The Mental Regulation of Autobiographical Recollection in the Aftermath of Trauma |
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Authors: | Tim Dalgleish Beatrijs Hauer Willem Kuyken |
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Institution: | Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, U.K.;;University of Maastricht;and;University of Exeter |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACT— Survivors of psychological trauma are frequently troubled by intrusive recollection of the traumatic event. We describe research showing that attempts to suppress such trauma memories can be associated with paradoxically enhanced remembering of the trauma, enhanced access to other negative personal material, and a lack of specificity in the recollection of the personal past. This suggests that attempted suppression is generally a counterproductive approach to the regulation of traumatic memories in distressed trauma survivors. Working with trauma memories, rather than suppressing them, is more adaptive. |
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Keywords: | trauma mental control suppression memory PTSD |
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