with as basic science and as much analogies as possible, please explain why does childhood trauma carries on into adulthood and even at a later age, even when it’s not happening anymore later on.

Question

Why can’t the brain simply forget about it since it’s from a long time ago and still end up having some form of mental health issues later on in life because of it?

In: 39

Answer 1

The trauma event or situation is a very serious one, that is important, and so gets put into long term memory.

Lets say you get chased by a loud, fierce stray dog while jogging at night.

Long term memory is where the neurons actually grow physical connections to other neurons, hardwiring a path in the mind. Now, the interesting thing about memory, is that the more you think about it, the more it gets reinforced. Like if you walk a path through the grass.

Also, the context in which you remember an event gets connected to the memory. This is why you might remember things about swimming better at a beach, than in a basement. So anytime it’s dark, you’ll have a better chance of remembering, or jogging, or seeing a dog.

So the next day you think about it, while grocery shopping you see a dog, or even just a similar tree, or a scent of mulch…. and you get that surge of panic from the night before. The memory is reinforced, but now the event is very lightly linked to grocery shopping, even if the even happened at night while jogging.

And every time you remember a memory…you not only reinforce it, but modify it too.

So if you remember the event, but focus on the panic, the vulnerability, then this feature gets enhanced…so the event gets magnified.

So the connections get reinforced by remembering it. Remembering it can exaggerate it, and distort it. And every time you remember it, it can be connected to other details, making it more likely to be remembered again…

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So its the constant repeating of the memory, digging deeper paths as you go down them, only the worst features getting reinforced, and connected to all sorts of errant memories that make these so persistent.

A lot of therapy involves actually going through the memory again, but in a space that makes you feel calm. And focusing on the other details, not just the raw emotional ones. And work is done to isolate it to that moment, rather than the connections to current relationships or locations.

This broadens the path, allowing you to exit it rather than being trapped in the rut. It also makes it more like your other memories, and less striking.

It’ll always be apart of you, a significant one. but one with paths out of it, and a better grasp of it’s scope and place.