Trauma, real and imagined

I read recently that 4 million Americans believe they have been abducted and molested by space aliens. The article notes that those who believe this experience real trauma reactions.

It did not note, however, if the whole "abducted and molested" phenomena is strictly an American thing - or if folks in China or Peru also have these issues.

On one hand, I have a hard time thinking that someday I might have to offer services to someone claiming this and maintain a straight face. On the other hand, I've seen a variety of folks over the years who also told some pretty tall tales -- but were clearly hurting. And, the flip side of that coin are the folks who insist that they aren't traumatized but clearly are hurting.

Then, there are the folks who have sudden recall of the assault - and must experience the trauma all over again. I remember a young woman years ago who was stocking shelves at the drug store where she worked - and suddenly had a flash of being raped as a freshman. She said that literally, one minute she didn't think of herself as a victim and the next she did. And, she isn't the only person I know who describes this sort of recall.

I know that there are those out there who want to say it isn't possible to "forget" such an event. I, and I think the clients, don't see it as "forgetting" -- but more very effective suppressing. When a community person asked me about this issue -- the notion that therapists "suggest" sexual abuse to clients and because of the trust bond, the client imagines the abuse was real. I explained that beyond the fact that I'm not a licensed therapist -- people rarely call an organization specializing in sexual abuse if they don't already know they were victimized.

What I see much more often are people who don't realize just how encompassing sexual trauma can be to one's life.