Unwanted memories are something that can be erased.
Experts share techniques for how to forget a bad memory and cope with past trauma.
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Many people may even find that bad experiences stand out in their memory more than good ones.
So, how if youre wondering how to forget a bad memory, youre not alone.
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President, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Clinical Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
How does memory work?
According to cognitive psychology, memory has three basic parts.
Avoid any triggers
Sounds and smells can often bring back good and bad memories.
However, the same can be said for bad memories.
Over time, your brain will begin to replace the bad memory with a new one.
This takes away some of the bad memorys power and redirects it to new, positive memories.
Practice a healthy lifestyle
Still wondering how to forget a bad memory?
Dr. Beck recommends eating well, managing outside stress, and moving your body routinely.
Physical exercise is really helpful in changing peoples focus, she says.
President, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Clinical Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
This happens when recalling information from a specific category makes it harder to remember related information.
But being told that something didnt happen doesnt erase the memory altogether.
Amnesia doesnt erase memories either, though it can make them much harder to retrieve.
Why does my brain block out bad memories?
So, in truth, replaying bad memories is your bodys way of keeping you safe.
Can trauma erase memories?
There is some disagreement among researchers about whether or not memories can be entirely erased, says Dr. Beck.
We do know that severe trauma can result in changes in the brain.
Even among individuals who have experienced severetrauma, the problem may be that they cant retrieve certain traumatic memories.
The memories are not the problem.
Its how you deal with them that is or isnt the problem.
Michael Stagar, LPC-S, a psychiatrist for AdventHealth Central Texas
Trauma can also cause dissociative amnesia, onestudy2found.
Is it healthy to block bad memories?
Blocking bad memories isnt helpful, though it can provide short-term relief, says Stagar.
Outside of the false good-bad dichotomy, they are simply memories.
They are part of you and are essential in theconstructionof who you are as a person, says Stagar.
The memories are not the problem.
Its how you deal with them that is or isnt the problem.
You should absolutely not block bad memories.
Why shouldnt we erase bad memories?
Trauma does not erase memories.
It is the biological response to trauma that prevents the memories from fully forming.
you’re able to, however, learn tools to help you cope with bad memories.
Whereby if you were not quietly stoic at all times, then therefore you were defective.
This, of course, does not stand up to any sort of research or even common sense.
Bekinschtein, Pedro, et al.
A Retrieval-Specific Mechanism of Adaptive Forgetting in the Mammalian Brain.Nature Communications, vol.
1, 7 Nov. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07128-7.
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