|
ORDINARY
MEMORY
|
TRAUMATIC
MEMORY
|
|
Narrative, explicit, simple,
clear, uncomplicated, factual
|
Entangled, symbolic, imagic,
representational
|
|
Easier to recall
|
Frequently more difficult to
recall
|
|
Easier to differentiate
between external and internal reality
|
More confused with frequent
boundary distortions (Is it a memory or is it happening now?)
|
|
Conscious and voluntary
|
Usually not conscious or
voluntary
|
|
Experienced as in the past
|
Often experienced as
happening now even though it actually happened in the past
|
|
Joyful or painful feelings
|
Painful feelings
|
|
Pretty easy to understand
|
Difficult to understand, non-verbal,
often repeated through body sensations or illnesses
|
Adapted
from Memory and Abuse by Charles L. Whitfield (1995)
Ordinary
memory naturally changes over time as we continue to learn and grow. As we make
sense of our lives we fill in the blanks of our memories and create an
ever-changing narrative of who we are in the midst of our life experiences. It
appears, however, that traumatic memory does not change significantly over
time, which is one reason flashbacks and unexplainable bodily sensations can
create such a sense of panic as they begin to emerge (The Dissociative Identity Sourcebook see BOOKS, ARTICLES)
