[zeus]

I dont know where to really begin. What I am wondering is if anyone else feels they have had repressed memories. I was adopted from Korea at the age of 5 and ever since I can recall Ive had dreams about my past but I dont know if their real or not. Some are real bad and some are good. I also know that I knew my B-MOM cause I remember always thinking about her. I also know that I used to think she was comeing back to pick me up to take me home but to this day I cant recall what she looked like.
After about 2 years of being over here in the states my A-Grandmom used to tell me I used to tell her stories about my B-Grandfather. So I know I must have known him and must have memories of him somewhere in my mind.
But now adays I cant even begin to picture any of my B-Fam. It annoys the heck out of me and I would really like to regain those memories. I wish I knew why my mind chose to repress those memories. I want so badly just to be able to feel like therewas a family that wanted me around and to be able to see their faces in my head.
I wonder if anyone else has gone through this type of thing? I would like to know if anyone knows who I could possibly turn to to try and regain these memories? If anyone has anything they can tell me please help cause Im at a point in my life where I need answers or I feel I can no longer move forward!!!

[hrisme]

Originally Posted by zeus

I dont know where to really begin. What I am wondering is if anyone else feels they have had repressed memories. I was adopted from Korea at the age of 5 and ever since I can recall Ive had dreams about my past but I dont know if their real or not. Some are real bad and some are good. I also know that I knew my B-MOM cause I remember always thinking about her. I also know that I used to think she was comeing back to pick me up to take me home but to this day I cant recall what she looked like.
After about 2 years of being over here in the states my A-Grandmom used to tell me I used to tell her stories about my B-Grandfather. So I know I must have known him and must have memories of him somewhere in my mind.
But now adays I cant even begin to picture any of my B-Fam. It annoys the heck out of me and I would really like to regain those memories. I wish I knew why my mind chose to repress those memories. I want so badly just to be able to feel like therewas a family that wanted me around and to be able to see their faces in my head.
I wonder if anyone else has gone through this type of thing? I would like to know if anyone knows who I could possibly turn to to try and regain these memories? If anyone has anything they can tell me please help cause Im at a point in my life where I need answers or I feel I can no longer move forward!!!

Unfortunately it's not uncommon to "loose" memories from early childhood, that's different from repression of memories, a phenomenon which has little to no supporting scientific evidence.

The way our minds work (in layman terms, I have a hard time translating sometimes, so I may be slightly off here) is information we use frequently is stored in an "active" area, while information that is not accessed on a regular basis (like memories from early childhood) are stored in a "cold storage" area. Unfortunately, it's difficult to move the information from "cold storage" to the "active" state, unless you know exactly what information you are trying to access (ie. if you have a photo, you may be able to access the memory relating to the photo, or if someone tells you a story you may remember the feelings associated with the event).

I would suggest journaling your dreams. Whether they are accurate or not you may never know, but getting it down on paper can sometimes help you sort things out. Ask your grandmom for anything she remembers about the stories you used to tell, and write those down too. These links may help you access some of your early memories. Unfortunately, there is not much else that can be done. One of the downfalls of life is sometimes we have to move forward without the answers. It's difficult, I know, and it involves going through the grieving process, which is normal.

You could try hypnotism if you are really insistent on trying to access those memories, but this approach comes with a LOT of risks and most ethical therapists will not use it as an attempt to recover memories (though it can be useful as an aide in processing trauma from known events, to reduce anxiety relating to phobias, etc.). It is next to impossible to hypnotize someone without using the power of suggestion, and this leads to "false memory syndrome" where traumatic "memories" to surface that couldn't possibly have happened. You'd be better off focusing on your dreams, IMO.