a memory repeats in a context of low anxiety, desensitizing it and allowing a nontraumatized set of responses to beome associated with it.
For some people, perhaps, and for situations the people were actually part of (as in the Purdy case). Not for me. If I wasn't involved in the situation, a movie like this causes me more anxiety, fear, horror, whatever, than just hearing about it or reading about it ever does. If I was involved in the situation, even peripherally, repeating the memory, no matter what the context, never takes away its power. Nor do I necessarily want it to.
Another route to healing is that, in their minds, children can magically give the tragedy another, better outcome:
Except that in a movie based on real events, either it has the same outcome or it's a lie. No healing there.
If it works for you, great. But for me, seeing on the screen things that it gives me pain just to think about is in no way helpful.
no subject
For some people, perhaps, and for situations the people were actually part of (as in the Purdy case). Not for me. If I wasn't involved in the situation, a movie like this causes me more anxiety, fear, horror, whatever, than just hearing about it or reading about it ever does. If I was involved in the situation, even peripherally, repeating the memory, no matter what the context, never takes away its power. Nor do I necessarily want it to.
Another route to healing is that, in their minds, children can magically give the tragedy another, better outcome:
Except that in a movie based on real events, either it has the same outcome or it's a lie. No healing there.
If it works for you, great. But for me, seeing on the screen things that it gives me pain just to think about is in no way helpful.