[StarBlue]

Memory loss in chunks from my entire childhood and teens.

Short term memory also affected.

[Skeezyks]

The Skeezyks has almost no memory of anything prior to the age of around 8.

[pachyderm]

Possible explanation: suppression of memories too threatening to bear.

Another possibility: different people remember differently. My younger brother remembers a great deal more about our childhood than I do. Is this because he has less to suppress? Is it because we are built differently? Both?

[Cat_Lover_58]

I don't recall anything before around age 6 or 7. I recall sitting in my bedroom knowing our family was leaving for OH. We lived in Connecticut then...

[shezbut]

Most of my childhood memories have been blocked out as well. They tend to come back (every now & then) in chunks.

Strange thing: (to me, anyway) I will recall, talk about it & then repress again for years. It comes back into my memory again, but feels like the first time ever & I talk about it again. This has happened with several traumatic memories of mine. {Events occurred in early and mid childhood}

[Wild Coyote]

I have a mix of recall of lots of details and memories that surface and, initially, surprise me. Sime memories remain blocked.


WC

[StarBlue]

Could be a built-in mechanism to prevent overload to the system that it knows can't be processed anyway for all the reasons mentioned. Too painful, too charged, too overwhelming, too traumatic with not enough power to deal with at this given point - so suppressed or filed away for sometime in the never future.

[Wild Coyote]

Originally Posted by StarBlue

Could be a built-in mechanism to prevent overload to the system that it knows can't be processed anyway for all the reasons mentioned. Too painful, too charged, too overwhelming, too traumatic with not enough power to deal with at this given point - so suppressed or filed away for sometime in the never future.

That makes so much sense to me.

My doctors have advised me to never submit to any process which "uncovers" or "digs into" memories. I have seen several trauma specialists over the years.

If I try techniques like EFT, which seem very benign, I become overwhelmed quickly. PTSD worsens and I go into major relapses in which I have difficulties tolerating and recovering.

Over the years, memories surface if/when I am "ready" -- on their own time table -- and that has been more than enough.


WC

I blocked out most memories and feelings through the age of 11. Since age 11, I am missing large chunks of memories. Currently, I'm really dissociative, and had been flooded with missing material upon seeing a probing psychiatrist a few years ago. I've never recovered and now suffer from short-term memory problems and missing gaps in time and awareness that occur in the present.

I think childhood trauma can mess up adult cognitive function in some.