UFO Memories are NOT Repressed

People who have UFO experiences are often told to turn to hypnosis in order to unlock their memories. One problem is that incompetent hypnosis can lead to these memories being lost or distorted. It?s long been assumed that victims of traumatic events repress their memories as a kind of protection against the further trauma of having to remember them. But new research shows that people do NOT push these troubling memories into places in their brains where they cannot be accessed?on the contrary, they recall them with incredible clarity. This is one more reason why the testimony of people who recall UFO encounters should be taken seriously.

Contrary to conventional thought dating back to Freud, victims of traumatic events do not subconsciously repress the memories but rather recall them with a clarity reminiscent of reality. In fact, people have more trouble remembering pleasant experiences than unpleasant ones. This startling finding comes from a five-year-study conducted by Canadian psychologist Steve Porter, who has discovered that people have much more difficulty recalling pleasant memories than they do unpleasant ones.

In the late 19th century, Sigmund Freud developed his famous theory that, to cope with horrific events, people repress memories so their painful effects won?t have to be experienced over and over again. Porter?s research suggests the opposite; that victims can recall details of traumatic events such as physical or sexual assault with as much clarity as the day they happened. He says, “If Freud was right, these would be the kind of events that people would try to push away. People tried to push them away but were unable to do so. They were, in fact, haunted by what they experienced.” On the other hand, the same study found people?s recall of pleasant memories?weddings, births, awards?wasn’t nearly as good.

Porter adds, “The positive memories changed dramatically and began to look very little like the event itself, so, if people start to tell you about the ‘good ol’ days,’ you might want to take that with a grain of salt.”

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk

If you’re interested in memory, discover the startling research of William Henry, who researches the collective memories of ancient cultures and discovers the facts buried deep within them.

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