How long does it take to recover from remembering a repressed memory of sexual abuse?

Question

By "recover" I mean have fairly normal emotional, personal, and sexual relations. The memory was from when the woman, now 35, was about 4 or 6 years old. Sexual abuse by her grandfather, who is long-since dead.

Answer 1

It is not how long it takes to 'recover' from it.  But rather, how she accept it and let it go.

An analogy will be unrequited love.  If the person still don't accept the truth that he/she has been rejected, he/she will keep thinking and dwelling about it.

Answer 2

Wow, that's tough. :/ It probably depends on the person, but talking to someone or trying medication might help if necessary if "natural" recovery doesn't occur. A friend of mine was taken advantage of a couple of years ago...the only good thing was that he didn't complete it, and he had spiked her drink with something and she can't actually remember it. Still, she's developed general anxiety disorder, and so she's going on anti-anxiety meds and considering going to a few counseling sessions.

Answer 3

How long is completely individual to the person.Does she have a therapist to help her deal with it? Is she sure the memory is valid? I'm not disbelieving just questioning because I had repressed memories of sexual abuse that surfaced years later and at first I didn't believe my own mind, I thought I was nuts for having thoughts like that. Later the memories were verified as accurate by other family members who had stayed quiet for years. Knowing that I wasn't nuts was the first hurdle for me, then you have to accept that there is nothing wrong with you. You have to believe that you were a victim of a crime and not tainted by it... It can be very complicated. Support and a good therapist are essential to any recovery.

Answer 4

The most honest answer is that it takes as long as it takes.  She may never recover all her memories and doing so may not be necessary to get to a better place.  Given her present age and the time of the abuse, she will benefit most from working with a good therapist with a lot of experience in the area.  There can be far to many confused feelings and thoughts, fears and ways of being to untangle on your own.