The Ghost Writer

by Loreth Anne White

“I developed what I now know is termed unresolved grief.”

I spoke to Dr. X about it, and he explained that sometimes, while one’s conscious mind has no recall of a trauma, the body can still remember it. It’s written into the autonomic nervous systems. He gave me the example of a terrible car accident that the victim might not remember at all. The victim’s mind is protecting the victim by blocking it. But if she drives past the spot where the accident occurred, she might not even know it, but her body will respond with stress—panic attacks, trouble breathing, headaches, all manner of things. In really simplistic terms, his goal in therapy is for patients to face this autonomic response, and to find a narrative to understand what occurred, then neutralize it.”