Childhood terror, and memory…
Sunday, August 13, 2023.
How humans people engage with their memories of childhood trauma determines how well they recover — or if they will at all.
Breaking research suggests that an ongoing, maladaptive pattern of remembering and processing trauma-saturated memories can be more damaging than the original experience itself.
This conclusion is suggested by a study that compared objective human experience of childhood abuse, and compared it with their subjective experience of managing the memory.
Here is a fascinating finding. These researchers discovered that some of the study subjects who reported experiences of childhood abuse (that was absent an official record ), reported more symptoms of poor mental health than those humans whose childhood abuse abuse had been documented by Child Services, but who had no recall of the events.
The memory and the damage done….
This finding indicates that the brunt of the psychological stress occurs in the suggests that it is in the years following abuse.
In other words, what humans do with their memories of childhood trauma is deterministic. Whether you can manage your life, or find it regrettably unmanageable leads back to how you are managing the memory of early childhood abuse and victimization.
Professor Andrea Danese, the study’s first author, said:
“Our study reveals that how a person perceives and remembers experiences of childhood abuse or neglect has greater implications on future emotional disorders than the experience itself.”
How the study was conducted
The conclusions come from a study that tracked over 1,000 people up to the age of 40.
What I found interesting was the meticulous dive into court data. The researchers compared actual court records of childhood abuse with the study subjects subjective memories
The results showed that the humans who self-reported childhood maltreatment before age 12 had greater measurable symptoms of depression and anxiety than those who did not remember being maltreated.
Professor Danese commented:
“The findings show that, even in the absence of documented evidence of childhood maltreatment, clinicians can use information provided by their clients to identify those at greater risk for subsequent mental health difficulties.
The findings also suggest that early interventions that help cope with memories of abuse and/or neglect may prevent emotional problems later on.”
The process of ongoing mental health…
These researchers are suggesting that a humans day-to-day mental health is deeply shaped by how they engage with the memories of early abuse.
The researchers found that a sign that a human has poor mental health as a result of oppressive memories is that they are more likely to dwell on disturbing memories of childhood maltreatment, which, in turn, reduces them to meaningless suffering in the present day.
For example, The researchers noticed that these humans had “sticky thoughts.”
They were unable to distract themselves from the intrusion of painful memory.
Humans with these depressing, “sticky” thoughts also feel an inevitability to their suffering, which is the definition of a victim mentality.
Professor Danese concluded:
“A better understanding of how memories of child maltreatment are maintained and exacerbated over time, and of how the memories affect daily functioning, could provide new insights to develop effective interventions.”
Amen to that. Stay kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Danese A, Widom CS. Associations Between Objective and Subjective Experiences of Childhood Maltreatment and the Course of Emotional Disorders in Adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online July 05, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2140
