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Why are recovered memories so controversial?

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What is a recovered memory? Why are recovered memories so controversial?

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Solution Summary

Recovered memories are events repressed/forgotten, by an individual, typically in response to trauma such as childhood abuse, rape, post traumatic stress, exposure to war, severe accidents, etc. Individuals will have memories "surface" years after the occurrence of the event, thus making it hard to impossible to check the validity of the supposed memory. Memories can surface in therapy, through hypnosis, after receiving anesthesia, or spontaneously. It is still an area of controversy.

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Recovered memories are events repressed/forgotten, by an individual, typically in response to trauma such as childhood abuse, rape, post traumatic stress, exposure to war, severe accidents, etc. Individuals will have memories "surface" years after the occurrence of the event, thus making it hard to impossible to check the validity of the supposed memory. Memories can surface in therapy, through hypnosis, after receiving anesthesia, or spontaneously. It is still an area of controversy.

According to the American Psychological Associant (APA) the phenomenon of recovering repressed memory is still considered extremely rare. Typically the subject addressed in recovered memory is abuse, either sexual and/or physical abuse that occurs in childhood. A second area that is typical of this field is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) events, such as those experienced in wartime.
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