I don't think we suppress "consciously" as we would know we were suppressing! You can't not know what you know :-) I think that is why/how feelings and experiences get uncovered, we do know/remember and the feelings push up.

<font color="red">possible TRIGGER story follows</font> I had a boyfriend who was a Marine fighter pilot in the Korean War and was shot at a lot, shot down, etc. and his body was full of shrapnel. Over the 20+ years since the War, pieces of shrapnel would work their way toward the surface and eventually he'd go to the doctor and the doctor would remove a piece. I think suppression is like that.