autan

When I am sober, my mind wants to take me to a part of Manchester. Its is near Manchester Mayfield/Manchester Piccadilly. There are a series of railway bridges there.

When I was 4/5 years old, my Mother took me to see a theatre play at the Manchester Apollo Theatre, I forget what it was (Muppet Show) perhaps.

We were due to get a train home and we got lost in the area described above. We were attacked my a Rapist, who raped my Mother and tried to attack me, before she fought him off.

All memory of this was erased from my mind, until the last time I stopped drinking and I started remembering the events. I asked my Mother about it and she said it did happen, but it was a long time ago and not to mention it again.

Now I am sober again, my mind keeps taking me back to this place, but not recalling the memory (thank God). Just remembering the location.

Is it possible that sobriety can awaken suppressed memories and does this fade in time or do I need to re-suppress them ?

dwtbd

I would not minimize anyone's experience of trauma or pain, that would be unspeakably cruel.
The AV is a heartless, insidious beast that only desires intoxication. It will present the pain again and again and offer intoxication as the only solution , as the 'only' way to 'drown' it out.
Mental health professionals have ways/methods/therapies designed to help deal with such memories.
Perhaps seeking professional help to deal with those past memories would be a good strategy to disarm the AV.
Again I do not mean to minimize your pain, but the beast is cruel and after only one thing, and it is not the alleviation of pain, it uses the pain time after time in order to get its true desire: intoxication.

ScottFromWI

Alcohol does a lot of bad things to our minds and bodies. And when we quit strange things happen too. We cannot give medical advice here, but i don't think trying to surpress things is generally good for your mental heath. You may want to see a counselor, many times getting sober uncovers underlying issues that need to be dealt with both physically and mentally.

autan

No insult has been taken. I will act on your advice.

EndGameNYC

Our brains are naturally capable of disarming toxic memories, but it's always best to do this kind of work with a trained professional. In the literature, these processes are referred to as 'suppression' (or 're-suppression') and 'substitution'; the former pushing unwanted memories towards unconsciousness, and the latter substituting one thought for another. These are two different brain processes that seem to successfully manage unwanted memories.

However, bad memories are usually emotionally charged, and we're generally not equipped to suppress our feelings in a healthy way. Too much toxicity in unconsciousness is a recipe for psychological dysfunction.

There are a range of psychotherapies that deal with these situations, including EMDR and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and, of course, psychoanalysis, which brings unconscious content into consciousness in the service of accepting and then managing unwanted thoughts and feelings. It may be in your best interests to interview a few clinicians to get a feel as to how they work and what are reasonable expectations for your treatment.