The human psyche is very complex in its structure. Until now, many phenomena cannot be accurately explained. It is necessary to put forward assumptions and theories in order to somehow touch on a phenomenon that is still unclear, but clearly manifests itself in humans. The same thing happens with the phenomenon of reminiscence, the concept and examples of which will be discussed in the online magazine psytheater.com.
How do memories arise? In simple terms, a person pays his attention to something, after which he consciously remembers what he saw, heard, said, did, etc. However, a person cannot pay attention to absolutely everything. For example, while you are standing at a bus stop and looking for minibus numbers to catch the one you need, at the same time people are passing by you, other cars are passing, the wind is blowing, birds are flying, people are talking about something, etc. All around Many events happen to you, but you pay attention only to what interests you at a given second of time.
It seems that a person does not remember everything that he did not pay attention to. Scientists refute this idea. Reminiscence is precisely those memories that the brain has imprinted, although the person himself did not pay attention to them.
Since memories are images from the past that have a clear picture and theme, then during reminiscence the memories are clear and clear. Only they are incomprehensible to a person, because he did not remember them consciously, did not pay attention to them when these events occurred in his life.
According to psychologists, the brain remembers absolutely everything that happens to a person, both inside and outside. A person may not pay attention to something, but if his eyes saw it or his ears heard it, then it will definitely be remembered and deposited in the subconscious, from where memories will arise in the future.
What is reminiscence?
The phenomenon of reminiscence remains far unexplored, since it is still impossible to logically understand how memories arise that a person did not remember. Reminiscence refers to memories that a person reproduces without repeating them several days or even years after remembering them. Moreover, these memories are very clear and logically constructed. Undoubtedly, such memories evoke emotions in a person who did not even suspect they existed.
Reminiscence is the reproduction of information some time after its perception, which happened unconsciously, without repetition or intentional human participation.
This concept was described in 1907 by the Serbian scientist Urbancic, who observed how people reproduce verbal, nonverbal and sensorimotor material. Scientists note this phenomenon in children of preschool and school age. They are the ones who can reproduce the material several years after it was perceived, when this happened once, without memorization.
Many psychologists have been interested in the phenomenon of reminiscence. Everyone tried to describe this phenomenon, trying to explain the mechanism of its occurrence. However, so far no one has managed to do this. It’s just that a person automatically performs actions or reproduces material, which happens not by his will, but unconsciously.
Reminiscence appears as often as the material is interesting to a person. For example, logical chains are more often reproduced than incoherent material, and what is interesting to a person can pop up in the head just a few months after it is perceived.
Reproduction is influenced by many factors. For example, if a person does not master the material sufficiently, then it is not reproduced.
- If the material is reproduced immediately after it has been memorized, then the individual relies on associations.
- If information is reproduced some time after receipt, then it is based on logical connections.
Reminiscence often manifests itself in children, since it is based on the unreflective perception of information. This happens when a student memorizes material but does not understand it, or when a student learns a poem without understanding it or emotionally perceiving it. As soon as the test is passed or the teacher hears the poem, the information will be erased from the conscious part of the memory.
Thus, reminiscence is the perception of material without understanding it. There is simply memorization by repeating it many times, so that later it can be forgotten (the information will go into the subconscious) as soon as it is used or will not be used for a long time. Reproduction of this material after some time will be a reminiscence, when a person suddenly remembers what he forgot, and this will be facilitated by favorable environmental conditions.
Reminiscence is a sudden memory. The person doesn't remember him. A person does not participate in the process of remembering it, that is, he is not even aware of its presence. However, certain conditions arise in the external environment that help to pull out certain information from the unconscious. This happened to everyone. Eg:
- Someone could remember the words of the song.
- Someone could remember events that preceded memory loss.
- Someone suddenly remembered the material that was told by the teacher at school.
The person is not trying to remember something. Reminiscence is memories that arise suddenly and unexpectedly for the person himself, but he forgot about them or did not even know that he had them.
In psychiatry, reminiscence refers to intrusive images and memories that are often reflected in nightmares.
A deviation from truly forgotten memories is a type of paramnesia - pseudo-reminiscence. This is when past events are distorted in memory and incorrectly localized in time due to negative emotions that arose at the moment of remembering them.
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In the pathological variant
Pathological reminiscence is characterized by the effect of obsession with images and thoughts that cannot be controlled. They arise spontaneously, despite the fact that, as it seemed, the negative experience of the past was forgotten.
Depending on the strength and vividness of the memories, the effect can provoke an emotional reaction (increased anxiety and restlessness, fear, panic reaction, etc.), and affect physiology (trembling, pallor, uncontrollable behavior, etc.).
Since manifestation is an additional symptom to any negative condition, along with reminiscence, other manifestations characteristic of a particular disease may appear.
Reminiscence in psychology
Reminiscence is a normal phenomenon because it relates to the properties of memory. As already mentioned, it often arises in childhood and refers to material that has brightly saturated emotions and logical connections. Then they are easily reproduced in the future, even if a person has forgotten about them or did not know about their presence.
Reminiscence often occurs in situations:
- When fatigue passes. During a period of fatigue, a person remembers the material, but cannot reproduce it because he does not understand. After fatigue has passed, it is possible to understand the information.
- When there is no layering of material. If a person is in a situation of perceiving a large amount of material, then he forgets a lot. However, in the absence of receiving new information, material may emerge from the subconscious.
Scientists say that the brain constantly repeats existing information. This is why reminiscence occurs, even if the information was not specifically learned.
Speaking about pathological conditions when reminiscence is obsessive images from the past, psychologists talk about the phenomenon as a psychotraumatic event. If a person finds himself in a similar traumatic situation, then negative emotions will lead to memories - reminiscence.
Other reasons causing reminiscence are:
- Neuroses.
- Depression.
- Panic states.
- Intoxication.
- Irrational fears.
- Pathologies of the brain with impaired memory functions.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
External factors that push a person to sudden memories are called allusions. They are a hint, a hint that pushes you to the right thought. An allusion is an external stimulus that provokes reminiscence.
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In the form of a norm
The conditional symptom of reminiscence is clearly reflected in the direct explanation of the essence of the phenomenon. A person, after a certain amount of time, is able to clearly talk about something that seemed to be forgotten.
It can be called a reminiscence of a situation when an individual unexpectedly remembers the lyrics of songs, poems, any visual images or even minor events. At the same time, the mechanical nature of recall lies in the fact that a person does not make any effort to “pull out” information from memory.
Treatment of reminiscence
Do specialists treat reminiscence? Since this phenomenon has not been fully studied, it is quite problematic to treat it. The normal state is reminiscence, which does not cause obsessive states. It requires neither medication nor consultation with a psychiatrist.
More worrying is the lack of reminiscence in a person, which, according to psychiatrists, may indicate a dysfunction of memory or pathology in the brain. It may also indicate the development of senile dementia.
Drug treatment consists of eliminating the causes that caused the pathological reminiscence and the symptoms that manifest themselves:
- Sedatives are prescribed to normalize sleep.
- Increased anxiety and panic conditions are eliminated with antipsychotics and sedatives.
- Antidepressants help relieve depression, which causes intrusive memories.
Drug treatment takes place in parallel with psychocorrection. Here, identifying underlying problems and hypnosis, aimed at changing negative memories into positive ones, helps.
Individual counseling is carried out, which helps eliminate fears, panic and anxiety, as well as repress memories that cause discomfort when they appear. During group work, art therapy methods are used.
To prevent negative memories from arising in the future, psychologists offer their help. A person will benefit from the so-called debriefing, which is carried out immediately after a stressful or traumatic situation in order to change its perception (from negative to positive) and not repress it into the subconscious so that it does not suddenly emerge.
If reminiscence occurs in a normal form, then it should not be treated. Only pathological forms of reminiscence that take on an obsessive state require psychological help. A person cannot cope with this problem on his own, so it is better not to delay treatment.
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Practice
Psychology
The effect of better reproduction of memorized material after some time than immediately after memorization.
Literature
The difference between reminiscence and literary borrowing lies in the unconscious nature of reminiscence, which helps to realize specific artistic goals. Reminiscence is detected by a prepared and insightful reader (viewer or listener) where the author used the experience of predecessors. In the novel by the German writer Hermann Hesse “The Glass Bead Game” (1943), reminiscence is represented as a structure-forming element in the existence of characters in the fictional world. The novel by the Irish writer James Joyce “Ulysses” is oversaturated with reminiscences - there can be up to several dozen of them on one page. Anthony Burgess's novel "The Long Walk to the Tea Party" is structured in a similar way, referring the reader to Lewis Carroll's fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland." The American poet Ezra Pound was a master of reminiscence.
Movie
Leni Riefenstahl used reminiscence as a method of maximizing the impact on the viewer. For example, in the film “Triumph of the Will,” the climax was achieved in shots in which the viewer from above could see a sea of poles and waving banners, but the figures of the standard bearers were not visible. These frames should be considered as a reminiscence of the famous painting by the founder of impressionism, Claude Monet, “Rue Saint-Denis. Holiday June 30, 1878. (Flags)".
Explicit reminiscences from the film “Triumph of the Will” are often found in modern world documentary cinema. For example, in the English film “Lord of the Golden Triangle”, dedicated to the merging of rebel armies with drug traffickers on the territory of the Asian Shan people: in scenes with a youth brigade, a morning military review, in an episode with the ceremonial raising of the flag in the army of an Asian drug lord and in location filming of singing soldiers moving in army columns through the mountains. Without entering into open conflict with the commander of the illegal army, the authors of the film designate the analyzed social phenomenon as a “great threat to the Western world” solely thanks to reminiscence as a technique accessible only to the viewer of Western European culture.
In the political film drama Three Days of the Condor (1975), when explaining the CIA position to the main character, Officer Higgins mentions the interests of a crowd of consumers who need oil at any cost and contrary to international agreements. This dialogue between cinematic characters can be considered a reminiscence of the monologue of the Grand Inquisitor from the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky.
The American film “Ike: Countdown” (2004) turned out to be full of reminiscences from the more objective, and sometimes self-critical American war drama “A Bridge Too Far” (1977).
What is the outcome of reminiscence?
A completely normal phenomenon for a healthy brain is reminiscence - an involuntary rush of memories that a person might not even be aware of. However, if they are negative, emotionally overwhelming, intrusive, and appear in dreams, then we may be talking about mental disorders. The outcome depends on what measures the person takes.
Every person at least once remembered something that was long forgotten. Everyone periodically has clear and vivid memories that have never been reproduced by a person consciously. This brain function often manifests itself in a situation where a person finds himself in circumstances that are triggers. They have some logical connection with the memories that they evoked, which can be of interest to psychologists and the person himself. If you ask yourself why these memories occurred, then you can see the connection between the trigger and reminiscence.
Allusion and reminiscence - differences
Allusions and reminiscences are almost identical concepts in the literary sphere. An allusion is a “hint” or “joke” that refers to another literary work, an author, an event, or a specific person. Elements of allusion are dispersed throughout the text. Without knowledge of the source to which the allusion refers, it is difficult for the reader to perceive the text. The concept of reminiscence differs from allusion in that it is always an unconscious “memory”, an echo of “literature in literature”, while an allusion is an explicit, clear reference to another source.
