| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 11:46:10 AM | There is ALMOST a pill for purging bad memories.
Scientists are working on a memory erasing pill, and here's how it works. I'm not a scientist, so forgive the lack of exactness, please. This is the general theory. When you are in the middle of a painful episode, you release a certain element or combination of elements (adrenalin?--i don't know). When you recall an extremely painful memory, the body gets confused and releases that same element(s). The anxiety and pain you feel at recollection are actually a physical reproduction of the event. When you are recalling an event, you take the pill and this pill detects that element and reduces it. With the reduction of the element, the recall of the event becomes less traumatic and there is less psychological temptation and twisted attraction to recall the tragic event.
The scientists intend to use it to treat soldiers, rape victims, abused children, people who witness murders, along those lines. There is a fear, though, that people will want to use it to forget ex spouses, tragically ending love affairs, that sort of thing. Maybe your spouse has an affair and you want to forget it (and he/she wants you to, also). Maybe your child's dog gets ran over. Maybe you just have a really really bad day at work. Where will the line be drawn?
I just hope it will be available over-the-counter.
Imagine this pill does become readily available...would you take it to help you forget about a relationship gone bad? | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 11:48:53 AM | | I believe a pill like this would be very good for it's INTENDED use. People who have been psychologically traumatized could greatly benefit from this. However, dealing with every day life stress and things that just 'happen' such as crappy relationships... well I think that's going a little over board. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 11:56:11 AM | sounds like a quick and easy fix. Ive turned the trauma Ive experianced in my life into a postive and it gives me more empathy towards others who are suffering.
Some things are just not meant to be that simple I wouldnt be who I am today without those experiances. Its made me stronger and a more well rounded and balanced individual as I have grown and developed from the bumps and worked with over them. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:07:47 PM | CSA Child Support Agency,.. I believe.
Unless its another one of those crime series we would all rather forget?
OT,.. Even though I could see how its intended use could be thought of as noble,.. and I would'nt personally want to deny a rape or trauma victim this, if they wanted it,.. still,.. I have grave reservations about this. On two counts. The first is,.. is this a money saving device ? Is it to cull Doctors, Therapists, Psychologists, and Psychiatrists.. think of the money that would be saved, especially in countries like mine with a NHS type system.
Secondly,.. I think there are spiritual and ethical concerns. Some people believe that their sum total of experiences on Earth, make them the person they are,.. and especially for people who believe in reincarnation,.. and a 'life is a lesson to be learned' philosophy, that would be like undoing the work of a lifetime.
I would also fear unethical use of this drug. We see problems with Rohypnol, and other date rape drugs,.. this could be another one.. or cheating spouses wanting their partners to take this..
If this drug were to be a thing of reality,.. then it would have to be monitored very carefully,.. and knowing the Governments and Medical proffessions,.. I can see the abuses starting, even before the drug hits the shelves. Miss Eyre. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:14:38 PM | | I do not believe in pills. or Any cruthch to heal your wounds. Too many people take too many pills to try and seem sane. Too many doctors want people to be medicated soe they can make more money, not so they can be healthy. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:24:32 PM | I agree with you Viking. However, what if it were a situation where the person couldn't function anymore. They could become so paranoid that they won't leave their house, they stop eating, they stop taking care of themselves... or lets throw children or pets into this... and they stop taking care of those as well. People who litterally go crazy because of the ordeal that's happened. Years and years of therapy are needed to turn these people aroun and often times they continue to be ticking time bombs even after they begin functioning right again. One pill compared to years of therapy would actually be the cheaper route here and would have less negative affects (if it theoretically works the way it's suppose to) because you would heal faster and things such as children, spouses, etc. would be less affected by what is going on with you.
On the other hand the whole thought of the pill is rather scary in itself. Without years of study they don't know how it would affect people in the long run. What if people started losing other parts of their memory as well?? What if it caused other damage to the brain that in turn just created other psychological problems.
Medicine is both a blessing and one of the scariest things to tamper with.... | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:30:34 PM | I find this whole concept to be a bit scary. I can just imagine what the side effects would be! How many times has something been introduced and offered to the public with good intentions, only to find that it has dangerous and even debilitating effects down the road. Playing with the mind, and especially the memory can have catastrophic results to say the least! A playground covered in broken glass.
Kind of like running away from life in my books. I can just imagine how many people would use it as a crutch in life. "Oh, I'm hurting inside, but I'll just take a pill and get rid of it". Look how many already use alcohol, drugs and the like to escape their problems. This has been proven over and over that it doesn't work. Nothing heals the soul better than a good friend, or for some, a counselor, and talking about a painful event, working through it and the knowledge that you can overcome life's tragedies. It just takes time! It's what makes us grow as a person.
I'll admit that myself, I have been through the wringer a few times in life and the pain in one's heart can make one feel like it will never end and tomorrow will never come. Had such a thing been available, the temptation to use it would have been great, but I have a strong sense of pride that I overcame and conquered. It has made me stronger and more capable of dealing with life's problems that we all have to face at one time or another. I'll admit that there may be circumstances that I would deem it useful, but they would only be the very extreme. No one has ever said that life is easy. Running away from it solves nothing! | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:35:46 PM | Just PERFECT. Sooooo a person decides to be a moron and make some brutal mistakes in their lives, and instead of facing the consequences and learning from their mistakes,,,,just take a pill and FORGET everything!!!!! PERFECT. Do we not have enough of these types of people already running around on this planet. Where the hell is Darwin when I need him!!!!!! | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:37:09 PM | I'd rather see someone invent a flash pen similar to the one in the Men in Black movies......just press the button and "poof" all memory of her is gone forever.  | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:46:57 PM | When the pain was still raw, I probably would have wanted this pill.
With time, I see that the trauma we go through shapes who we are. I now know for certainty, that I can survive anything that does not kill me. I am stronger than I was before.
A pill would take that power away from me. I will pass.
A quote I fell in love with:
"It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to "feed the children". "
I know that I can, and will get up the next day and do what needs to be done in life, despite what happened the day before. You only learn this about yourself if you allow yourself to feel the pain. I also appreciate the soft, gentle moments much more now, knowing that a hard sharp one can be right around the corner. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 12:55:10 PM | That's scary. I'd probably overdose it if it's over the counter! As soon as I read the words I thought about using it for the exact reason you suggest.  | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:06:48 PM | CSA - childhood sexual abuse.
heidi: I was more intrigued by the comment DID A MAN INVENT IT!
I didn't see that coming or why it even came up...lol
now..about the original post.
post the link to where you read this. or however you found it.
It was a good movie although some would say that the book was better.
MOe Szislak makes a pretty good forgeting drug.... a forget me shot... next time you are in springfield.. be sure to order one..
you'll be glad you did, although you'll forget that you did it.... | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:20:23 PM |
post the link to where you read this. or however you found it. It was a good movie although some would say that the book was better.
I think I read about this on slate.com but I'm not sure. You seem to think it came from a movie. If it did, well, what can I say. Any similarity to actual events or real people is purely coincidental. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:21:56 PM |
"It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to "feed the children". "
I like that quote, too. Do you remember where it came from? | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:27:13 PM | lol..
nah..I don't believe that you got the idea from a movie.. NOr do i believe that you are talking about something that used a movie/book as it's reference.
a number of years ago, i read a book about this sort of thing. Science fiction back then.. but 20-30 years later.. here we are.
a recent movie about memory erasing was that jim carrey movie 'Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind. he regretted it.. i think.. i forget.
I wanted to see the reference as I would read it. There are a number of neurotransmitters involved in emotional modulation as well as memory enhancement as well as reduction if not total ablation ( so to speak ) so I am interested in this.
Thanks for the note about slate.com.
As for your original question:
NO, i wouldn't take the pill to erase memories. For one thing, these so-called bad memories allow me to cherish and appreciate the good ones. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:31:42 PM |
I'd rather see someone invent a flash pen similar to the one in the Men in Black movies......just press the button and "poof" all memory of her is gone forever.
Now this I I like. More than a few times I could have used it! Just about made me spit coffee on my keyboard. I've already replaced a few times due to forums. Thanks for the giggle. hahaha | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:34:01 PM | Sounds like another easy-cheesy quick-ass fix for people to avoid taking the responsibility for themselves - to process their grief, trauma, etc., to mourn and eventually to move on with their lives in a way that could actually benefit them. Might there actually be a valuable LESSON in a bad experience? God forbid someone might remember it and learn something. And of course, being a drug, there's really no way to determine whether it's being used for the purpose intended. But hey let's advocate removing bad memories, just to make people even dumber.
This is like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Great film, but scary idea.
Soon there'll be whiny teenaged girls who want to take the damned thing to forget having broken a nail, to forget wearing the wrong shoes with the wrong outfit or whatever other daily horrors life throws their way. There will also be guys taking it to forget the women they've screwed over, the kids they haven't been paying child support for...no-wait that's already happened, never mind. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:39:00 PM | Message 18-It is a long verse, I have pasted in the entire piece, including credits. I find it beautiful.
"The Invitation"
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to "feed the children".
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer | |
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ikiera
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Joined: 5/28/2007
Msg: 24 | |
| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:45:07 PM | To me bad memories have been the conduit to my strength and I'd not want to loose the memory. I can't see a pill being able to wipe out an experienc because experiences are not just in the mind, the memories rest in the physical cells of the body as well.
Most traumatic memories, in my life have only surfaced when I am ready to handle them, while sometimes I am afraid of HOW I handle them and my bodily reaction to handling them can be a state of weakness, I don't think I would get the epiphanies of the awareness of the trauma, and what patterns they created in my life, if I could not re-experience the feelings that go along with the memory.
AND, in my experience again, i tend to repeat the scenario on some level, which again brings the feelings and leads back to the first memory of the similar experience, only this time I am able to change the outcome. Perhaps a pill could do that, but it really does sound like someone made it up, either that or there is a better explanation of how it works imo. | |
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| an easy way to purge bad memories
Posted: 3/11/2008 1:45:44 PM | | The problem with taking a pill for "erasing" bad memories is that it does nothing to erase trauma done to the body...Many people suffer from brain rewiring, cortesol overload and dysfunction and other physical ailments that no brain "eraser" would even touch...Treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder requires treating the body as well as the mind...Taking a pill will never substitute for that...The other problem is that pills dont teach people how to get rid of negative, distorted self talk that perpetuates bad feelings and restricted behavior in the first place........Its called cognitive behavior therapy...Learning that is crucial in getting rid of depression and alot of anxiety disorders | |
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