Part 2: My story of recovering memories of being sexually abused as a child

This is the second part of my video on dissociative amnesia, the current scientific terminology for repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. In this segment, I share my own experience with PTSD flashbacks and memories of incest and questioning whether my memories were accurate (spoiler alert: they were). While I do not disclose this in my video, my father was my abuser. He died a few years ago.
I was diagnosed with dissociative amnesia, post traumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder by my psychiatrist in 2016. Dissociative amnesia is the diagnostic term for repressed memories. Because of the nature of these memories, survivors are sometimes not believed when these memories surface. In my case, I learned after my PTSD symptoms started that my abuser was a serial sexual predator, and I wasn't the only child he attempted to sexually assault.
It is important to remember that denial and minimization are common defense mechanisms. It is much more common for the human brain to deny that a traumatic event occurred than it is to create false traumatic events. However, it is also important to be cautious regarding repressed memories. Like all memory, they can be inaccurate. It is a bad idea to fish for repressed memories. Symptom relief is the goal. Knowing more details can make things worse, not better. However, certain treatment methods, like EMDR, can cause access to memories not otherwise accessible to the person undergoing treatment.
It has been five years now since my diagnosis and at times, denial still pops up for me. After working through my grief and sadness, the denial has greatly decreased. I'm doing well and I'm taking some time off to enjoy life and determine how I can help survivors in a way that isn't going to trigger me.
One of my new favorite resources is this non-profit site for survivors of child abuse, as well as other people who have complex PTSD: www.beautyafter....