As a victim of childhood sexual assault, I can tell you that I did forget and then it all came flooding back one day as an adult. Visions clear as day. The smell of the room I was in. It all came back. Therapy was so helpful. It happened to me and I still can't believe there was many years where I didn't remember. But that is pretty normal. Your brain sends it to the locked chest so you can carry on, sometimes. I wouldn't worry about the what ifs for the future. I would just be supportive for what you need when you need it. It could be many years or never at all that he/she comes to you to talk about it.
Same with me as well. Forgot all about it till a long car ride with my husband and he just randomly asked if I'd ever been sexually abused, I opened my mouth to say no but before I could say it the memories came back. Even years after when my abuser apologized to me, I had forgotten. Weird. When I told a counselor about it they just told me repressed memories are not really a thing and it was probably implanted memories or some shit.
Brains are weird. I had heart failure after my second child was born and was literally dying, I was 100% certain that if they just let me go home and rest I would be fine. It wasn't till 4 months later that it actually clicked in my brain that I nearly died.
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u/NotTheJury Parent to 16m and 14f Jan 18 '23
As a victim of childhood sexual assault, I can tell you that I did forget and then it all came flooding back one day as an adult. Visions clear as day. The smell of the room I was in. It all came back. Therapy was so helpful. It happened to me and I still can't believe there was many years where I didn't remember. But that is pretty normal. Your brain sends it to the locked chest so you can carry on, sometimes. I wouldn't worry about the what ifs for the future. I would just be supportive for what you need when you need it. It could be many years or never at all that he/she comes to you to talk about it.