Images
There you were, an innocent seven-year-old, and you accidentally walked in on your mom (or dad) getting dressed. Don’t they know how to lock their door? You saw all kinds of things you didn’t want to see, and you’re traumatized for life. Try as you might, there is no way to ever erase that image. Ever. Therapy doesn’t work, as that episode is simply stuck in your brain. Worse yet, 
that situation and image is recalled in your mind (and in very vivid detail, no less) at the most inopportune times. Consider being in the heat of some very passionate activities, and the picture of your naked parent flashes into your head (in the case of you boys, the term shrinkage comes to mind). And the more you try to get it out of your thoughts, the more it keeps replaying like a very annoying TV commercial.
Is there any way to permanently delete that from your noggin? Don’t you wish? Unfortunately, the answer is no. That is, unless you get a very severe conk on the head. At that point, you may be in luck, as the horrible snapshot is gone. But likely so is everything else rattling around up there. You can try to repress that event and attempt to think of something else when it (you should pardon the expression) rears its ugly head. However, it seems to be just like a random computer file. Once you think it’s finally gone, it ends up popping back up somewhere, as it’s always on that hard drive (so to speak).
This situation gives a whole new importance to one of the more critical rules in our society: always knock first. That way you’ll never walk in on something or someone you’ll always regret seeing. The sad part is that you typically learn this lesson long after you’re seven years old, and the damage has already been done.
Selective memory loss is the answer. Maybe someone will finally invent a way to do that. Think of all the psychoanalysis you wouldn’t need and all of the money you’d save. Well, probably not. You’d just need therapy for something else.
Tagged as: Health • Therapy • Trauma