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Why can't I remember my childhood?
58% Normal
5 Comments

When I think back as far as I can, the farthest back I can remember is the night my parents split up. I don't remember what they were fighting about. Maybe my mind is trying to protect me from something traumatic. I'm scared that I was physically/sexually abused by my father. I basically can't remember farther back than close to four years old? Is it normal? What do I do?
Do you think it's normal?
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Comments (5)
gizzie56 (8681)
2009-06-21 20:42:58
Well, you have left too much out of the story for me to make much of a comment. How old are you now and how old were you when your parents broke up? Also why did your parents break up?
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Anonysmous (25386)
2009-07-10 20:13:40
No shit. No one can remember before they're 4. The brain develops enough at like three and by the time you start remembering (purposefully thinking back) your too old to remember.
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tommy81 (24490)
2009-07-15 20:27:32
First of all, in no way should you be making any assumptions about your father like that unless you know for sure. The words sexual assault and father shouldn't even be in the same sentence unless you know for 100% sure. I am very skeptical that there is such a thing as regressed memories. You either remember something or you don't. Traumatic events don't cause memory loss. There has been nothing to support that idea. In fact it's quite the opposite, where the person wants to forget about something happening but can't. I agree somewhat with Anonysmous, but I disagree that no one can remember before the age of four. Some people can remember bits and pieces and the rest is fuzzy, but I don't know if it's possible for anyone to remember that far back in absolute full detail. It's normal to not remember earlier than four years old.
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combatgal856 (13140)
2009-08-17 17:06:23
I don't think anyone remembers anything before the age of four.

Everything I know from before I was 4 years old was what people have told me, even then I can't remember it actually happeing.

So you are not weird...don't know about the abused part, but I doubt it, then again I don't know you
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WhiteSheepOfTheFamily (28697)
2009-11-21 00:11:31
I hear it's normal to not remember the first 4 or 5 years of life. I do, for some reason, remember more from the first four years than years 6 through 11.

I'm 21 and still struggle with dissociation, and let me tell you, you don't want to jump to conclusions about anything. You certainly don't want to let this get between you and a family member (i.e., your father) unless you have cold hard proof. You might have just had an uneventful childhood, or a slightly unpleasant one you want to move on from.
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