Kerre Woodham: Memory wipe-out

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Have you ever had an experience so traumatic you would do anything to forget it?

Scientists at John Hopkins University in the US have found a way of eliminating horrible memories forever by removing the unique receptor proteins in the brain that cope with fear.

So far, the studies have been conducted on rats but the scientists are hoping they can develop their research further to help victims of crime and soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder.

I'm sure the scientists are coming from a good place on this, but there's something very spooky about wiping out an entire period of your life.

There are a few events I'd prefer not to have happened but through poor choice and bad judgment they occurred and I dealt with them and learned from them.

If the memories associated with the events had been wiped out, I'd be doomed to repeat the same behaviour in perpetuity.

Mind you, if I had been the victim of a truly horrific experience, perhaps there is merit in forgetting. I should just thank my lucky stars I've had a life where I don't need a pill to obliterate bits of it.