I'm a male sexual assault survivor. I understand that generally speaking our minds try to block out traumatic events. I'm 34 years old and only until a year and a half ago didn't understand that I was assaulted twice in my life - once when I was very young (I believe around 3 or 4) and once again when I was around 10. I didn't "remember" this assault until the person that committed one of them (I say one because I don't remember clearly when I was very young) tried to add me on Facebook and sent me a message.
My question is this: Why or how would someone's mind make them forget that something like that happened, not once but at least twice? What causes gaps in the memory to remain even when you acknowledge an event occurred - like what's the mechanics of it? I don't want to remember by any means, but I can clearly feel the edges of the memory and where that memory goes black if that makes sense? That's just my experience and I wonder if it's the same way others would describe that gap in memory?
Lefiont131360 karma
Hello!
I'm a male sexual assault survivor. I understand that generally speaking our minds try to block out traumatic events. I'm 34 years old and only until a year and a half ago didn't understand that I was assaulted twice in my life - once when I was very young (I believe around 3 or 4) and once again when I was around 10. I didn't "remember" this assault until the person that committed one of them (I say one because I don't remember clearly when I was very young) tried to add me on Facebook and sent me a message.
My question is this: Why or how would someone's mind make them forget that something like that happened, not once but at least twice? What causes gaps in the memory to remain even when you acknowledge an event occurred - like what's the mechanics of it? I don't want to remember by any means, but I can clearly feel the edges of the memory and where that memory goes black if that makes sense? That's just my experience and I wonder if it's the same way others would describe that gap in memory?
View HistoryShare Link