Re-thinking repression

[Adam Blatner]

I'm considering the idea that in spite of my having learned and always thought that while suppression was healthy, repression wasn't, I've been mistaken. Talking with my wife on our evening walk, she reminded me that she could access traumatic memories quite vividly. She now has the skills to "not go there," but I realized that there are many probable traumatic memories that I cannot access in any conscious fashion. It occurred to me that repression up to (I'm making this up just for argument's sake), say, 30-40% is healthy. If you're repressing at 70% you end up being pretty constricted and having other problems, but what if what's wrong with some "bordelines" or PTSD people is that they do not and cannot repress enough!? What if they only repress at a 10 - 20% level? 

Also, the dynamic of repression can be spotty, so sometimes they over-repress, show little insight, but in other ways, they're fighting breakthroughs, up-wellings of feeling-what Kate Hudgins calls "trauma bubbles."

I've been thinking about optimal amounts of all kinds of psychological variables, when certain ones are "too much," when "too little." Factors that affect this dynamic include the situation- when is it appropriate to go further or pull back, what the role demands are- but also temperament, past history and sensitization, and other factors. Thinking about psychological spectrums is on my mind lately. Your comments are welcome. 

Adam Blatner, M.D.
   website: www.blatner.com/adam/   
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