Abuse Amnesia

Abuse Amnesia

Definition:

Abuse Amnesia - Abuse Amnesia is a form of cognitive suppression where an abuse victim has trouble remembering episodes where their boundaries have been violated.

Description:

Abuse Amnesia is a strange occurrence which is common among people who have been chronically abused.

When a chronically abused person is interviewed or asked about how they are treated by the abusive person they are close to, they will often generalize a positive response.

This positive response could be interepreted as denial, but it is also likely that the abuse victim just doesn't remember all the things they have been through.

Abuse amnesia is a natural outcome of Confirmation Bias, where information which contradicts what a person wants to believe is neglected or forgotten quickly and information which confirms a belief is amplified and paid attention to.

Abuse amnesia is common in situations where a person is still invested in the success of the relationship and is "rooting for" the abuser to turn the corner, for the situation to improve and for the relationship to succeed.

It is common when an abuse victim is given an opportunity to talk at length about their experiences in a validating environment that they begin to remember traumatic events which they had previously forgotten.