Alice Miller argues that the cycle of childhood trauma is perpetuated by societal denial and the suppression of painful truths. She critiques psychoanalytic traditions for dismissing reports of abuse as fantasies, which further entrenches the cycle. Miller illustrates this with the example of Freud's shift from acknowledging real abuse to labeling it as 'childhood fantasies,' which she sees as a societal mechanism to avoid confronting the reality of child victimization. This denial not only harms individuals but also contributes to broader societal issues like violence and crime. 'The commandment that says ‘Thou shalt not be aware of what was done to thee, nor of what thou doest to others’ ensures that cruelty suffered in childhood is played down or modified by memory until it becomes unrecognizable.'