Suppressed memories are a protective mechanism used by the brain to induce healing of the body.   They are the result of the brain’s willpower to survive and a numbing agent that causes the body to forget that it is in pain.   The lessened exposure to the pain lessens the traumatic side-effects of the harmful event, thus allowing the body to recover more quickly and forget the torturous event.   But what happens when the body is never aware that is in pain?

When the body is aware that it is in pain, it learns how to associate that pain with an agonizing event.   When we never feel pain, a continuous  cycle of abuse happens.  The body never learns how to stop the abuse because it never feels traumatized or learns how to identify abusive actions.  This is why it is important that the brain does not over-medicate itself or suppress memories to the point of always feeling numb.  By feeling the pain and remembering it, the body learns how to prevent future occurrences of the harmful event.   When over-medicating, how can the brain train the body to stop the abuse?

When exposed to a reoccurring traumatic event, the brain needs to consciously analyze the body’s reactions and feelings.  This might require the victim of the abuse to immediately write all thoughts and actions down during and after the abusive events  in order to consciously analyze them at a later time when the body is numb.  By reviewing the notes, the brain remembers the immediate response to the harm, trains itself on how to understand the tormenting side-effects that are left unseen, and learns how to associate the initial pain with the abusive event.

As the brain becomes consciously aware of harmful side-effects of an action, it will stop the body from allowing the abuse to occur in the future.  Although the body does not remember feeling the pain that was caused previously, the brain knows how to identify the side-effects, pinpoint the cause, and stop the abuse from ever happening in the first place.