The memories that come back to people are oftentimes the memories with the most emotion tied to them. (Mind you sometimes you can have memories of the daily mundane things.) And unfortunately, many of the most emotional times in ones past lives are very traumatic. These are only just a few examples.

• A person's own death, which could have been very violent or long and drawn out because of a painfull disease.
• Fighting (and perhaps dying very violently) in a war. Which can bring up memories of any of the many atrocities of war including being covered in blood, having limbs cut or blasted off, seeing your friends and loved ones dying, and forcing yourself to kill others over and over again. The results of which can cause symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as in some vetrans.
• Being raped, which can come back in memories just as real as had it happened in this life. Including flashbacks and paranoia, a fear of sex and/or men. And a higher than usual fear of rape itself. A person can live their whole life fearing rape even though it's never happened to them in this life. That can be very confusing until you actually come across the memory of the rape from the past life.

All of these things and others can cause PTSD symptoms in this lifetime. Things like violent flashbacks, paranoia, nightmares, etc. Traumatic past life memories can also be covered in your mind. It may be very difficult to uncover these memoreis because your mind doesn't want to remember and relive them. Sometimes you may have a feeling that there is a memory to uncover but not be able to coax it forward because your mind wants it to stay hidden. This just takes patience, honesty and a desire for self-awareness. Since you only have control of your conscious mind, allow it to be open to the information. So it may ease into you awareness. Allow for and ask your subconscious mind to let the information go. It takes time. It will happen when you're ready. Or at leat that is the theory. Sometimes it doesn't happen when you're ready. Sometimes your mind gets triggered by something in this lifetime and your subconscious mind unloads it all on you in minutes. Situations like that require a good friend with a soft shoulder for crying, a journal, and possibly some therapy. Whether that be from friends or a professional. Either way, it all takes time. -Violin Goddess