i can personally vouch for ‘introduced’ repressed memories.
according to my mum, i was allways this bubbly, happy, obedient child, then, suddenly, i became morose, sullen, angry and rebellious.
my sister recons i was molested by a neighbour, and that idea, allthough i didnt heartily believe in it, the guy was kinda creepy, and i spent loads of time with him. and when i read up about sexual abuse, the boxes ticked. i didnt explore it greatly. and i eventually let it go.
i have huge intimacy issues, but i dont think it was really anything to do with molestation. rather living in a cold, unloving, repressed and joyless house, being slapped around, and, i think, i turned sullen when i was blamed for a friend of mine falling off a horse i was leading, and breaking her arm. i had no say as to my own defence, or the fact that it was her own choice to ride the horse. so that, along with a horrible home environment, and puberty, made me sullen and rebellious.
and believe you me, till this day, my family accounts evertyhing i do, be it cutting my hair, to getting a tattoo, to being in a homosexual relationship, to being sullen, rebellious and looking for attention.
so i can totally get the whole introduced repressed memories thing.
i think that one can alter you own memory too.
for the sake of sounding cool, i told people that i had taken martial arts, and i eventually convinced myself that, and i told people like that was my life. i had convinced myself that i had smoked, and i had coughed up blood, and had to stop smoking, just so that i didnt have to be uncool amongst the smokers.
you convince yourself all sorts of shit. i had since seen the folly of it, and i am now the most anoying honest person you will meet. i call a spade a spade, and generally people dont like that.
on the other hand, i remember very little of my childhood, pretty much up to like matric, if i try and recollect memories, its a general blur, and only a few point stand out enough that i can relate it.
for example, my mum told me, i would sit in the car while they went shopping, and didnt open a window, and sat in the sweltering heat. or when it rained, i would sit with the rain splashing on my face, as opposed to closing it (i like rain, so i cant see the issue there). but i dont remember any of it. she relates events to me, that now, after having tried to imagine them, i had ‘created’ memories, but there were never any memories to access.
maybe, if i went to go see a shrink, they might dig up crap that might just upset the living shit out of me. so i think i’d rather just leave it there.