking For Information On False Memory Syndrome, Need Help

[Deleted member 12723]

I think this happened to me. I had a experience with a therapist in private practice where I think false memories happened to me. I had memories but I have not triggers for these memories and I do not suffer ptsd symptoms with these memories. I am about to do EMDR and I am looking for any information on this subject; after it happened to me, I quit therapy. I really believed this was all real.

I do not have nightmares about these memories. I really think it is false memory syndrome. I do have repressed memories but they are related to childhood abuse.

Any information anyone has would be really appreciated alot. I just do not know what to do with this anymore. I have a hard time talking about it. It is regarding satanic ritual abuse. I really do not think this happened to me at all and I need some closure. Thanks.

 

[shell]

I do not have nightmares about these memories. I really think it is false memory syndrome. I do have repressed memories but they are related to childhood abuse.

I do not have nightmares about a lot of my abuse, or I have nightmares of being killed or chased, and I freeze in the dreams, but not the childhood abuse. A lot of my memories are coming to back to me by me feeling them physically first, but not my childhood physical abuse. But my physical abuse has always been openly discussed in my immediate family, but they felt justified for their actions.

There is a lot of information on the internet about this, as when I began to get back sexual abuse memories I thought that I was crazy, and researched this. The only problem with this it then made me start to doubt all the memories I ever had, even the ones I knew to be true, because I had discussed them with my brother.

Have you tried to confirm the abuse? I would discuss this with the new therapist, because you shouldn't be keeping secrets.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Hi
shell, Thanks I did'nt think about doing a search on the web. I have no way to confirm any of this. I have my drawings and I have the memories that came to me. I have been ashamed of having this happen to me. I told people when I believed this really happened to me and I had alot of bad experiences and so I learned to keep it to myself.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me.

I have been doing a trauma diary and it came out in there. I can tell my psychiatrist. He is the one who gave me the referral for the EMDR that I will do when I get it all sorted out with my hmo. I am still fairly new to this forum and haven't been in therapy for along time. I had 9 years of therapy and when the false memory syndrome came out it made me lose faith in my therapy process. I am struggling with this. I will do a search.

/thank you again.

 

[Zef]

False Memory Syndrome was created by a social activist group in the 1990's to offer a legal defense for those accused of child sexual and ritual abuse. They have had some success introducing this concept into legal proceedings to defend accused abusers.

There is no such recognized syndrome and the research that offers some support for it is questionable at best.

Meanwhile, there is over 100 years of research strongly suggesting that victims of childhood trauma often do not remember their trauma in the normal way. The brain stores it differently and in such a way that fragments are remembered later in life or when triggers are present. There are also well-researched and testable theories that explain the distinct parts of the brain involved and how the brain gets wired when traumatized during its early development that explain delayed memories and the fragmentary ways they appear.

Based on your post, your situation may be different. The brain is a pretty adaptable thing. People can be convinced of things that aren't true. Children can be convinced Santa Claus exists. People can be convinced that cutting taxes for the rich benefits society when all evidence points to the exact opposite effect. There are established mind control techniques that can add or change memories so that a person believes they really happened to them.

I know I'm not helping you much here, but you are in a tough spot. A symptom of childhood trauma is minimizing or refusing to believe it happened, which further complicates your situation.

I might suggest that you find a trauma psych who is not associated with your current one and, basically, get a second opinion. Or perhaps you use an EMDR therapist who is not a referral from your current one. From your post, it seems you could use some neutral, third-party professional input to get a clearer picture of what is going on.

Also, my unprofessional opinion is that it doesn't matter so much the specifics of your trauma as is does that your supporters are giving you skills to improve your coping and functionality. That is what everyone should be focused on and memory recovery is only a part of that process.

Please don't fall victim to the False Memory Syndrome people out there without doing your research, both for and against. I am obviously biased against the FMS'ers after doing my own research, so don't just believe me, either. :)

Hope something here is valuable. Wishing you the best as you go through this.

 

[Red Feather]

I am interested in this question myself. I think that trauma is trauma and memories are memories. There are lots of ways someone can be traumatized and also lots of way's people can "experience" an event... be it a physical experience or even nonphysical. Most important is how it effects you and how you feel about it. I also heard that it is possible to release the charge of a trauma without actually every remembering it. I'm not making any claims, but can somehow agree to this. I have the impression I have only had flashbacks until recently, because I not only repressed it but totally dissociated those memories in my awareness. And there was a memory that I have no idea really happened or not...

So who really knows...?

 

[Zef]

Here are some links that may be good starting places regarding False Memory Syndrome and the controversy surrounding it.

A relatively neutral overview
http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Diagnostic Criteria for Personality Disorder (Comparison of DSM-IV DSM-5 old DSM-5 new.pdf

The experience of a reporter covering a child abuse case where False Memory Syndrome was being used as a defense
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/loc...cle_868cd71e-66ae-11e0-a171-001cc4c03286.html

Wikipedia entry regarding the FMS Foundation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_Memory_Syndrome_Foundation

A list of research abstracts
http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/scholarly-resources/debate-false-memory/

The home page of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
http://www.fmsfonline.org/

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Hi Zef- Thank you for taking the time to help me out on this controversy. The information you shared with me is greatly appreciated. I read it and it helped me out alot. I am really struggling with this one. I really believed this happened to me, but I do not have any proof, at least I can go to them and tell themI do not know if these are real memories or not. anyway thanks for the help is not enough but it is al I have.

Nadia, hi-

Thank you for your input. I will take these things into my next appt with my psychiatrist and the EMDR people..The same goes for you thanks is all I have but it is not enough. This situation has really triggered me.

 

[Red Feather]

Gizmo, you can see the fact that you are being triggered as a good sign. As a sign that somethings wants to come out and onto the surface....

Whao... while writing that I suddenly got so dizzy....... geez...

Best of Luck!

 

[Zef]

Hi gizmo,
I struggle with the same thing. I don't have any evidence except for these little pieces of stuff that are popping up decades later. How can I trust them? Eventually, I came to realize that whether they were true or not, they were still messing me up, so dealing with them is more important than how factual they are.

Saying that, I still struggle with the 'realness' of everything, but it is much more manageable now and happens less frequently.

Hoping you will eventually figure out what you need to figure out.

 

[Meadowsweet]

I agree that much can be lost from memory from childhood. But also, I experience false memories too.

They're almost like the mind mixing up fragments of memories. So something everyday/non-abusive that happened and upset the child, might mix with a genuine fragment of trauma.

I think it is important to be cautious if the apparant abuser has changed in the memory.

 

[Zef]

I think Meadowsweet's comments are valuable.

Most of our cultures reinforce that our memories are equivalent to facts, but anyone who has to work with memories on a day-to-day basis, like police, therapists, lawyers, etc. will often tell you just how inaccurate even normal, healthy memories about normal things are.

I'm lucky enough to have some outside corroboration regarding at least some of my sexual abuse, but in the absence of outside corroboration, I think the best thing to do is to work with what our brains are giving us, focusing on getting through the present rather than recreating a past, which is a task that may never be completed.

Sorry if I sound like I'm on a soapbox. . .

 

[Jen93]

I don't like the whole "false memory" thing. For me, I kept getting flashbacks of new trauma, and it just made it easier for me to go into denial and pretend that it was nonsense, simply because I HAD heard of False Memory Syndrome, and so I pretended that some of it didn't happen.

It's important to trust yourself though, and once I got the sensation in my left arm, my right forearm, my biceps, and my left cheek, I understood that my memories were real.