Abreaction (Collection: Mental Health )

An automatic, unconscious reaction that a person has in response to a stimulus, which reminds the person of a situation they experienced before. This most commonly occurs when someone has been the victim of abuse. For example, lets say that a person who is physically abused as a child and is hit in the face feels fear, anger, shame, heart pounding, and physical shakes in response to being hit. As an adult, that person may experience the same feelings and reactions he/she had when being hit as a child if another persons hand simply comes too close to his/her face. Abreaction can also be used to describe the process a therapist uses to desensitize, or help the patient to stop having these automatic reactions unnecessarily. This process involves reproducing the unconscious feelings and reactions the client is having within the safety of the therapy session. The therapist then helps the client to replace the uncomfortable, distressing reaction he/she is having with a reaction that is appropriate and not uncomfortable.

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