You may worry that what you’re able to recall is incomplete.

Remembering some events and considering them from an adult’s perspective might be confusing or uncomfortable.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Hypnosis

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Not being able to clearly remember something from your life can be frustrating and distressing.

If you are reflecting on your childhood and asking yourself, “Was I sexually abused?

“, you may worry that youll never know the truth.

Techniques like hypnosis have often been touted as the key to unlocking memories, especially traumatic ones.

In this article, well talk about traumatic memories and the claims that hypnosis can help people recover them.

Not everyone forgets or dissociates from trauma.

For some people, distressing memories come up regularly and can be extremely disruptive and distressing.

Bothdissociationand intrusive memories are features ofpost-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD).

However, recalling abuse can also happen even if a person is not undergoing therapy.

A person who spontaneously recovers memories of abuse might be able to verify what happened to them.

Knowing the truth may give them relief and help them understand themselves better.

However, not all memories are clear and easy to interpret.

Can Hypnosis Bring Back Childhood Memories?

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness.

Techniques like hypnosis claim to be able to help people access forgotten or repressed memories.

Many hypnotherapists even claim that people can recall past lives under hypnosis.

However, there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.

The nature of memory as a process of reconstruction is well-established.

Instead of a camera, memory is more like a scrapbook.

Individual memories are pieced together with bits of sensory experience along with interpretation and fantasy.

Under hypnosis, people are very open to suggestion.In fact, suggestibility is key to how hypnosis works.

Sometimes,false memoriesof abuse are inadvertently planted while a client is under hypnosis.

Regression therapy is often done using hypnosis.

Working through the memories and emotions of past experiences can help a person heal and focus on the future.

Who Should Not Do Hypnosis?

If you or a loved one is considering hypnosis or regression therapy, seek a skilled mental health professional.

you oughta check that that working through painful memories is done safely and with care.

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