Childhood Can a flashback be made up ?

[Enaila]

I'm not sure how it would be possible to flashback to something that never happened. Create false new memories by assuming something could have happened.....maybe . I know without a doubt my flashbacks happened. They are vivid in sound, sight, and feelings. They often can be validated if another person was seen or involved in the trauma in the flashback.

 

[Muttly]

Try reading Mark Pendergast's Victims of Memory: Sex Abuse Accusations and Shattered Lives.

If you do read it, I strongly recommend you talk to your therapist about it. It can lead to a lot of self doubt and confusion, when your focus should be on healing. I went down that path and it wasn't fun or helpful. What I did find helpful, is learning to worry less about if the memory or flashback was *real* or not and dealing with the feelings and thoughts it stirred up. That helped me to sort things out much more and move down my path of healing.

 

[alfa]

I would not recommend this book. If you do read it, as it has a bias towards the false memory movement....

I guess everyone's different with their experiences. Although while reading it I did have some questioning about whether what happened to me happened (which makes total sense), I was able to confirm it. This book did contribute to my healing process, as I did feel like I learned a lot about myself. After thinking about it a little more, I could see how it could pain someone who deals with extreme trauma. I really like it because the human condition fascinates me, and that helps me understand myself better.
I'd just like to reinforce that there are very few cases of fabricated flashbacks. Again, I'm not trying to disprove anyone's memories or past experiences.

 

[EveHarrington]

Do you have links to any real studies? Psychology today isn’t on the level of true psychological research that goes through rigorous standards. Psychology today is pop psychology. Some of the stuff I’ve read on there..... SMH.

 

[alfa]

Do you have links to any real studies? Psychology today isn’t on the level of true psychologica...

Most of the studies are cited in Pendergrast's book, which is why I recommended it. I could go dig some up but I wouldn't be able to provide links.
I'm not really a fan of Psychology Today either :laugh:. I just referenced it because it was an interesting blog post that led me to further investigate this kind of stuff.

 

[EveHarrington]

Most of the studies are cited in Pendergrast's book, which is why I recommended it. I could go dig some up...

I hope you realize that the false memory movement was started by parents who were further victimizing their daughter, whom they had in fact abused.

I’m researching this guy.

His stuff is pure hype.

Yes, hype.

Millions of lives ruined because of false memory syndrome?

*laughs*

No, not even close.

 

[EveHarrington]

Dead Link Removed

I rest my case.

This author has a bone to pick with debunking any/all accusations of abuse.

My guess is that he has issues of his own. Abused as a child and can’t face the fact it actually happened? Or maybe he is an abuser himself and is trying to get in front of the wave.

Defending Jerry Sandusky? Yeah. Because it’s a conspiracy and Jerry is innocent.

*rolls eyes* (at the author)

 

[Sideways]

Is it possible to imagine horrible things? Absolutely.

Is that what happened here? Only you can know that. Unpack the experience with your T, and be gentle with yourself.

 

[alfa]

Is it possible to imagine horrible things? Absolutely.

Is that what happened here? Only you can kno...

@EveHarrington this is exactly the point i've been trying to get to. False memories aside, it is possible but the only person who can know is you.

 

[EveHarrington]

@EveHarrington this is exactly the point i've been trying to get to. False memories asi...

Yeah, but look at who you are using as “proof”. Do you realize you’re supporting abusers? The ones who turn it around and cry victim?

You haven’t had my kind of flashback. And I seriously doubt that you understand that flashbacks go way beyond a visual movie. There is no way my kind of reactions could be faked.

You still don’t understand the difference between a flashback and a memory.

I’m done arguing. This is pointless when you get your “proof” from a guy who defends Jerry Sandusky.

 

[Friday]

People can have physiological reactions to all kinds of things. Up to, and including full on panic attacks and worse. Both real & imagined.

The whole, there isn’t any symptom of PTSD that’s unique to PTSD. They’re all shared with other disorders, as well as happen to people with no disorder whatsoever. In point of fact the foundation of several different disorders is that they’re having physiological reactions to things that aren’t real, and never have been. Delusional disorders, OCD, Phobias, just to name a few. But even a new parent in terror of their child being killed, or a betrayed spouse sick over the image in their mind? Happen. Rather a lot, actually.

The mind is a powerful thing, and the brain is quirky as hell.

That people with PTSD tend to use whether or not there’s a physiological reaction or not as a guideline to what’s real, doesn’t mean that someone with GAD or Claustrophobia can do the same thing. In fact, for other disorders, a physiological reaction is often used as a clue that it’s NOT real.

 

[hymnless]

I think a good way to reframe this is whether flashbacks are absolute truth or not. Stick with me here... It's been very well studied that memories are malleable. Every time you remember an event, it changes just a tiny tiny bit. It's not deception, it's just that your brain can't contain exact details of every single thing forever. I have a lot of memories of trauma that I know happened, but I also know that some of the details are a tiny bit fuzzy and I remember the fuzzy parts in a slightly different way sometimes. That doesn't mean that they didn't happen, just that my brain cannot functionally hold all of that information into my long term memory.

Now to flashbacks.... a flashback is a recollection of a memory that has more than just an image attached. It has an automatic, physical response. Your heart beating faster isn't something you can just make happen all of the sudden without internal or external stimuli. (If you can, you should see a physician because that seems like a sign of a heart condition....) That said, why would your body had a response to a memory that never happened? While the flashback may be associated to a memory that has changed very slightly, your body still goes into whatever mode it needs to in order to protect itself. I've previously had flashbacks that I thought were false. Then, I would think on them and other surrounding memories and evidence and realize that it was just the final piece of the puzzle. I didn't want them to be real, but they were. If it's made up then it's a phobia where you've imagined a worst case scenario.