TL;DR
- Intentionally trying to suppress a memory can cause you to temporarily forget unrelated memories that happened around the same time
Notes
- Sometimes we want to intentionally forget or not remember a memory
- Usually, this means repeatedly being exposed to reminders (real or imagined) of the event, but this obviously can bring unwanted risks
- The hippocampus is the memory part of your brain
- When you try to suppress a memory, the activity of the hippocampus goes down, which also effects how well you can retrieve memories that happened around the same time
- This only lasts about 5-10 seconds
- For therapy purposes, this shows that there is an opportunity where they could try to suppress unrelated memories (the ones that don’t trigger you) to try and suppress the one that does trigger you