Tag Archives: emotional trauma

Fear Memory Deletion?

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This research strongly suggests that the emotional content of long-term memories can be removed by interrupting the labile phase of long-term memory storage.

This research strongly suggests that the emotional content of long-term memories can be removed by interrupting the labile phase of long-term memory storage.

Another study, this time from the Universiteit van Amsterdam, demonstrates that memories – most particularly long-term fear memories – are encoded when they first happen and then again whenever we re-store those memories. There is a short period of time in which the brain must chemically “prepare” and then “store” the memory. Whenever we bring the memory back to mind, it must go through the same process to re-store it in the brain. In both of these labile phases, the memory is vulnerable to change.

This research strongly suggests that memories are not, therefore, permanent structures in the brain. Their emotional content can be removed by interrupting the labile phase of long-term memory storage.

I wrote about the brain’s file cabinet in another post (Click here to read). Basically, the brain requires a chemical to access memories and to code them back after accessing them. It’s as though we take each memory, like a file, out of the long-term memory cabinet, close the cabinet, look at the file, use it, then open the cabinet again to put the file back in. If I understand Kindt’s research correctly, interrupting that process at the “putting back in” phase can, in theory, stop the perpetuation of the effects of fear memories by eliminating the fear in the memories.

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Parallel Trauma

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Teenagers tend to pick up the "vibes" of their friends more strongly than do younger children or adults.

Teenagers tend to pick up the “vibes” of their friends more strongly than do younger children or adults.

It is a well-studied and known phenomenon – teenagers pick up the “vibes” of their friends more strongly than do younger children or adults. During adolescence, we bond very closely to friends. We pick up on their hurts and joys, sharing them in a much more psychologically intimate way than at other times in our lives.

I believe we may also pick up our friends’ traumas and make them our own. More than once have I worked with a client reporting childhood, teen, or young adult trauma that later turned out to be “ghosts” – imaginings based on a friend’s childhood trauma introduced to the shared sensitivities of an intimate group of young friends.

In other words – a false memory. Still, a memory with all the power and influence of a real trauma. And I, as the clinician, treated the symptoms of that trauma as though the original trauma belonged to my client. My client “owned” it, so why not treat it as thought it belonged to my client? Made sense to me. The mind is unable to differentiate between real and imagined when it comes to trauma.

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Honoring Emotion

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Honor your emotions

Even those who profess to have no emotional energy about something may still feel something physical (a sensation) related to an emotion.

I think addressing physical symptoms is the key to healing just about any emotional issue that includes a physical aspect. Addictions, colds, allergies, irrational fears, weight issues, and a host of others I find respond well to healing modalities like Rapid Eye Technology (RET) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), when focused on “What do you feel in your body when…?” rather than “How do you feel (emotionally) about that?”.

Emotions are so nebulous and esoteric for most people, I think. However, even those who profess to have no emotional energy about something may still feel something physical (a sensation) related to an emotion.

For example, I once worked with a lawyer who had absolutely no emotional responses to “How do you feel about your impending divorce?” But his body was wracked with pains of all sorts that he could not explain. And even for those aches and pains he could explain (over-exercise, etc.), they ALL responded to RET’s Instant Release Technique – but ONLY if I asked “what sensations do you feel right now in your body [as we're talking about the divorce]?”. He had four sessions and turned his life around completely (fortunately, his wife did RET sessions at the same time, so they felt they were working together to rescue their marriage – which they both felt was worth preserving after 40+ years).

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Intention Is Important

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Toddlers perceive our intentions

Toddlers perceive our intentions better than we may think.

“Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being stumbled over.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

And so, it seems do toddlers. A study out of Queen’s University has demonstrated that children as young as 21 months can differentiate the intentions of those around them.

Psychology professor Valerie Kuhlmeier and PhD student Kristen Dunfield found that toddlers are more likely to help someone who has made an effort to help them, even if that person was unable to accomplish the toddler’s desired outcome. In a series of three experiments, the researchers discovered that it was the thought that counted for the toddlers, not the end result.

What does this mean to those of us who are past our toddler stage? (a purely subjective call in my case at least)

I think it means that clients investigating early childhood “memories” (in hypnosis, for example), might be served to also investigate the intentions of those around them. This can easily be accomplished through surrogate or proxy healing in which the client/subject imagines being the other person involved in the early childhood event(s) being investigated. In Rapid Eye Technology it is common for RET Technicians to invoke proxy, especially during the Inner Child Stages work to capture the thoughts of those around the client during early childhood – I recommend to RET Technicians that they focus some attention to the intentions of those others rather than just on what they thought or did.

“Intention is everything.” (might be truer than we think)

Study source: Psychological Science

Study: Emotions and Traumatic Memories

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traumatic_memories1.jpgAccording to an article from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, memories you want to forget are the hardest ones to lose. This may explain why some memories can "haunt" you all your life.

In the early 1990s, the rage was "repressed memories" of abuse. It was theorized that extremely traumatic memories of sexual and other types of abuse were easily masked from consciousness by the emotional trauma. Basically, the theory was that if it hurt enough, you'd easily forget the memory. After a few high-profile cases resulted in wrongful prosecution, researchers began investigating possible false memories (Loftus, et al) – in which "repressed" memories often turned out to be implanted memories – outright fabrications.

Now research has proven out Loftus' claim that many traumatic memories are the result of therapy rather than actual events. The study quoted in this article demonstrates that rather than easily repressed, traumatic memories – especially highly emotional memories containing a visual element – can be VERY difficult to forget – and let go of.

According to the study's lead author, Keith Payne, an assistant professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, painful, emotional memories that people would most like to forget may be the toughest to leave behind, especially when memories are created through visual cues.

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Counseling Trauma Victims Can Cause Secondary Trauma

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In a study appearing in the May edition of Research on Social Work Practice, Geisinger Senior Investigator Joseph Boscarino, PhD, MPH and his co-researchers examined psychological stress, job burnout and secondary trauma among 236 New York City social workers following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Secondary trauma includes experiencing symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress such as having nightmares or flashbacks, being easily startled and avoiding situations that remind one of the original trauma. Sometimes called vicarious trauma, it can seriously impact the mental health of counselors, first responders, critical care nurses and others in healthcare professions involved with treating those exposed to traumatic events, Boscarino said.

The study found that involvement in World Trade Center recovery effort was the primary reason why social workers experienced secondary trauma.

The research also showed that a positive work environment for social workers helped reduce secondary trauma and prevent job burnout. Continue reading →

Helping Doctors Cope With Patient Death

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Change is needed in medical staff education and support.

"Also there needs to be a sea change in medical culture to make support available, and for it not to be stigmatized, to help them cope with grief, depression, despair or sadness."

Doctors could benefit from support to help them cope with the trauma of patient death, says a psychologist speaking at the Death, Dying & Disposal conference organized by the University of Bath in the UK.

In a preliminary study, Dr Elaine Kasket from London Metropolitan University carried out detailed interviews with eight US physicians about their experiences of death. Half of those she spoke to wept as they recounted stories of traumatic death they had experienced as physicians, even though some of these events had occurred as much as 30 years ago.

“There is an unwritten rule for doctors that suggests it is not wise or possible for them to feel emotions over a patient’s death because there is always another patient to help,” said Dr Kasket.

“Whilst this detachment might help when presented with a patient with a severe injury, I question how well it serves them in the longer term.

“This emotional detachment is socially ingrained through medical school, and the cultures in both the UK and US medical establishments would see a physician’s emotional response to death as a sign of weakness and even incompetence.

“It feeds into this popular image of the physician as some kind of superhuman ultimate rescuer of human life; unable to do his or her job if they give in to or even acknowledge their emotions.

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About Physical Sensation and Therapy

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Sight and touch are connected in the brain.

Sight and touch are connected in the brain.

Reported in Medical News Today, a study by University of Southern California shows a direct relationship between sight and feeling. When you see something, you tend to feel it also. Further, when you recall the sight of something, you also retrieve the memory of how it feels to touch what you saw.

I suggest that not only do you feel the sensation of the items you see, you also feel the sensations you felt at the time you saw whatever it was you saw. It’s a memory “package” that includes all sensory and emotional elements involved in the experience.

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5 Steps to Recanting Abuse Charges

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"I'll say and do whatever it takes to get out of here..."

"I'll say and do whatever it takes to get out of here..."

And Why You Shouldn’t Fall For Them!

An analysis of recordings of jailhouse telephone conversations between men charged with felony domestic violence and their victims have helped psychologists better understand why some victims decide to recant and dismiss charges against perpetrators.

“The existing belief is that victims recant because the perpetrator threatens her with more violence. But our results suggest something very different. Perpetrators are not threatening the victim, but are using more sophisticated emotional appeals designed to minimize their actions and gain the sympathy of the victim. That should change how we work with victims.” -  Amy Bonomi, associate professor of human development and family science at Ohio State University and study lead author.

The study outlines 5 steps perpetrators used to convince their victims to recant their stories and reverse the charges against them. I recognize these stages as I’ve seen them used. Knowing these stages can put you in a strong position to avoid falling for them.

Step 1 – Heated Argument – in which the perpetrator tries to argue his actions against a strong and resistant victim – “You hurt me and you’re not getting away with it this time!” “Well, if you’d just do what I tell you, I wouldn’t have to hit you, bitch!”

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Post Trauma Embitterment?

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Chronically blaming others could be a symptom of post-traumatic embitterment.

Chronically blaming others could be a symptom of post-traumatic embitterment.

“Persistent bitterness may result in global feelings of anger and hostility that, when strong enough, could affect a person’s physical health…. When harbored for a long time, bitterness may forecast patterns of biological dysregulation (a physiological impairment that can affect metabolism, immune response or organ function) and physical disease.” – Carsten Wrosch, professor, Concordia University Department of Psychology and member of the Centre for Research in Human Development.

Michael Linden, head of the psychiatric clinic at Free University of Berlin considers chronic bitterness as a mental disorder, labeling it Post Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED).

Trauma can show up in a number of scenarios individualized to each person – trauma to one is not necessarily trauma to another and visa versa. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been well studied and documented, effective treatments of which have been noted in this blog. PTED, however, is not yet accepted as a mental condition. In fact, many don’t see embitterment as a treatable condition – rather, most might simply say, “get over it” or “move on.”

My experience with post-traumatic stress has been that some people can’t simply “get over it” – in fact, they are securely stuck in the trauma. Embitterment could grow out of that trauma just as a number of other symptoms can.

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