The Franklin Files

 There is one more thing that I want to briefly touch upon before I go ahead and open up with my story and this concerns repressed memories, and the claims of psychiatrists and other experts in the field of psychology that hypnosis is sometimes a useful tool in facilitating the release of the memories that were blocked out by the conscious mind.

       There are two extreme views concerning this subject. The first is that anything and everything that a patient reveals under hypnosis is all true and correct because the patient is incapable of lying while under hypnosis.

       The opposite and just as extreme view is that absolutely nothing that a patient expresses under hypnosis is true or accurate at all.

       The later opinion, of course, is pretty much the official opinion of an organization called The False Memory Institute.

         I have discovered through the material in my research that this group; The False Memory Institute is largely a counter-intelligence miss-information group, founded by members of The Central Intelligence Agency.

         “The False Memory Institute” has surfaced as a quasi professional and political group to counter-act the testimonies of experts like Dr. David Vicscott, and other well known psychiatrists who have supported hypnosis as a means of recovering traumatic memories that were repressed. Members of the False Memory Institute sometimes appear as “expert” witnesses in courts of law as well as publishing papers that “debunk” hypnosis and hypnosis regression and the testimonies of victims stories that were accomplished through this method.

       The False Memory Institute has gone so far as to attempt to debunk repressed memories or the suppression of traumatic events completely, making public statements such as "children who were abused always remembered that they were abused. Anyone who claims they were abused but forgot about it, could not have been abused" [paraphrase]         
        
       This is an absolutely ridiculous and unscientific opinion. It has been well established and quite proven that often P.T.S.D War Veterans have repressed part or all of the traumatic event causal to their symptoms and diagnoses and part or all of their memories of the events have resurfaced, often times spontaneously (The well known phenomenon of flashbacks) as well as through the usage of hypnosis and the details brought out under hypnosis have been proven to have actually occurred when corroborated by other witnesses who were there.

       There has also been studies done concerning spontaneous amnesia, and most people who have experienced spontaneous amnesia (usually from trauma) have been able to recapture at least some of their memories, often times all of their memories returns. This has been well documented. It doesn't always happen right away though, sometimes it happens in weeks, months and even years.

       Of course to believe that everything that comes out under hypnosis is all true is also an extreme position. It has been proved that the therapist can effect the patients responses by asking leading questions. There is also the question of whether the patient was truly under hypnosis or not.         

        The truth, I believe is in the middle. There is absolute, solid, scientific evidence that traumatic events can be psychologically repressed resulting in partial or complete amnesia and that memory of these events can return to the surface of consciousness sometimes spontaneously (as was in my case) and sometimes with the use of hypnosis.   

       Hypnosis is best used as a tool, when combined with other corroborating evidence.      

       But you be the judge. Look up the evidence for yourself. I think that you will see that when you look at the evidence for both of these extreme arguments you will see that both views are extreme in their nature and not based on the evidence.      

       A more reasonable position, especially concerning the psychological evidence, is that yes, suppressed and repressed memories can and often do resurface, sometimes after many years.       

       In my case, flashbacks; a PTSD symptom, is a spontaneous remembrance of a previously suppressed traumatic event, and is the process by which I came to understand what happened to me.      

       The use of hypnosis was used on one occasion to bring out more detail of one of those traumatic events.      

       It doesn't prove anything, but I think that hypnosis details, along with spontaneous remembrances due to PTSD, as well as corroborative evidence, can all be used as a pathway that leads to the truth.      

       And now for my story.