Cruelly isolating

How traumatic memories can get stuck and devastate lives

andy.walton
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read
unsplash.com/@isaiahiz

Following a traumatic event which has triggered a sense of anxiety, it is natural to be cautious and guarded until we feel confident and safe again. But for some the memories can become stuck and it can feel like that moment will never arrive.

The more an individual develops insight and awareness into the impact of said trauma the less power it has. Engaging in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) can build on this sense of empowerment and control.

Talking through the experience in small steps with professional guidance can help make sense of and process memories properly. This can include being asked to relive the memory and then being open to guidance in how to cope with the triggers. It’s then about looking at your additional thoughts around this and whether they are distressing and unhelpful and then looking at ways to have a more balanced view and challenge them. Guidance through accepting and understanding that these feelings are normal and natural and then challenging self blame for example. From here unhelpful coping methods can be identified and replaced with healthier approaches. Medication may fall within this element of control and is recommended treatment alongside CBT, working to help develop a chemical balance, retaining an increased level of Serotonin which is often found to be lower in those suffering anxiety and low mood.

The emotional shock when a memory is laid down is often re-evoked when it is recalled.

I have personally not experienced trauma but I work with military veterans everyday who have. It’s evident that with trauma, the memories can be very raw and sensitive and it is easy therefore to add negative layers to it. You could be in the most beautiful place in the world, but the cruellest part of distressing memories is that they too are there with you. A level of acceptance comes into play when facing up to trauma: you can’t rewind time or erase trauma, it has happened, its now how you relate to it and live with it for your remaining days which is important.

The act of sharing your personal story is the first step to breaking through that debilitating feeling which comes with struggling mentally with your thoughts. The below video produced by MQ for The Guardian Mental Health — Speak Your Mind series offers insight from a brave individual struggling with PTSD and what has helped:

“Slowly we deconstructed my trauma, we got to the bottom of every single of those bad beliefs, about myself, about the blame and the guilt and then made by peace with the whole thing”

“It’s like a cupboard, with loads of papers in it and at the moment all they are all jumbled up which is why there are upsetting and that is why keep they keep coming back, because they are all messed up. In order to deal with it i have to open the door, it has to all fall out and it is painful when it does because you've been shoving that door shut really tight for a really long while”

The very nature of our human psyche is to avoid triggering distressing memories which adversely keeps the problem entrenched via a vicious cycle of avoidance. Thought suppressing is futile as avoidance strengthens fear. The instinct with traumatic memories is to try and shove them away like items in a messy cupboard potentially falling out at any slight knock. These memories can therefore become easily triggered, re-experienced and wrapped in emotion. The goal of therapy therefore is to prevent trauma coming back in such distressing ways, aiming to make sense of and process it properly whilst identifying and challenging distressing and unhelpful thoughts and developing new healthier coping strategies.

Acclaimed TED talk regarding PTSD
  • The Amygdala is activated by threat and alerts other areas of the brain to fight or flight (anxiety response).
  • The prefrontal cortex puts experience in context and makes sense of these amygdala alarms.
  • The hippocampus is like a filing cabinet of past events and is used to cross reference new information.
  • Both the cortex and hippocampus work together to make sense of and file memories.
  • When in fight and flight mode the cortex ability decreases and the hippocampus filing cabinet goes offline. Therefore we don’t make sense of or process the experience and it is stored in the amygdala instead of filed away in the long term memory of the hippocampus. These memories fail to develop context and meaning and the understandable negative interpretations surrounding it during and after. They can be experienced in the moment, easily triggered, highly sensory.

Further reading

andy.walton

Written by

Writing about anxiety from a personal and professional perspective. Mental Health Nurse based in North East England. Founder of Swirlzine.com

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