I have started to forget about the past, though in a strangely selective way. I first noticed an apparent 'memory gap' a couple of years ago while attending the 40th anniversary reunion of my KHHS class of 1976. There were a few people whom I recognised at once, those being my inner circle of friends from that time. But as the night wore on and I was introduced again and again to members of my erstwhile cohort, I kept drawing blanks, not just with names, but with faces also. Yet they all knew me immediately. Of course, I tried my best to cover this embarrassing loss with small talk, all the while straining for details that might explain who each person was.

It dawned on me a few months later that I really was forgetting people and events from this period, approximating to a time from the early to the mid-1970s. Not so with the 1960s, where I have a good recollection of many of my friends from primary school, of family holidays and significant events of the time. I remember lying sick in bed with measles as a five year old, watching JFK's funeral on TV. I am clear about most matters since the late 1970's, really since completing high school. So what was going on?

This kind of memory loss does not fit any pattern that one typically associates with dementia or other brain conditions. So I am left thinking that perhaps this forgetting is related to trauma. It is certainly true that the period of 5 or 6 years in question was a traumatic one for my family as my father was sick. The family struggled to make ends meet and much else besides. I am also wondering if it is permanent feature or has been triggered by a related memory or incident.

The mind is fascinating really. I am not so much worried as puzzled. What role does the sub-conscious play in repressing memory in the conscious mind? This seems like a key question to me. Back to Dr Jung, methinks.

Something to consider. I can't vouch for its accuracy though.
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