forum Ask Me Really Anything About Psychology

Started November 08, 2019 by @urban

tune

Got a mental illness you need help understanding better for a character? Just curious about the brain or maybe a certain disorder? Here’s a good place to do it. I’m currently studying psychology and I’d be happy to answer any questions!

Ooh, hey, love this thread! Psychology is basically my favorite topic, but sadly I've only ever taken two classes.
So what can you tell me about repressed memories? I have a character who gets an invasive surgery against their will, and there was no anesthesia involved. They saw every bit of it. I've read before about how some of that works, so what I have is their brain replacing what's actually happening with them getting bricks pulled out of them, and it was more from a 3rd person pov. Can you tell me how accurately I may or may not have been there? Or if there's anything I should add to that? How is this going to affect her going forward?
Thanks very much!

Oh yeah, I studied that a couple of weeks ago! Repressed memories are usually caused by traumatic events. So in your characters case, the traumatic event is the surgery. It is essentially when there is an inability to recall a traumatic experience at one point and the subsequent recovery of that memory. A person unconsciously pushes away painful or traumatic thoughts and memories. This will allow a person to live a relatively normal life while being seemingly unaware of the existence of such painful experiences. The notable thing to remember is that it is an unconscious action. The person will have no clue that they are pushing those memories away. It’s important to recognize if it is a repressive case, or if it is suppression (where a person consciously drives away distressing thoughts).

Repression happens because extreme trauma disrupts long-term memory storage, which is the reason for why we can forget those thoughts.

Memories can come back. They can return later in life in the form of sensations or emotions. An individual could also possibly have triggers. Memories can be brought to the surface accidentally if they experience something familiar to what the trauma was (lets say there was a certain smell. That smell can trigger flashbacks). Therapists at times will purposely expose patients to those triggers if the patient is wanting to bring those memories to the surface as well (for example: in a show called the Prodigal Son (amazing show, would recommend), the main character is experiencing having repressed memories (dad was a serial killer, and he found one of the bodies as a child). A trigger for that moment was chloroform, and when he inhaled it, it brought back flash backs of that memory. The show is very accurate to what could happen). Though not everyone would want to remember those memories, as they are repressed for a reason.

Also, when writing about a character with repressed memories (if this is a character for a book), have others doubt them. Repressed memories is still a controversial thing that simply doesn’t exist, so many criticize it as people simply having bad memories, when it’s really a defense mechanism applied by the brain.

Here are some links that I think could be helpful for you! Let me know if you have any other questions :)
https://www.talkspace.com/blog/why-we-repress-memories/
https://harvardmagazine.com/2008/01/repressed-memory.html

So my MC (Zenith) has PTSD, and he he's triggered into a flashback by someone saying nearly the exact same thing he did at a traumatic moment. What can you tell me about PTSD flashbacks?

This is a really interesting topic! Here is some information about PTSD flashbacks:

Flashbacks can be different for all people. Some can be temporary and you can maintain some connection with the present moment, or you might lose all awareness of what’s going on around you and go completely back to that event. An example that a reading is giving is: “For example, a rape survivor, when triggered, may begin to smell certain scents or feel pain in her body similar to that which was experienced during her assault“.

For character development, knowing triggers are very important. I would suggest having some character development in a way that would help your character know what the trigger was (they would, because they would remember that event. A smart character should not be repeating their own trigger to make a flashback happen. That isn’t realistic at all to real life events with people with PTSD). By knowing triggers, a person can limit exposure to those triggers, or if that isn’t possible (that’s often the case), a person can devise ways to cope (here’s some ways so cope https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-with-ptsd-2797536 ) with reactions to triggers. Knowing triggers can also help to reduce other symptoms of PTSD (like intrusive thoughts).

There can also be early warning signs of a flashback coming on so they can be prevented before they happen. A reading lists some things to be: “For example, your surroundings may begin to look fuzzy or you may feel as though you're separating from or losing touch with your surroundings, other people, or even yourself“. This also helps to explain that they don’t hit right away at that moment, there is a very short building time before flashbacks/dissociation hits.

There’s also grounding techniques you can use. That’s a technique to use to avoid having flashbacks/dissociation. Using senses are the most helpful things (I’ll link the article below to look at the list of examples for grounding techniques using senses). A person can also rely on another individual to help with triggers. That individual should know what to do to help ground you (etc. stimulating those senses for grounding). Treatment is also very much recommended

Here are some links:
Treatment: http://www.isst-d.org/
Article (senses and other): https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-with-flashbacks-2797574

Ahhh thank-you so much! This was so helpful, I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that out and find me a (very interesting ^^) article <3

Of course!! I enjoy doing this sort of research so it was all good! Glad it was helpful!

Hey, so I have a schizophrenic character that I’d love to write, but I’m not going anywhere near her until I can accurately and respectfully write schizophrenia… which I have no idea how to do. Any tips?