I disagree somewhat with the above posters. Some people have tremendous memories dating all the way back to childhood while some do not. I always thought it was strange how I couldn't remember anything from my childhood while my friends would always be able to recall everything. Trauma has a direct impact on your ability to retrieve memories as does a willingness to examine your life and not brush things under the rug based on the way you were raised, both of which make frequent appearances on this forum. I know in my case I never was able to remember anything from my childhood until I went to therapy and made a conscious effort to do so. Now I know that part of the reason I never could obtain those memories was because of family trauma and the other because I was raised to not examine the past from a young age. Oddly enough, I've suffered unspeakable trauma since and have a thyroid disorder that's wrecked havoc on my memory yet because I'm willing to look back I now see all sorts of things that happened because I'm willing to take a deep, thoughtful look, despite how impaired my memory is.
