Are foggy memories a common occurrence?

Jill_newimprovedversion

I've been having *flashbacks* lately- little *snippets* of scenes popping in my head, like clips from a movie-
except I can recall emotions and even some smells- not just sights & sounds.

In all these, I am drowsy- almost in a fog-and I wake up to the abuse going on- but I see the voice/face of someone
I always loathed- and never understood WHY


Can I trust these memories? How do you sort out if they're REAL? or what was always said to me- my OVERLY ACTIVE imagination.
I was told OFTEN as a young child that I was melodramatic, and FULL of wild, tall tales.

EVERYone involved in any of this is now deceased- so there is no chance of EVER gettting any concrete "proof" or confronting anyone.

moushtie

I would say they are real, but your mind is/was trying to protect you by taking your conscious mind away from what was happening. I know I had memories I'd blocked for years, but when they started to reappear, it was difficult to sort them out in my head. When they first reappeared I had something like a nervous breakdown, and a lot of my memory broke while I was trying to remember. This was very annoying while I was studying A levels... suddenly not being able to remember 7 years of latin vocab was a hindrance :P

kmbrooks15

I would say they are real, but your mind is/was trying to protect you by taking your conscious mind away from what was happening. I know I had memories I'd blocked for years, but when they started to reappear, it was difficult to sort them out in my head. When they first reappeared I had something like a nervous breakdown, and a lot of my memory broke while I was trying to remember. This was very annoying while I was studying A levels... suddenly not being able to remember 7 years of latin vocab was a hindrance :P

This is what I was going to suggest. When my daughter reported my husband's abuse, she only remembered two incidents and was very foggy on the timeline. The victims' advocate that was working with us said this is quite common. My husband actually confessed to the two incidents she mentioned plus a couple more that she didn't even remember.

If you feel like you need help sorting this out, find a good counselor who specializes in abuse cases. They can help you sort out what you are remembering. It might be more important in the long run, though, to deal with the emotions this brings up more than whether the memories are accurate, especially since you say the people involved are all dead and gone. I'm not a counselor, though, so this is where a professional could help you figure out the best way to tackle this.

I do NOT think you are suffering from an overly active imagination, though. No child dreams up that kind of stuff. I think you are experiencing fragments of memories that your conscious mind has tried to suppress to protect you. I'm so sorry that people during your childhood dismissed your reports of abuse. Unfortunately, that's all too common; I've had many people tell me that they are so glad I believed my daughter because their parent (usually the mother) didn't.

brandiuntz

Trust yourself that they are real. People don't remember "tall tales" as a flashback. You remember emotions and smells. Traumatic memories can get stored like this. Not lies and made up stuff.

My initial abuse was at a young age. Throughout childhood, I convinced myself those were "nightmares" I'd once had and I was remembering only nightmares. Magical thinking to protect my mind. A natural mental self-defense. Probably helped by depersonalization (aka disassociation) during the events.

My memories have many details missing, and general gaps. I wouldn't describe them as foggy, but there's plenty of black spots...time skips I just don't recall and may never.

I second finding a good therapist experienced with CSA. They can help you sort things. Made the difference for me.

reneelee

My memory came to me when I saw a picture of myself on his lap and it was flashes like you discribed. I was in my 40's when I made the conections. My mind was protecting me until I could handle the abuse.

leahartmann

I know I have been abused, but have displaced it all, but my body remember perfectly. I´m 39 years by now and still don´t remember. I would say, your memories are true. Believe in yourself.