Does a song conjure painful memories? Try to rehabilitate it, say scientists

‘The lyrics too closely described our situation’: a hit single from the Verve evokes trauma for Bonnie, 46. Photograph: Roger Sargent/Rex/Shutterstock

When Bonnie hears the opening bars of the Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony, she is transported back to 1997. But it isn’t a joyful memory that comes to mind; it is the painful recollection of driving home from school and seeing the sheriff changing a lock on her house.

Then a teenager, Bonnie and her family were about to be evicted. And the Verve’s song was everywhere.