But this question may also show up any changing patterns in the problem over the years. It is a common phenomenon for an initial problem to become confused in many ways as time passes because the worry about the initial problem can generate further symptoms which can in turn create further anxiety or depressions. There are times, however, when the connection between the origin of the perceived problem and the real cause is not so obvious. A classic instance of this is the delayed onset of extreme distress, anxiety or panic attacks which can arise six months or more after a bereavement. Typically the bereaved person has repressed the grief for that time.
More extreme cases involve the repression of traumatic material from as far back as early childhood.
It is a fact that most people find most big changes rather traumatic, but the current ethos is that we should be able to adjust to them with the ease of well-oiled machines. As a result quite a few problems arise that we, as therapists, can help comparatively easily, because they involve short-term transitions. The client merely needs some help and support while going through a change in life. In order to find out about the possibility of earlier traumatic material being responsible the following is a very useful question. I have a client at present who, when entering into certain distressed states, begins to behave and talk like a three year old.