Why do you want to force the memories? We often forget because our mind is trying to protect us. Usually our mind will release the memories when it believes that we are ready to handle them.

I have a defined set of memories surrounding the abuse. I don't force memories...I've learned its best not to since you can force false memories by trying to remember too hard.

Are you in regular therapy now and looking to try something else?

(((HUGS)))

I'm not in therapy at the moment but have been for seven year or so. I have been trying to force it for a while, I get a little snippet of memory and it drives me mad! I know I've forgotten it for a reason and all but I hate thinking that there is stuff going on in my brain that i dont know about.

I think we're always going to have repressed memories of one kind or another...

Sometimes they are good memories, sometimes they are bad memories...

Its the bad ones that are repressed because our mind is trying to protect us.

I know its tough wanting to know everything that happened. When people ask me about my situation, I tell them that I only remember being abused once, but of course, that doesn't mean it didn't happen other times. Sometimes I think that I would like to recover more memories (that is, if I have them), but I realize that I need to just trust my mind and know that memories will come to me when I am ready to handle them.

I guess I have this attitude toward memories because I've had false memories pop up in my mind. I know they're not real....so I don't want to take the risk of trying to force memories, and then worry if they really happened or not.

I hope you can go back to therapy when you are ready. I just found a number of therapists and hope to start therapy in early June. (I just hope I can wait that long!)

(((HUGS)))

I have decided that now, I just don't want to know anymore. What I remember is enough to deal with. The few years when I was little that I have forgotten I know was the worst of the abuse. And I used to really want to remember. But when I started to feel the heavy emotion related to smaller incidences I totally decided that I won't force it. If they want to come through it will be by themselves if they are ever ready to surface. Until then... I'm going to just leave it alone. I just don't think it's something that should be forced. I am not sure it works that way. I hope that you can go back to therapy too. And hope you can talk these things through with her/him.

i know what you mean with the woundering ... mine happend b4 i could remeber up till i was about 12 i think i ended up standing up for my self and said no more ... but im sure it happend alot but theres only a few times i remeber almost every thing but im woundering how often was it or was it only once in awhile did it happen ....

Ok I will try and chill out about it a bit. I suppose its like if you were date raped, you could feel really disgusted that something happened to you you wernt aware of, but it could be damaging to find out what actually happened. I will try not to think about it, but my dreams are sometimes quite intrusive. Its just good to know that other people are in the same boat, if nothing else.