The management of traumatic memories is important when treating mental health disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder. Traumatic memories can cause life problems even to individuals who do not meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder. They result from traumatic experiences, including natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis; violent events such as kidnapping, terrorist attacks, war, domestic abuse and rape.[1] Traumatic memories are naturally stressful in nature and emotionally overwhelm people's existing coping mechanisms.[2]
When simple objects such as a photograph, or events such as a birthday party, bring traumatic memories to mind people often try to bar the unwanted experience from their minds so as to proceed with life, with varying degrees of success. The frequency of these reminders diminish over time for most people. There are strong individual differences in the rate at which the adjustment occurs.[3] For some the number of intrusive memories diminish rapidly as the person adjusts to the situation, whereas for others intrusive memories may continue for decades with significant interference to their mental, physical and social well-being.
Several psychotherapies have been developed that change, weaken, or prevent the formation of traumatic memories. Pharmacological methods for erasing traumatic memories are currently the subject of active research. The ability to erase specific traumatic memories, even if possible, would create additional problems and so would not necessarily benefit the individual.
^Berger, FK (2 February 2016). "Post-traumatic stress disorder". MedlinePlus. United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017.
^van der Kolk, BA; Fisler, R (October 1995). "Dissociation and the Fragmentary Nature of Traumatic Memories: Overview and exploratory study". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 8 (4): 505–25. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.487.1607. doi:10.1002/jts.2490080402. PMID 8564271.
^Levy, B; Anderson, M (2008). "Individual differences in the suppression of unwanted memories: The executive deficit hypothesis". Acta Psychologica. 127 (3): 623–635. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.12.004. ISSN 0001-6918. PMID 18242571.
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