Hypnosis For Memory Retrieval: Can It Help Recall?
I’ve been a hypnotherapist for over fifteen years at the time of writing this article. over the years, I’ve been asked on many occasions if I can help recall memories of childhood abuse, details of crime scenes, lost keys, and various other, memory-related things. With all of these people, I start by saying that if you intend to use the lost memory in a court of law, please don’t go there.
In this article, I’ll explain how hypnosis can be useful in retrieving lost keys but when it comes to an explicit memory of a traumatic event, it may provide a false memory. I’ll explain why you should always seek corroborating evidence and why a false recollection can be dangerous to your emotional health and well-being. It is my belief that self-hypnosis should never be used to try to recover memories of a traumatic experience. If this is your aim, I suggest seeking out a qualified hypnotherapist to work with.
The Science Behind The Use Of Hypnosis For Memory Loss
The first thing to understand about your mind is that it’s not a memory bank like a hard drive on a computer. When you click on a file stored on a hard drive, you get the exact file that was stored. Our unconscious mind stores what I call stories. Each story is a combination of input from our senses at the time the event happened. This is where it gets interesting though. Some other factors influence what we perceive and then store as a memory. First of all are our biases. These are a group of personal preferences and personal experiences that act as a filter for what our minds focus on.
When it comes to hypnosis, now there is another factor that could color our recall. For instance, if you were to use an unethical hypnotist, he or she could use language that subtly suggests a certain bias. An example would be “Tell me about that traumatic incident”. There is an assumption that the incident was traumatic, so therefore the hypnotist is influencing the person to recall the memory in a certain way.
The analogy I use to describe the influencing of recall is putting a white light behind various different colors of see-through plastic (a.k.a a “gel”). Depending on what color the gel is, the light will look as if it’s blue, pink, or red, or whatever color the plastic sheet is. It’s still the same white light but it doesn’t look that way when you look at it with a gel in front of it. Our stories are similar. This is why using a memory recalled using hypnosis as witness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
When To Use Hypnosis For Memory Recall
I believe that it is perfectly fine to use hypnosis to attempt to find a lost object, as long as you don’t make a life-altering decision as a result of your recall. Using it to recall a memory of a real event which may cause emotional difficulties is a potential minefield. For instance, if you were the victim of sexual abuse and you recall, using hypnosis, that it was your uncle who was the perpetrator, you might announce this to all your family members, call the cops, and ruin your uncle’s life.
What if the traumatic memories you recalled were proven to be incorrect and it wasn’t your uncle after all? The false information that you thought was a factually correct long term memory, could ruin his life and potentially, your life too. Hypnosis is not like some sort of truth serum. This is why it is important to approach this subject with caution. When it’s about memories of abuse, it is important to remember that such memories can cause disturbed emotional states if uncovered by yourself or with the aid of someone who is not trained in how to deal with strong negative emotional reactions.
The Need For Corroborating Evidence
Think about what is needed to convince a judge in a court of law. You need to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt. In the example that I used in the last section if you accuse your uncle of sexual abuse and it goes to court, based upon memories recovered while in hypnosis, a defense attorney would rip that accusation to shreds unless it was backed up by some actual evidence. What would qualify as actual evidence might be footage from a video camera.
If you sit back and give this some thought, you’ll realize that this need for corroborating evidence is a good thing. If roles were reversed and you were the person accused, how would you feel if you were actually innocent but convicted just on the basis of a memory recalled during hypnotic age regression? This is why I always make it clear to my memory retrieval clients that what you think is a real memory that you remember while in a trance-like state may not in actual fact, be remembered in a reliable way.
The Danger Of False Memories
I have listed some of the dangers of false memories earlier but here is the full list of dangers:
- Emotional Disturbance: You can cause yourself upsetting or unsettling emotions and negatively affect your quality of life.
- Intrusive Memories: The memory you recall can contain sensitive information that causes you to replay that memory over and over again, and, of course, upsetting yourself each time.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Depending on the vividness of each memory, they can seem more like an eyewitness memory, and in the case of a trauma, this can actually cause PTSD.
- False Accusations: You could accuse someone of doing harmful things and potentially ruin their whole life.
- Imaginative Experiences: If the hypnotherapist working with you isn’t skilled in forensic hypnosis, they could unintentionally lead your subconscious mind into creating a memory while in the hypnotic state.
Can Hypnosis Help Remember Traumatic Events?
I think the jury is out on this one. My belief, having worked as a hypnotherapist for over fifteen years, is that it depends on what your motivation is. If your focus is to feel better today by resolving past traumas, then I believe that hypnosis can really help when we focus on the emotions rather than the exact details of what happened. If, however, you want to recall in order to accuse another person, or to get justice then I would refuse to get involved in that, simply because of the danger of false memories.
What Are Repressed Memories?
Your mind contains a safety mechanism called repression. When your mind judges that you might not be able to handle the strong emotions caused by a memory, it will “repress” some or all of the memory. What you experience is just simply not being able to remember some, or all of that event. This is a good thing overall. However, when you are many years on from the incident, those repressed memories can cause problems.
It is always a good idea to find a trustworthy, experienced, and well-qualified therapist before even attempting to unlock repressed memories. The emotional reactions to releasing repressed memories can be so strong that they can cause you some form of nervous breakdown, or worse.
How To Unblock Painful Memories
As I mentioned in the previous section, always consult a professional who can guide the process carefully. Trying to do it by yourself can result in going too quickly and releasing a tidal wave of emotion that causes you to feel completely overwhelmed. The suggestions that should be used during hypnotic regression should be along the lines of “your unconscious mind will only release these memories at a rate and speed that it believes you can comfortably handle.”
If you are tempted to try it yourself, I would suggest using my “Deep Relaxation” recording which you can download by going to the homepage and signing up for the FREE GIFT. When you get very relaxed, use the suggestion in the previous paragraph and imagine a locked door opening just a little at first. The imagery of this locked room is very important. Do not fling the door wide open as then you may be met with the tidal wave of emotion that you don’t want.
If you have a specific problem that you’d like relief from, have a look at all of my hypnosis downloads.
Author: Paul Hunter
Although thousands of people read his blog every month, Paul's path to success was not an easy one. Click here to read his amazing story "From Unwanted Baby And Adopted To A Respected Self Help Blogger". If you want to send Paul a quick message, then visit his contact page here
