Opening A Flood Gate...
By twoey68
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
October 12, 2007 1:00pm CST
Have you ever suddenly remembered something from your childhood that you had absolutely no memory of? Did it bother you that it had been so well blocked in your mind?
A while back, my oldest brother and I were helping my Mom paint a farmhouse they had bought. My oldest brother and I got into a kind of joking argument and he made a crack about at least he never needed a shrink. I laughed and said well, neither have I. He looked at me kind of weird and told me that yes I did and had been to one alot as a kid. I told him he was full of bullsh*t and we let it drop. But it bothered me all day.
That night I called my Stepmom and asked her outright if I'd ever been to a shrink and she said I had when I was a kid. She described the office and such and it was like a flood gate opening.
All of a sudden I had all these memories of going to this office, the toys I played with, the Doctor. She said I had to go for awhile b/c I had problems with nightmares after my parents divorce.
It shocked me that up until that moment I had no recollection whatsoever about ever having been to a shrink or having any kind of counceling. Why I would block something like counceling I have no idea...it wasnt' bad or tramatic or anything. I just remember coloring alot of pictures and playing with dollhouses and talking although I don't remember what was talked about.
Sometimes, it makes me wonder what else is locked away in my head that I don't remember about.
Have you ever blocked anything and then re-discovered it later?
**AT PEACE WITHIN**
~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
12 people like this
13 responses
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
12 Oct 07
Would you care to share what this was by any chance?
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~
1 person likes this
@meme0907 (3481)
• United States
20 Oct 07
Hey t68,
I can remember so far back I remember having my bottle of course I kept it until I was so old I carried it to the bus stop & hid it in the bushes for when I got off the bus hehee it was a barney rubble bottle everytime my Momma threw it away I would get it out of the trash. I even remember learning to tie my shoes. My earliest memory is at about age 3. That doesn't mean I haven't chose to lock away harmful memories that's our bodies self defense-some things are better left forgotten.
+'s
1 person likes this
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
13 Oct 07
well twoey,you know the mind is like a computer,it records our entire life.You were very young and it probably did not mean a lot so it did not stand out in your mind until you were reminded.This has happened to me before,i will have a flash back of something and i would ask my Mom about it only to find that what it was did actually happen...This is perfectly NORMAL....so do not concern yourself with it...Divorce is a ver tramatic thing for a young child,i suppose your step Mom was trying to help you and felt you needed someone to talk too.I do not know you that well but im thinking you probably had a very good step mom and she made you happy enough that the trip to the shrink did not mean anything to you at the time,and you just didn't care enough to remember....This happens to all of us from time to time.Its normal...I think your brother was being a little ugly really to have even bring it up...It only proves one thing ,your step Mom and your dad loved you very much to have even taken you in the first place..Going to a shrink is nothing anyway,I have been and really all they do is just talk to you,its no big deal.....
1 person likes this
@AnnaB87 (761)
• United States
13 Oct 07
yes, this has happened to me.
For me some things I had blocked out were very bad, and I have had flashbacks which were unpleasant.
I have on rare occassion been able to recall things that I had forgotten that were more pleasant.
I think most of the time we forget or block things out because it is just to stressfull to deal with at that moment in time.
Also if you have ever been to a hyponois type counsellor they are trained to help you block things out, which can be good or it can be bad.
Also if you were having a lot of nightmares it could be that smething tramatic was happening in your life at that point and time. That you may still not yet remember, that was more than just the divorce,
1 person likes this
@terri0824 (4991)
• United States
15 Oct 07
This actually happens to more than I would like for it too. I just don't retain a lot about my younger years or even recent years until someone jolts my memory about it. I think I am just to busy dealing with the day to day that don't hold onto much of the past.
1 person likes this
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
12 Oct 07
So far I haven't had any experiences like that.
I think I pretty much remember everything from my childhood, both the good and the bad.
1 person likes this
@derek_a (10873)
•
13 Oct 07
As a Zen practioner, I practice zazen (Zen meditation) every day. I have had memories come back to me from my first year of life, and whilst the way I have suddenly remembered has been fascinating, the purpose of them coming into consciousness is to let go of the memories and move on. The most vivid memories are those that involve some sort of trauma, and that's why they mind tends to lock them away :-)
1 person likes this
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
13 Oct 07
We all have a self-preservation mechanism built in, twoey. That time evidently was more painful to you than you are willing to admit. That is why you had blocked it from your mind. I often find myself wondering what memories I have locked inside. I know that I have them because from time to time I get little flashbacks that don't seem at all familiar to me-but they have to be my memories. Sometimes things are better left alone, but sometimes they should be resurrected.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
13 Oct 07
You know twoey, I do have holes in my memory, like certain years are not there and I don't know why.. I am sure that sometimes that is how we protect ourselves when we are little, some things are too much for a child to deal with and so they block it from their memory..
@asliah (11137)
• Philippines
18 Apr 13
yes,it happened to me sometimes,remembering of something but i can fully remember it and its like in the tip of my tongue,in my mind i really knew it but i can not speak it out,and this usually happen to me very often especially talking about the past.
