In regards to your first friend, without knowing the trauma involved, it's very possible he could relapse again. Whatever the original trauma was, it seems like his mind is attempting to protect itself by keeping the memory locked away. Unfortunately, for whatever reason it's going overboard. The fact that he gets flashes of memory, however, is a good sign that those memories are just suppressed, not completely erased. It's possible that once the original trauma is confronted in a controlled and safe environment that his mind will release those other memories, resulting in full recovery. If he were my patient, a step I might take would be hypnosis. [He raises a brow.] Which I know probably sounds unscientific given how it's portrayed in the media, but I wouldn't be attempting to make him quack like a duck or anything like that. Instead, I'd put his mind and body into a relaxed state and attempt to recover any memories that way, metaphorically putting some distance between his memories and his conscious mind in case one memory he recalls is the original trauma. That could potentially keep him from a relapse while facing it.
As for your other friend...it's possible that the memories are still there but any flashes would come back on rare occasions like your first friend. I'd attempt the same hypnosis to see if there's anything that could be salvaged, but there is a chance that those memories were erased by that experiment. The human brain is a very delicate piece of equipment. Even if I knew the full details behind the accident, how the brain heals itself can be unpredictable.
no subject
[He takes a moment to think.]
In regards to your first friend, without knowing the trauma involved, it's very possible he could relapse again. Whatever the original trauma was, it seems like his mind is attempting to protect itself by keeping the memory locked away. Unfortunately, for whatever reason it's going overboard. The fact that he gets flashes of memory, however, is a good sign that those memories are just suppressed, not completely erased. It's possible that once the original trauma is confronted in a controlled and safe environment that his mind will release those other memories, resulting in full recovery. If he were my patient, a step I might take would be hypnosis. [He raises a brow.] Which I know probably sounds unscientific given how it's portrayed in the media, but I wouldn't be attempting to make him quack like a duck or anything like that. Instead, I'd put his mind and body into a relaxed state and attempt to recover any memories that way, metaphorically putting some distance between his memories and his conscious mind in case one memory he recalls is the original trauma. That could potentially keep him from a relapse while facing it.
As for your other friend...it's possible that the memories are still there but any flashes would come back on rare occasions like your first friend. I'd attempt the same hypnosis to see if there's anything that could be salvaged, but there is a chance that those memories were erased by that experiment. The human brain is a very delicate piece of equipment. Even if I knew the full details behind the accident, how the brain heals itself can be unpredictable.