 |
|
|
|
|
August 2nd, 2011
03:06 PM ET
Could I have been sexually abused?Every weekday, a CNNHealth expert doctor answers a viewer question. On Tuesdays, it's Dr. Charles Raison, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University, and an expert in the mind-body connection for health. Question asked by Sarah from Chicago On one side are people who believe that amnesia for childhood abuse is common and needs to be overcome through therapeutic interventions designed to "recover memories." On the other side are people who insist that such buried memories are far rarer than are false memories induced by well-meaning, but misguided, clinicians. As with most complex issues there is likely truth on both sides. We know that people can be abused and not remember it as adults. This fact was disturbingly brought home a few years ago by the case of a man who had videotaped himself having sex with a young child. Do you remember the case? The video was discovered; the man disappeared and headed to the hills armed to the teeth, only to be captured eventually by law enforcement. The girl he'd abused was at the edge of her teen years and had no memory whatsoever of the abuse event. On the other hand, I have seen many cases of people with psychiatric symptoms who recovered memories of abuse during therapy, only later to become convinced that the memories were created rather than actual. More than one family with no clear evidence of an abusive atmosphere has been destroyed by this phenomenon. I don't know, and I don't think anybody knows, the percentage of recovered memories of abuse that are true versus false, so I'm not able to speculate about the odds that your feelings and suggestive behaviors do in fact hide a history of abuse of which you are unaware. I can say in general, however, that the possibility you were abused increases as factors consistent with abuse also increase. Here are a few questions relevant to potential abuse: Was anybody else in your family physically or sexually abused? Was your family environment chaotic and violent? Was drug or alcohol abuse a prominent feature of your family's life? To the degree that these types of experiences were part of your childhood, the possibility of abuse increases to the same degree. To the degree that your early family environment was supportive, loving and peaceful, the odds of unremembered abuse go down to that degree.
Next entry »Is a breast fibroadenoma a precursor to cancer?
« Previous entryTri Challenge: The time has finally come
|
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
 |
|
|
|
Hi, I do think this is a great blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I'm going to return yet again since i have bookmarked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
http://webmail.cdlbh.com.br/redir.php?http://fleettruckrepairshop.com/
Aw, this was an extremely good post. Taking the time and actual effort to generate a good articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get anything done.
https://www.recklinghausen.de/inhalte/startseite/ruhrfestspiele_kultur/musik_und_theater/musik__choere_und_vereine/index.asp?db=17&form=RedirectAction&redirecturl=https://ocrv.vip
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Many thanks, However I am going through troubles with your RSS. I donÃt understand why I can't subscribe to it. Is there anybody having identical RSS issues? Anybody who knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanks!!
https://www.pickyourownchristmastree.org/XMTRD.php?PAGGE=/WashingtonStateTreeRecyclingDisposal.php&NAME=&URL=https://www.fleetautorepairshop.com/
http://www.grupoplasticosferro.com/setLocale.jsp?language=pt&url=https://fleetservicerepairshop.com
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you penning this write-up and the rest of the site is also really good.
https://glowing.com/external/link?next_url=www.sprintervanrepairnearme.com
I really like and appreciate your article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
https://bit.ly/3dobJVs
sildenafil over the counter nz https://pharmaceptica.com/
https://www.schoolfinder.com/Tracking/WeblinkClicks.aspx?SchoolCode=uglio15&ProfileType=University&LinkType=SocialLink3&RedirectURL=http://ocrv.online/
There is definately a great deal to learn about this subject. I really like all the points you have made.
http://smartsourcing.ru/link?http://fleetautorepairshop.com/
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. There's no doubt that that you should write more about this subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but typically folks don't speak about such issues. To the next! Kind regards!!
http://go.e-frontier.co.jp/rd2.php?uri=http://www.fleettruckrepairshop.com
http://instantfwding.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=bestservicenearme.com/