Sometimes, an individual is left with two choices: living with the weight of the truth or losing oneself within a self-protective narrative. The fundamental question is this: does confronting the truth always lead to healing, or in certain cases, is it the rewriting of the truth that preserves an individual’s psychological integrity?
The dialogue at the end of the film Shutter Island pertains exactly to this subject and summarizes the entire movie. In that final scene, Teddy Daniels asks: “Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?” This question is actually one of the most difficult inquiries in trauma psychology, and this article was written to explore possible answers to it.
The human mind often does not aim to uncover the truth and be honest with us; rather, its primary function is to keep the individual standing. This sometimes involves reconstructing experienced scenarios by altering them into a form we can accept. Consequently, some experiences are ignored not because they are forgotten, but because they are too heavy to carry. Defense mechanisms such as denial, repression, and dissociation exhibited by individuals following traumatic experiences are not signs of weakness, but temporary arrangements that protect the individual’s psychological integrity.
As clinical observations demonstrate, an individual does not always cling to the truth, but to a form of reality they can endure. At this point, a fundamental question emerges: Is healing the complete remembrance of what actually happened, or is it the ability to establish a healthy distance through a narrative the individual can live with?
The Fragmentation Of Traumatic Memory And The Construction Of Alternative Stories By The Mind
When the human mind confronts intense pain and guilt, it does not accept reality directly; instead, it reorganizes it into something more tolerable. According to Freud, defense mechanisms are unconscious processes that allow the individual to protect their ego integrity and reduce anxiety.
There are certain behaviors that indicate which defense mechanism an individual is using. For example, if a person insists that everything is actually fine and going well, this “Pollyanna” style of thinking may indicate the use of denial.
Repression is one of the most fundamental high-level defense mechanisms. Its essence can be defined as motivated forgetting or motivated ignorance (Moroğlu & Özcan, 2024). Trauma literature also shows that distancing certain memories from consciousness serves a protective function. Some traumatic experiences exceed an individual’s capacity for meaning-making; in response, the mind may create a fragmented new narrative.
This fragmentation can cause the person to be unable to fully remember the event or to construct a different scenario in their mind. In other words, not remembering is not always a weakness; sometimes it is a survival strategy. The alternative scenarios constructed after trauma may prevent sudden psychological collapse. Within the framework of defense mechanisms, the mind adjusts reality in order to protect continuity of the self.
The Limits Of Confrontation
The majority of society argues that healing must occur through complete remembrance and confrontation. However, studies in the field of trauma emphasize that the timing of confrontation and the individual’s readiness are of great importance.
The primary priority is for the individual to regulate their emotions and feel safe and prepared; otherwise, early and intense confrontation can re-traumatize the person. Therefore, the sole aim of therapeutic processes is not simply to uncover the truth. What matters more is how the individual regulates their relationship with the experienced event.
Even if a person remembers the event, if they cannot cope with it, this remembrance may not be therapeutic. Consequently, healing is sometimes less about remembering and more about learning to live with what is remembered.
Guilt And Self-Punishment
Traumatic experiences often bring intense feelings of guilt. An individual may feel responsible even in situations beyond their control, and over time, this can transform into self-punishing thoughts and behaviors. Beyond the trauma itself, this internal mental torture can cause additional exhaustion and isolation.
This reduces coping capacity and may create a sense of being internally trapped—a condition that can be described as a “mental prison.” To avoid being consumed entirely by guilt, a person may use temporary protectors such as denial and emotional distancing. By doing this, the mind does not destroy the truth; it adjusts the intensity of contact with the truth to a level that does not cause further harm.
Conclusion
In conclusion, healing is related not only to remembering, but to how that remembering is processed. While confronting the truth can be liberating in some cases, in others it may exceed the individual’s psychological capacity. Therefore, the healing process is not merely about remembrance; it is a gradual, safe, and meaning-centered process.
The mind sometimes protects not by hiding the truth, but by waiting until the individual develops the strength to carry it. Healing is not remembering everything; it is learning to live with what is remembered.
Does a person dare to remember only when they have truly healed, or do they begin to heal the moment they learn to breathe while remaining in the same room as an unchanging past?