No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{ExpPsy}} |
{{ExpPsy}} |
||
| + | "[[Body memory]]" is a non-clinical term used to describe several distinct, but related concepts related to memory, amnesia, and trauma. |
||
| − | '''Body memory''' is the theory that the body itself is capable of storing memories, as opposed to only the brain. This is used to explain having memories for events where the brain was not in a position to store memories and is sometimes a catalyst for [[repressed memories]] recovery. These memories are often characterised with phantom pain in a part or parts of the body - the body appearing to remember the past trauma. |
||
| + | Broadly, body memory argues that memories can be stored not only in the brain, but also throughout the body; or that one's physical symptoms and responses can indicate the presence of repressed or otherwise forgotten memory, particularly traumatic memories such as [[sexual abuse]]. |
||
| − | ==Symptoms== |
||
| − | The symptons for the syndrome are: |
||
| + | Body memory is often discussed in the context of [[childhood sexual abuse]] and [[repressed memory|repressed]] or [[recovered memory]]. The best-selling book ''[[The Courage to Heal]]'', a guide for sexual abuse survivors, has the slogan "The body remembers what the mind forgets."<ref>http://www.stopbadtherapy.com/main/smith/body.shtml</ref> Some believe that a Body memory can even be from a [[past life]] and can have a physical manifestation, such as skin blistering<ref>[http://www.newtimes.org/issue/0108/memory.htm]</ref> |
||
| − | # Recurrent behaviour patterns, flashbacks, emotional responses, pain, or other sensations, generally associated with certain triggers (events, people, colours, sounds, skin pressure, etc). |
||
| − | # There being no explanation for that phenomena in present contexts. |
||
| + | ==Mainstream scientific response== |
||
| − | ==Criteria== |
||
| + | Body memory ''per se'', particularly the notions that it might represent [[past life]] trauma, has been criticized as pseudoscience.<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume5/j5_4_2.htm | title = Body Memories: And Other Pseudo-Scientific Notions of "Survivor Psychology" | journal = Issues in Child Abuse Accusations | volume = 5 | issue = 4 | year = 1993 | last = Smith | First = SE }}</ref> |
||
| − | In order to gain a body memory, according to the theory, one simply needs to go through a traumatic experience and the body may store this memory in any place in the body that participated in the event - such as the arm, if it got burnt. |
||
| + | Few studies have been done on Body Memory ''per se''. However, trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk of Harvard University notes that [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] often display physiological responses they cannot explain: "trauma interferes with [[declarative memory]], i.e. conscious recall of experience, but does not inhibit [[implicit memory]], or non-declarative memory, the memory system that controls conditioned emotional responses, skills and habits, and sensorimotor sensations related to experience.<ref>van der Kolk, Bessel A. "The Body Keeps The Score: Memory & the Evolving Psychobiology of Post Traumatic Stress." ''Harvard Review of Psychiatry'', 1994, 1(5), pp. 253-265"</ref> |
||
| − | Some believe that a Body memory can even be from a [[past life]] and can have a physical manifestation, such as skin blistering[http://www.newtimes.org/issue/0108/memory.htm] |
||
| − | |||
| − | ==Context== |
||
| − | Body memory is sometimes cited as evidence for [[sexual abuse]]. If this is the only evidence that person has, it may be because, at the time the abuse is claimed to have occurred, normal memory formation was not possible - such as if the victim was unconscious, or was a baby, or was in shock. Body memory does not need to preclude actual memory - and ongoing disabilities after a known trauma can sometimes be seen as body memory. The theory that bad experiences get imprinted could be seen as similar to the beliefs of [[Scientology]]. |
||
| − | |||
| − | For those who believe in [[repressed memory]], body memory often forms part of the package of evidence. If a [[sexual abuse]] survivor, when recounting a story, suddenly finds breathing difficult, under body memory theory, this is the body remembering a moment in the abuse when breathing was difficult. In this way, a person who suffered past traumas continues to link present day ailments to the past trauma, often regardless of the time past since the event. There is seen to be no particular time limit or quantity limit to body memories. |
||
| − | |||
| − | [[The Courage to Heal]], a book that encourages [[Recovered memory therapy|Repressed Memory Therapy]], has the slogan "The body remembers what the mind forgets."[http://www.stopbadtherapy.com/main/smith/body.shtml] |
||
| − | |||
| − | ==Explanation== |
||
| − | One explanation is that the trauma is stored within the body's 'energy fields,'[http://www.newtimes.org/issue/0108/memory.htm] which is a [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] explanation. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Body memory could be an [[ad-hoc]] explanation for normal body reactions. It may be a way of [[disassociating]] responsibility for a personal condition. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Few studies have been done on the subject. |
||
| − | |||
| − | ==Criticisms== |
||
| − | The theory of body memory is not supported by what is currently known as to how memory works and what non-brain organs are capable of doing. |
||
== See also == |
== See also == |
||
| Line 37: | Line 18: | ||
* http://www.stopbadtherapy.com/main/smith/body.shtml |
* http://www.stopbadtherapy.com/main/smith/body.shtml |
||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Memory]] |
[[Category:Memory]] |
||
[[Category:Memory disorders]] |
[[Category:Memory disorders]] |
||
[[Category:Pseudoscience]] |
[[Category:Pseudoscience]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
Revision as of 14:06, 22 May 2009
Assessment |
Biopsychology |
Comparative |
Cognitive |
Developmental |
Language |
Individual differences |
Personality |
Philosophy |
Social |
Methods |
Statistics |
Clinical |
Educational |
Industrial |
Professional items |
World psychology |
Cognitive Psychology: Attention · Decision making · Learning · Judgement · Memory · Motivation · Perception · Reasoning · Thinking - Cognitive processes Cognition - Outline Index
"Body memory" is a non-clinical term used to describe several distinct, but related concepts related to memory, amnesia, and trauma.
Broadly, body memory argues that memories can be stored not only in the brain, but also throughout the body; or that one's physical symptoms and responses can indicate the presence of repressed or otherwise forgotten memory, particularly traumatic memories such as sexual abuse.
Body memory is often discussed in the context of childhood sexual abuse and repressed or recovered memory. The best-selling book The Courage to Heal, a guide for sexual abuse survivors, has the slogan "The body remembers what the mind forgets."[1] Some believe that a Body memory can even be from a past life and can have a physical manifestation, such as skin blistering[2]
Mainstream scientific response
Body memory per se, particularly the notions that it might represent past life trauma, has been criticized as pseudoscience.[3]
Few studies have been done on Body Memory per se. However, trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk of Harvard University notes that post-traumatic stress disorder often display physiological responses they cannot explain: "trauma interferes with declarative memory, i.e. conscious recall of experience, but does not inhibit implicit memory, or non-declarative memory, the memory system that controls conditioned emotional responses, skills and habits, and sensorimotor sensations related to experience.[4]
See also
External links
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
- ↑ http://www.stopbadtherapy.com/main/smith/body.shtml
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Smith (1993). Body Memories: And Other Pseudo-Scientific Notions of "Survivor Psychology". Issues in Child Abuse Accusations 5 (4).
- ↑ van der Kolk, Bessel A. "The Body Keeps The Score: Memory & the Evolving Psychobiology of Post Traumatic Stress." Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 1994, 1(5), pp. 253-265"