My dwarves until i give them some discipline training recount deaths as virtually (aka-literally) recent.
This shows that memories (aren't actually psuedo-real like real memories) but memories recurring related to beings & people are actually artificially simulated strings of code from the existing unit ID that hasn't dispelled more than once and output a emotional reaction, because after passing the morale check, what was horrifying eventually just moulds into not caring about animals and third party beings whilst being both drunk & competent discipline, and alarmed or uneasy at anything more on more serious subjects.
Which is a teeny bit more useful than the effects of madness that i told you about regarding my screaming farmer who did so interrupting their actions for years for them to blunt their memories like this and remain positively sozzled on alcohol (which doesn't quite deliver memories as Toady originally pined for).
> Occasionally remembering a activity like remembering a particularly nice table they noticed will spike the need to view art it's related to, im sure that remembering reading a book would also starve off going to the library.
Important facts like this help us work with our dwarves during particularly difficult memories by knowing how they work and how to best replace their head-space with fluffy bunnies. Though the stimulus of having horribly horribly stressful memories triggering tantrums is relatively funny, but the fortress guards are too eager to kill over beatings.