Traumatic memories easier to recall than happy ones

By Claire Sibonney

TORONTO (Reuters) - Memories of traumatic events are not suppressed by the people who experienced them but can be recalled clearly, according to Canadian researchers.

Sigmund Freud developed a theory that victims of horrific events repressed difficult memories in order to cope with what happened to them.

But scientists at Dalhousie University in Halifax found in a five-year study that pleasant events were more difficult to recall than unhappy ones.

"We were frankly blown away," lead author Stephen Porter said in an interview.

"We were surprised at how consistent (the traumatic memories) were relative to the good memories in life which had deteriorated dramatically and looked nothing like the reports that we heard about years ago."

The researchers interviewed 29 people who had gone through a traumatic event such as a sexual assault or domestic violence in the past few months.

The participants were asked to provide details about the experience as well as a recent happy event such as a wedding, birth of a child, award or vacation.

Porter and his team re-interviewed them after three months and again after four to five years.