Do we have to remember?

Yesterday we had our Christmas break up for Bridges. It was a casual time with yummy food, to chat and discuss whatever came up. We had much discussion on many topics but one that did come up was the subject of remembering trauma. Is is essential for treatment? This can be especially interesting question for a multiple who does not remember much of the trauma. I have only a very few memories of the trauma, most of the memories are well hidden by my alters.
Question being, do I need to dredge up the memories of the past to heal? Does every alter need to reveal the secrets they hold, in order for me to move on. 
There are many trains of thought on this as you can probably imagine. Those that believe that the past is better off left where it is.
Memories are interesting things, and the mind has an amazing ability and desire to protect us. Memories are rarely stored in complete form. By this I mean that a memory may be nothing more than a feeling, or part of an activity. People often don't have faces, or even different faces from what they should. A memory of a traumatic event may be stored with none of the emotion attached with it, so that you can see it but not have any recall of the feelings felt at the time. Memories can often be stored out of sequence. With all of this confusion why even bother with remembering what has happened. Can it be trusted?
Others who of course think that in order to heal we must know what is hidden in the past.
The past certainly affects the future, and seems in a sense logical to know what has happened and to allow the body to heal of the trauma. Trauma can have a very dramatic affect on the body. The body remembers things done to it where there are often not words to express it. A flinch away from a certain touch, a dislike of a type of food. We may not know why we are reacting this way, but the body does and this can last for years. Especially if the trauma is experienced in childhood and no treatment is received. It can become in ground into our behaviour, with no logical reasoning behind it. I have never like people putting their hand on the back of my neck. It creeps me out and I have to get it off immediately. I never really knew why. (I do now!)
Whichever opinion you may have, one thing is thing is seems to be true. When the time is right, and/or the need is there, the memories will resurface. It can be dangerous to force people to remember traumatic events before they are ready. It can traumatize them further, and cause even more problems. It is not uncommon for many child abuse survivors to not remember their abuse at all until their late 30's or 40's. This of course causes a problem if you want to prosecute the abuser, but it is a protection mechanism for the survivor. By this time in life they are often feeling safer and stronger than before, and emotionally better able to deal with what has happened.
In my own case, I knew for years that something had happened to me but I could never remember what. I often searched to internet for ways to open up my memory, I even saw a councilor or two to see if they could help me figure out what had happened to me. Repeatedly the same message came through,"when you are ready you will remember." It was very frustrating, but it is true.
When I hit my 40's, I was in a stable and loving marriage, in a nice home, my children were getting older, and the truth started to reveal itself. Although I wanted to know earlier, I really wasn't ready. I didn't have the support systems I was going to need and I was not emotionally able to deal with the truth.
Remember one thing above all else, human beings are designed to survive and they will do almost anything to make that happen, both physically and mentally.  Protecting you is what it is all about. When you are safe, it can relax and let things go, until then, it must protect you from what ever it feels is here to hurt you. As frustrating as it is, be patient, chances are, you are moving at the right pace for you. In time, what needs to be reveled will.