Treatment of Memory Recall Trauma - Research Paper Example

? Memory Recall and Trauma American Military Chelsea N. Smith The different schools of though concerning the effect of trauma on memory recall have all based their opinions of both solid research as well as clinical experience, and have come up with differing opinions concerning the reliability of memories. The fact that most of the details concerning the debate on this issue are often so complex that they are at times confusing to the public, have made it even more controversial. Some studies have shown that ordinary or less stressful memories can be quite easily distorted by the individuals involved. The effect of trauma on memories has been a subject of plenty of debate within the different schools of thought in the scientific community, each airing its own views concerning the matter. It can be said that it is because of the agendas of separate schools of thought, whether political or scientific, that have come to determine the different thoughts concerning memories and the effects of trauma on them, as defined today. As a result of the different agendas of these groups, the public has ended up being confused concerning this issue and it has become necessary for more objective research on it to be conducted so that conclusive results can be established and documented. The confusion concerning how trauma affects memories and the means of dealing with this situation has created a situation where the people who are survivors of trauma, are facing plenty of distress. Studies that go beyond the propaganda of popular media as well as those of single-purpose organizations need to be conducted so that a comprehensive discussion of trauma and its effects are discussed. As a result, there will be the development of relevant information concerning the issue that is agreed upon by a majority of mental health professionals that will be able to help future trauma patients in their treatment and recovery. It has been found that adults who underwent traumatic experiences when they were younger end up suffering from various mental disorders such as PTSD, depression, panic attacks, among many others (Saunders, 2012). As a result, it has become necessary for mental health professionals to understand how the human mind works and through this understanding learn how to respond to the traumatic events affecting their patients. Psychological trauma has, in certain contexts, been defined as an event which involves the threat of death or real fatality or a grave injury to the individual who experienced this event. Such circumstances often involve such events as military combat or manmade or natural disasters which have a direct effect on the memory of the individual involved. Among children who have been sexually abused, for example, traumatic events may involve sexual experiences which do not contain any violence or injuries on their persons. Both adults and children who experience trauma tend to develop a large variety of psychological mechanisms which enable them to cope with the various situations that they have faced. Among the most common of these methods is one known as dissociation which is a multifaceted psychological process that involves an alteration in the individual’s consciousness (McSherry, 2011). This change normally disturbs the normally aligned functions that include memories, thoughts, and feelings; a good example being students daydreaming whenever they go through boring lectures. Psychologists have found that many people often tend to dissociate in an attempt to prevent conscious awareness of a traumatic event when the said event is taking place and that such dissociation might continue for an indefinite time after the vent takes place. For some individuals, it is normal for the memories of the traumatic event to emerge at a later date, a fact which has been studied for over a century using military veterans who underwent combat as test subjects. Memory distortions often occur especially among those individuals who have suffered from or witnessed extremely horrifying events, and such distortions have been witnessed among those patients suffering from PTSD. In most incidents related to PTSD, it is normal for the patients involved to experience extremes of memory recall of the traumatic events in which they were involved. In fact, it is normal for there to either be intrusive thoughts or a complete avoidance of the feelings they experienced, on their recollection of events (Elwood & Williams, 2007). Traumatic events, in some circumstances, tend to have an adverse effect on those who experienced them, so that one will find some affected individuals stating that their memories of the event haunt them to the extent of disrupting their lives. The memories of the traumatic event are often extremely difficult to get rid of and there are times when some individuals may end up having recurring nightmares or relive the event as if it were happening in the present. It has been found that a common feature among those who suffer traumatic events is that they tend to avoid all thoughts or activities which are in any way associated to their experience. This is because they attempt to avoid all the circumstances which may in any way remind them of the event, so that they end up having what is termed as dissociative amnesia. The latter is when they unconsciously create memory blanks which are associated with the most essential aspects of the traumatic events that took place. It has been found that whether a traumatic event is remembered by an individual or not depends on a number of factors among which is the frequency of the occurrence of the event as well as the age of the victim involved (McNally, 2005). Traumas such as rape and assault, which are more often than not single events, are more likely to be remembered because of the fact that they will remain in the memory of the individuals involved for a much longer time. The opposite is true concerning those events that happen more frequently such as repeated domestic violence, or prolonged military combat, both of which end up in memory disturbance. There are certain tremendously traumatic experiences that individuals undergo such as violent weather or plane crashes which are more likely than not to be committed to memory by the individuals who have undergone them than those experiences that are caused deliberately such as war crimes. It is a fact that those individuals who go through traumatic events as adults are less likely to block the memories of those occurrences than children who undergo the same types of trauma. In fact, studies that have been conducted by psychologists suggest that the younger the individual during the occurrence of a traumatic event, the more likely it is for the said child to forget the event that take place. Studies have further shown that those traumatic events which occur amid pressure towards keeping them a secret are more likely to be forgotten by individuals through what is termed as dissociative defense. Therefore, for example, in the event that a woman faces a brutal attack from an unknown individual, and is able to receive plenty of support from her friends and family, she is more likely to suffer from PTSD, and less likely to face any memory losses concerning the event (Gardiner & Walker, 2010). The same is not the case with a child who is continuously raped by her father and has been asked not to reveal the secret, because she is more likely to block such memories. The different schools of though concerning the effect of trauma on memory recall have all based their opinions of both solid research as well as clinical experience, and have come up with differing opinions concerning the reliability of memories. The fact that most of the details concerning the debate on this issue are often so complex that they are at times confusing to the public, have made it even more controversial. Some studies have shown that ordinary or less stressful memories can be quite easily distorted by the individuals involved. Because of this, there has been some concern that most therapists are unintentionally helping in the distortion of the memories of those individuals who are reported to have experienced traumatic episodes in their lives. This has been of particular concern for those researchers who study the effects of therapists on the recollection of traumatic events by eyewitnesses in court testimonies. While this may be the case, research that is conducted in laboratories in matters concerning ordinary memories may be irrelevant when dealing with traumatic memories since it has been argued by some scientists that these are two extremely different types of memories. This is in the way in which these memories are encoded in the brain where trauma is normally stored in the part of the brain known as the limbic system, which is known to process aspects of emotions and sensations (Mendeloff, 2009). This part of the brain, however, does not process either language or speech, and for this reason, the individuals involved in traumatic events may live with feelings of terror or anger concerning the event yet cannot explain why they are having these feelings. Because of this, experts argue that such events cannot be easily distorted, making the suggestion that the knowledge gathered concerning traumatic events should only come from clinical experience. From the very beginning of the collection of clinical data concerning traumatic events, there has been evidence that there is a direct connection between trauma and memory loss or disturbance (Williams, 1994). In conclusion, it can be said that more research needs to be conducted on the influence of trauma on memory so that a more comprehensive means of dealing with trauma can be achieved. The fact that there are many different schools of thought on this subject should not deter researchers from conducting objective research on the effects of trauma. While this is the case, the fact remains that trauma indeed has a profound influence of the memories of the affected individuals and this phenomenon needs to be addressed in an objective manner. References Elwood, L. S., & Williams, N. L. (2007). PTSD-RELATED COGNITIONS AND ROMANTIC ATTACHMENT STYLE AS MODERATORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN VICTIMS OF INTERPERSONAL TRAUMA. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26(10), 1189-1209. Gardiner, J., & Walker, K. (2010). Compassionate listening: Managing psychological trauma in refugees. Australian Family Physician, 39(4), 198-203. McNally, R.J. (2005). Debunking Myths About Trauma and Memory. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50 (13), 817-822. McSherry, J. P. (2011). Review of the trauma of psychological torture. Social Justice, 37(2), 149-157. Mendeloff, D. (2009). Trauma and vengeance: Assessing the psychological and emotional effects of post-conflict justice. Human Rights Quarterly, 31(3), 592-623. Saunders, T. J. (2012). The Great War and German memory: Society, politics and psychological trauma, 1914-1945. German Studies Review, 35(2), 421-424. Williams, L.M. (1994). Recall of childhood trauma: a prospective study of women's memories of child sexual abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62 (6), 1167-1176. Read More