False Memory Syndrome

  I think I've finally figured it out. After months of pondering the
motives of people whose sole purpose seems to be to silence, ridicule,
discredit or otherwise interfere with the growing child abuse awareness
movement, I've decided that it must be fear.

  Perhaps the acronym should really stand for the "Fear of Memories
Surfacing Foundation". Considering that the daughter of the co-founder of
this "organization" has publicly stated that her father abused her as a
child, it shouldn't come as a great surprise that they would wish to
discredit all such claims.

  Further investigation revealing that several board members also have had
criminal abuse complaints filed against them would seem to bear this out.

  The reasons I've spent so much time wondering about this nonsense are
twofold; first, I've been unable to comprehend how anyone could seriously
believe that abuse Survivors could be so gullible, or why ANYONE would
allow "false memories" to be presented as reality, and to actually believe
them to BE reality!

  Common "brainwashing" techniques require far more time than a therapist
could possibly spend with a client. They also generally involve periods of
confinement, along with sleep deprivation, loss of freedom of action and
privacy, a gradual "wearing down" of the individual.

  The usual response to this is that false accusations of abuse allow
individuals with a preexisting mental or emotional problem to become a
"victim", allowing the person to not take responsibility for their actions.

  This brings up an interesting point. If this hypothetical person is
already suffering from a mental/emotional disturbance, they already have a
built-in "excuse" for not accepting responsibility, at least to some
degree.

  Why claim child abuse as the reason? There are MANY diagnoses which
"sound" better. I think it's an accurate statement to say that most
Survivors would much prefer other, more easily treatable, problems. (I
don't, by the way, mean to imply that any mental disorder is a pleasant
experience!)

  My second, and far more serious, concern is that this outfit, if it
represented a significant segment of the mental health field, could easily
reverse the great progress being made in the awareness and treatment of
abuse. Fortunately, at present, the FMSF represents only a tiny fraction
of current thinking in mental health circles.

  Inadvertently, they may have even done some good, because of the
scientific studies of memory. These studies are proving what most rational
people already knew, that memories of traumatic events during childhood
are frequently suppressed, to one degree or another.

  I strongly suspect that within five to ten years, if not sooner, this
"false memory syndrome" will find its place in history alongside the flat
earth theory and the demonic possession explanation for mental illness.

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