A pill to erase (traumatic) memories

[Dutch Uncle]

In a program I saw on national television called Tinkering with the soul there was a segment on research that is done to treat survivors of trauma pharmaceutically, i.e. they have developed a pill to do more or less the equivalent of EMDR (I think).

Unfortunately this program is not available for stream outside my country (and was primarily focussed on the ethics of 'tinkering with the soul, i.e. the "I" of a person, anyway) but I thought I might post the webpage of the principal researcher at the University involved in this research. The pill is up for trials now. The program showed the treatment on a woman who had experienced a (single) traumatic event, and interviewed on her experience afterwards, which had completely erased any anxiety still related to the event. (I'm not sure if the memory of the event was erased completely, or just the traumatic component).

In the link there is a list of scientific publication on this (and other) work of Prof. Dr. Merel Kindt.
Most publications (if not all) are in English.
http://www.uva.nl/over-de-uva/organisatie/medewerkers/content/k/i/m.kindt/m.kindt.html
alternative site for list of publications:
https://scholar.google.nl/citations?user=DWzO6-kAAAAJ&hl=en

Probably it's all very scholarly, but some times the 'abstracts' of scientific articles are quite readable.

[Cuthberta]

I am not sure what would be left of me if the traumatic memories were taken away. Not much, really.

[Dyess]

I've always wondered how hypnosis may help traumatic memories. If it could un-trigger, triggers?  Or reroute a flashback memory? I know they have successfully used it with physical cravings. Looks like they could use it some how.

[Pieces]

I am not sure what would be left of me if the traumatic memories were taken away. Not much, really.

I know this is an old post I'm replying to but for me it really summarized the problem with these kind of ideas; if a person's identity is based on being stuck in trauma and not really living, how helpful can it be to take that away when the person has no idea who he/she is without that? What a shock it would be to lose that, can you imagine?

I think that in order to heal trauma you have to work through it and piece by piece let go of old the old traumatized identity and also replace it piece by piece with new, authentic present day you stable identity.  Without that you'll probably be lost either way, traumatic memories or not.

[Dutch Uncle]

Well, I guess nobody knows, since so far it has never been possible to do this. I guess that's the reason why they are holding these trials now. To see if in five years from now the 'problem' has only been aggravated, or if really a marked improvement has been achieved.

On the other hand: there are people who emigrate, change their line of work, move to a new city and a new job etc. That's a significant shift from 'the old trusted personality' you had to a 'new unknown personality' you will become. I think that in general people cope quite well with such a huge shift. Though plenty struggle as well.

It will be tough job to 'reinvent' a 'new' you, but likely it's less hard than the work of reliving the trauma time and again or working through it bit by bit.

I once made such a huge shift where I had to ditch all plans for the future, my dreams, my expectations, my outlook. Basically the whole life I had envisaged to live. Once I got going on a new and completely uncertain/unknown track, I had the best time of my life.
It's just a pity I have to do that again now at 50. At 25 I had a lot more energy and youthful 'recklessness'.  (and back then I wasn't traumatized. Certainly not to the level I'm now. Which is a huge difference.)

[Pieces]

Well, I guess nobody knows, since so far it has never been possible to do this. I guess that's the reason why they are holding these trials now. To see if in five years from now the 'problem' has only been aggravated, or if really a marked improvement has been achieved.

On the other hand: there are people who emigrate, change their line of work, move to a new city and a new job etc. That's a significant shift from 'the old trusted personality' you had to a 'new unknown personality' you will become. I think that in general people cope quite well with such a huge shift. Though plenty struggle as well.

It will be tough job to 'reinvent' a 'new' you, but likely it's less hard than the work of reliving the trauma time and again or working through it bit by bit.

I once made such a huge shift where I had to ditch all plans for the future, my dreams, my expectations, my outlook. Basically the whole life I had envisaged to live. Once I got going on a new and completely uncertain/unknown track, I had the best time of my life.
It's just a pity I have to do that again now at 50. At 25 I had a lot more energy and youthful 'recklessness'.  (and back then I wasn't traumatized. Certainly not to the level I'm now. Which is a huge difference.)

Good point Perhaps removing the trauma will make the system relax naturally in some way. It still also sounds to me like something that could very wrong but like you said, that's where the trails are for. Would be great if it worked, especially for children, if it would meaning not having to live a life hindered by these kind of obstacles and lots of time to create a stable identity.