Human memory is a unique storage , which contains our soul memories, our experiences, our past impressions. Sometimes it’s so nice to get some past event out of your memory and plunge into it again. Then our feelings come to life, our hearts begin to beat faster, and it’s as if we are returning again to those days that have long since sunk into the past. Our memories are a unique opportunity to live some moments of our life again, experiencing the same feelings and emotions.
One can only envy those people who have a good memory, because they are able to remember everything down to the smallest detail and often simply amaze others with their ability to remember details. But sometimes such abilities are not at all beneficial to the person himself. Admit it, at least once in your life have you encountered people who remember only negative events and completely refuse to preserve positive moments, good memories of the soul in their memory. At every opportunity, they pull out negative memories from the depths of their memory, and each time they mentally return to past unpleasant situations, experiencing negative emotions again and again. Such people always have some scary stories in reserve, heard on TV or from friends. It seems that they purposefully remember only what can upset or make them suffer again.
If you ask such a person what good things he remembers from his life, he will only wrinkle his forehead, but is unlikely to be able to extract at least a few good memories from his memory. But was there really nothing good in their life? This simply cannot be. Every person’s life consists of multipolar events. It contains both pleasant and not so pleasant memories. They are woven into our lives and form the fabric of our lives. However, is it really necessary to keep bad memories in your memory? Is this burden so important that you carry it with you throughout your life, periodically taking it out, blowing the dust off it and experiencing negative emotions again and again?
What happens to us when we remember a past event that caused us pain? A person is able to experience the past so vividly that all feelings and emotions come to life. and it turns out that the person again finds himself involved in a situation many years ago. If at the same time he experienced negative emotions, then each time he returns to his memories, he will experience them again and again. Again and again disastrous changes will occur in his body caused by the feelings he experiences. Over time, this can lead to serious health problems, and, most importantly, a deterioration in overall vitality. Let everything go as it should in ordinary life, but a person, being in the power of the past, suffers and experiences mental pain. Can you imagine what it's like to constantly experience suffering? A person becomes gloomy, he ceases to distinguish the colors of life.
On the contrary, if a person is able to remember only the good, he looks at life with optimism and believes that everything will work out in the best way. You need to learn to keep in your memory only pleasant, positive, good memories of the soul. They are able to charge us with positive emotions, give us joy, and inspire us for future deeds. Good memories of the soul are a constant source of energy within you, from which you can recharge at any time. Such memories are needed, they decorate our lives and make it richer. People who have made it a rule to remember only the good and not to remember the bad do absolutely the right thing, because they do not dwell on the negative, but look boldly and optimistically into the future. Good memories of the soul allow you to fill your consciousness with light, and, most importantly, preserve positive impressions about your life, which will allow you to say to yourself in old age: “I lived a happy life. There was so much good in her!”
Don't fill your memory with garbage, don't store in it what you need to get rid of. If you find yourself tending to remember only the bad, be sure to restructure yourself. Don't harbor grudges or anger towards anyone. Just give up these memories. Something pleasant is probably happening to you. Focus on this. Concentrate on positive events and consciously store them in your memory.
If you have a computer, then you clearly monitor what is stored in its memory. You delete unnecessary files from your hard drive so that they do not take up space there. Do the same with your negative memories. Just delete them from your memory. Don't go back to them, stop bringing them into the light of day. You have many other pleasant and useful things that should be preserved.
Do you remember the bad things? Is it necessary to do this? How do you think? Do you have good soul memories in your memory? Share your opinion with us, we will post it on the website.
Memory is our life. If it did not exist, as I.M. Sechenov said, people would remain in the developmental stage of infancy, living only by instincts. At all times it has been a value. Even in Ancient Greece it was considered a gift from God, whose patroness was the goddess Mnemosyne. Often memory interferes, frightens, and prevents you from moving on. Let's find out how to get rid of this and much more.
Memory according to Freud
He considered it the most important component of the human psyche, determining personality. He put forward a theory about three types of memory:
- Conscious. Characterized by awareness of reality. That is, what is happening to a person at a given moment in time. This is a tactile sensation (a book in your hands), a visual perception (what color it is) or gurgling in your stomach, and so on. Consciousness, in this case, is determined by what is heard, seen and through feeling.
- Preconscious. We are talking about memories that the individual is not aware of at the moment, but which, if desired, can be recalled and activated, for example, driving a car, dates of birthdays and anniversaries.
- And unconscious. This memory is the most significant, it includes experiences and memories that are not consciously realized by the person, which sit deep in the memory, and access to them is limited. Freud believed that the unconscious bowl is filled with those images, pictures and feelings, that is, memories of the past that a person wants to forget.
Memories and the degree of their awareness determine a person’s personality.
What is a memory?
This is a reproduction (from English) of pictures of the past cut off in time and space from autobiographical (episodic) memory. It cannot be attributed to the entire past. This is just the sensory part of it: feelings and experiences. Experience, thoughts and assessments do not apply here.
Memories can be different: joyful and sad, bright and dark, good and evil. Of course, you want to return to sweet memorable events, because you can’t live in the past. Now we have a general idea of past memories. Memories of the future will become a further topic of conversation.
It's about déjà vu
A mysterious and little-studied phenomenon, the occurrence of which intersects the present, past and future. A person gets the feeling that this has already happened to him once. For some reason, our consciousness travels to the future, remembers something there, as a result of which, before the onset of an event, there is confidence that we know what will happen, since we remember it from the past.
Every healthy person experiences it at least once in their life. What is this - a play of our imagination, fragments of memories, fragments of dreams, a mental disorder or evidence that we are not living our first life? Or is this a misinterpretation of the timing of the event? There are many questions, but there is no reasonable answer. What if there is no time, and we can remember the future as well as the past?
Let's continue talking about mysticism
Let's talk about memories, about past lives. There are many myths regarding this topic, but reincarnation has been proven by scientists.
“Science cannot provide absolutely reliable arguments against the idea of eternal recurrence.”
This also confirms this. US medical doctor Ian Stevenson has devoted decades to studying past lives. He worked with children from Asia, who told him about memories, about the past. He checked the data that supported their story.
In Eastern culture there is no prohibition to talk about past lives; the idea that there is only one life is not promoted there. That's why they talk about it calmly. Another scientist proved the theory of past lives through hypnosis.
Is it possible to learn to see?
Definitely. Special techniques and training will help with this. Moreover, scientists claim that children under five years of age have this property; memories of past lives are not closed to them. Why do we need to know about them, you ask. It's simple - they contain the key to the future, or rather, to understanding what is happening to you in the present. Thanks to this, it is easier and faster to understand yourself than through childhood memories and analysis of comparisons of situations within one current life. We remember only the accumulated experience that we received in past lives.
After all, you can see your talents and happy lives. Find out what you did well, what made you successful and famous, how you achieved your goals, by what means, what emotions you experienced. It is this state of internal upsurge of vitality that ensures success. It’s possible to “relive” all this again.
With the help of past lives, you can get answers to all the questions that concern you, understand why something doesn’t work out, and remove obstacles to achieving your goal. It is understanding and re-awareness of the problem that helps get rid of it.
Is there any benefit to viewing past lives?
Of course yes. This eliminates mechanical reactions. We use only 5% of the brain's capabilities, and 95% are beyond our control, these are programs. That is, beliefs, hidden benefits, psychological characteristics, oaths, taboos and so on that a person formed or gave in past lives. You can also get rid of fears.
What are the causes of memories of the past?
A person quite often returns to the events that happened, thinks, immersing himself in them. Those, in turn, absorb. By obsessing over them, an individual causes harm to psychological and physical health. Here are the main situations that provoke this:
- Death of a loved one or loved one.
- Betrayal, separation from your beloved.
- Unfulfillment in life, in particular, lack of demand in the profession.
- Change of residence (different district, city, country).
- Everyday monotonous life.
There are many reasons, but whatever they are, you cannot look back at the past, otherwise you will be doomed to constant failures.
You can get rid of the memories of past years. Let's give some advice:
- Analyze the past. It is necessary to forgive, admit the mistake and let go of the situation.
- Extract errors.
- Use meditation and positive affirmations.
It also happens that a person understands and tries to get rid of the memories of past years, but nothing works. Here the individual is either dishonest with himself, or there really is a deep-seated reason in the subconscious. Then it may be better to contact a professional psychologist.
Now, here are the statements of famous people
So, quotes about memories, about the past:
“Memory is the only paradise from which we cannot be expelled” (J. Richter).
“The memories are so ridiculous. Some of them are quite vague, others are absolutely clear, others are too painful and you try not to think about them, and some are so painful that you will never forget them” (A. McPartlin).
“Getting rid of memories is like robbing yourself. Sometimes memories are all we have, and they taste sweeter than any fruit” (M. Brenton).
“The paths diverged, but the memories remain” (S. Yesenin).
“Memories are what make us grow old. The secret of eternal youth is the ability to forget” (Erich Maria Remarque).
There are so many sayings of famous people, and each definitely has its own truth, because it’s not for nothing that these phrases have become catchphrases. Memories of the past, in a word, are the key to the future. Of course, you can’t live by them, but you can and even need to use them as experience in order to avoid making mistakes.
How to get rid of torment?
The main thing is to understand that the past cannot be canceled and corrected, no matter what it was. Use it as resources or experience. For example, before an important negotiation, to cope with anxiety, remember the moments when you achieved success.
Use bad memories from the past as experience. When learning a lesson from them, remember only this so as not to repeat previous mistakes. Living in the present is worth living. It is at this moment that you can influence something and change the course of events. It is necessary to properly use and appreciate the past, because the future will depend on it.
What to do to avoid living in the past?
Let's consider the algorithm of actions, so:
- In the event of the loss of a loved one or separation, a person experiences deep depression and pain. Of course, you won’t be able to forget everything quickly, but you need to try to reduce this time. The main thing is to stop blaming yourself for this, figure it out, and evaluate it.
- No matter how strange and stupid it may sound, take time to experience it. Let it be, for example, a week, two or three, a month. Spit out your emotions however you like, just without harming others, and then pull yourself together and let the situation go into the past.
- You can mark this event with a tea party or a feast. The main thing is to decide for yourself that there is no more pain. You are starting a new life.
- Don't go back to the past. As soon as it starts to tighten again, switch. Let's say, come up with your own fairy-tale world, town or village, where you will feel comfortable and calm, and return there.
- Improve yourself. Keep yourself busy with a hobby or something you love. Go deeper into your profession, improve your skills.
- Cheer yourself up. Remember yourself in your youth, when you were full of strength and confidence. Transfer that energy to the present, start new communication, get acquainted, enjoy life.
Concentrate solely on if it doesn’t work out yet, focus on bright dreams. Of course, it is very difficult to learn to let go of the situation, forgive offenders and yourself, and not cling to the past. But you have to try. The past should serve only as an invaluable experience, and not become a source of troubles and bad mood.
Knowledge and skills are remembered differently
Many of us have noticed that it is relatively easy to forget the solution to a quadratic equation, but it is almost impossible to forget how to swim or ride a bicycle. This is due to the fact that theoretical knowledge and practical skills are stored in memory differently. Procedural memory, associated with remembering actions, uses older parts of the brain responsible for coordination, response to visual stimuli (for example, when we see an obstacle and go around it) and automatic motor reflexes. When we learn a new skill, different parts of the brain work as a team: the prefrontal cortex controls the formulation of tasks and their distribution, the basal nucleus remembers interaction patterns and helps quickly respond to visual information, and the cerebellum is responsible for finer coordination of motor actions. As a result, they form a very complex and stable system that allows them to firmly remember the acquired skills. Procedural memory has evolved over hundreds of millions of years and exists in all animals.
And for abstract knowledge, such as the rules for solving quadratic equations, declarative memory is responsible, which is controlled by only one area - the cerebral cortex. Therefore, abstract memories are less “fixed” and are erased more quickly if they are not used regularly. This type of memory is relatively new and is familiar only to primates.
The fate of a neuron depends on emotions
So far, the main hypothesis for how long-term memory works is this: memories are stored in the hippocampus, a three-layered region located deep in the temporal lobes of the brain and part of the limbic system. It is one of two areas of the brain where new neurons are produced during adulthood (the other is the olfactory bulb). Neurons are formed in the subgranular zone, from where cells subsequently migrate short distances to establish themselves in the granule cell layer.
If some significant event happened to you, this part of the memory is stored in a new neuron. But of all the new neurons formed in the granular layer, 98% will die naturally within a few months to a year. They can survive (and the memories they contain remain as long-term memory) only if the person revisits the memory periodically over a given period.
Usually, memories that have an affective load “survive” - they return as soon as you experience something that is associated with a past event that left a vivid emotional trace. The brain continually adds to “working memory” with associated events from the past, so memory often works by free association.
Scientists managed to “catch” a specific memory in the brain
Science still cannot unambiguously answer the question of whether memories are focused pointwise in specific neurons or distributed over different parts of the brain. The distribution hypothesis states that each memory is stored across thousands of synapses and neurons, and each synapse or neuron is involved in thousands of memories. So if one neuron dies, there are hundreds of others responsible for preserving the same memory - but at the same time, with the disappearance of each neuron, thousands of memories fade a little. However, there is no such critical number of neurons, the death of which causes the erasure of memories.
But, according to another theory, each memory leaves a very specific trace in the brain - an engram. And if you track this engram, you can theoretically delete it or change it. Evidence for this hypothesis was recently presented by Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa, a professor at MIT's Pickover Institute for Learning and Memory. Tonegawa and his colleagues at the institute showed that they were able to detect cells that are responsible for part of the engram of a specific memory and activate them using optogenetics technology - a technique for studying nerve cells using light pulses. Scientists managed to reactivate the engram in new conditions and with this help implant a false memory in the brain of a mouse.
The researchers first placed the mice in an unfamiliar cage A, and after they got used to it, their memory cells were labeled with channelrhodopsin, a sensitive protein that, in response to blue light irradiation, can allow ions to pass into the cell and thus allow targeted stimulation of areas of the brain. The next day, the mice were placed in a new cage B, which was different from Cage A. After some time, the mice were given a moderate electric shock. At the same time, the scientists used light to activate cells that encoded memories of room A. On the third day, the mice were again placed in cage A, where they froze in fear, awaiting an electric shock. The false memories took root: the rodents associated the shock received in room B with room A.
However, it is possible to implant false memories without sophisticated surgical intervention: American psychologist Elizabeth Loftus conducted an experiment in which participants who had visited Disneyland were shown a photo of the park in which one of the visitors shook hands with Bugs Bunny the rabbit. After this, about a third of respondents remembered that they also met Bugs Bunny at Disneyland - although this was impossible, because this is a character not from the Disney world, but from the Warner Brothers universe.
Unpleasant experiences can be edited
You can also change existing memories - this method helps treat phobias, post-traumatic stress and other syndromes associated with increased anxiety. True, for now this is the prerogative of psychologists, not neurophysiologists. One of the most promising “rewriting” methods was developed by Harvard professor Roger Pitman and McGill University psychiatry professor Alain Brunet. It looks like this: first, specialists stimulate the memory, encouraging the person to re-experience the emotions that he once felt at the time of the traumatic experience. A person pre-writes down his unpleasant experiences from the past and re-reads them before each psychotherapeutic session, having previously taken propranolol, a medicine for hypertension that suppresses rapid heartbeat, sweating and other symptoms of fear. As a result, the previous traumatic memory ceases to be associated with unpleasant sensations.
Obsession helps develop super memory
For an incredibly acute memory for the events of one’s own life, there is a separate term - “hyperthymesia”. True, what is meant here is not abstract mnemonic abilities, but rather autobiographical memory - attempts to force a hyperthymetic person to memorize the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary are unlikely to be crowned with success, but he will remember the guests’ wardrobe and playlist on his sixteenth birthday in detail.
The first case of hypermnesia recorded by official medicine occurred relatively recently - in 2000, Broadway actress Marilu Henner wrote to UC Irvine neurophysiologist James McGough, claiming that all autobiographical memories were stored in her head like pictures on a DVD. She could remember thousands of faces and remembered every day of her life in detail since she was 11 years old. Research conducted by McGough and his colleagues confirmed her unusual abilities, which turned out to be very rare - since then, only 20 people have been discovered with a similar “super memory” syndrome.
Magnetic resonance imaging showed that Marilou's incredibly sharp memory may be associated with features of the brain: the temporal lobe and caudate nucleus are enlarged in size, which is typical for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. And, indeed, some signs of OCD were observed in Marilu’s behavior: she sought to ensure that everything in her life was ordered, including the events of the past.
From the outside, this ability looks like an incredible gift, but it is worth considering its downside: people with hyperthymesia not only vividly remember the best moments of their lives, but also cannot forget a single bad event that happened to them.
We remember unfinished actions better
This phenomenon is called the “Zeigarnik effect” after the Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, a student of Kurt Lewin. According to Lewin's "field theory", memories last longer if a certain energetic tension that arises at the beginning of any action is preserved. This can be done without allowing the action to complete. Levin conducted experiments with children where the children were interrupted in the middle of the creative process and asked to do something else. But the unfinished business caused anxiety to the children, and at the first opportunity they tried to complete it.
Zeigarnik continued to research this phenomenon and conducted a number of other experiments that confirmed that uncompleted tasks create a certain tension in human memory - in other words, unfinished tasks. It turned out that on average, participants recalled unfinished actions 90% better than completed ones. Zeigarnik came to the conclusion that this feature is associated with motivation - people with mental disorders affecting the motivational sphere did not show similar attention to unfinished actions.
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Memories are the only paradise from which no one can kick us out.
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A minute of memories is the longest, because years fit in it...
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It’s good when there is something to remember, and even better when there is nothing to forget.
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Remember everything, but never look back when leaving...
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When you want to grow up faster, you are still a child! But when you miss your childhood, you have already grown up a long time ago!
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If the wound itches, it means it is healing. It's the same with memories: don't scratch them.
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We don't listen to old songs just because there are too many memories associated with them. And we don’t delete them for the same reason.
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There is no use remembering the past if those memories cannot help in the present.
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However, sooner or later, any person in your life turns into a memory, and the saddest thing is that it is inevitable.
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It's good when memories warm the soul and don't disturb the conscience!!!
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All our troubles are that we live in memories - we mentally shovel and rebuild the past, which would be more reasonable to level with an excavator and roll into asphalt...
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Next stop is autumn! Please don't forget your summer memories!
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My memories of you are much better than you.
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They say that memories are the only paradise from which we cannot be expelled. But sometimes they are the only hell we cannot get rid of.
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Phrase: “Do you remember???” - The only thing that connects us now...
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I wish I could find a button in my heart that would erase from my memory what has lost its meaning. To forget... and live without difficult memories.
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It's amazing how just one smell of perfume can awaken wonderful memories from the past...! :)
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We broke up a long time ago and you weren’t in love, but I feel like you miss me at this very moment... right now.
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Don't try to get rid of memories...
We must learn to live with them...
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It seems that I once loved him…” she thought lazily, sitting on the balcony and peering at the stars. Then I drank a glass of whiskey in one gulp and ate some lemon. “Ahh, never mind”...
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Life must be lived with dignity: so that you have something to remember... you don’t want to forget anything... and rejoice at the mad desire to return and do it all over again!!!
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Every night you think about me before you go to bed. I know)
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Close your eyes... I will be there... You will feel me... I will be there as long as you need... I will be there for you...
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The wind of happiness brings tears of joy...
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Do you remember the hungry years? Internet with cards...
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Sitting in an empty room. I'm trying to forget the past. And it seems that everything has already been forgotten. But sooner or later, you remember everything again.
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Memories are a sediment that is at the bottom of our heart, the main thing is not to stir it up.
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Today I lost a friend... It would be better if I lost my keys, at least they can be restored...
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Years to forget, minutes to remember.
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The name of your beloved, written in the snow, will not freeze as long as it is in your heart...
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Nostalgia is like a black and white movie... and the picture is blurry and the sound is not clear, BUT SO NICE...
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Life is not about those moments that pass, but about those that are remembered.
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The heart beats into fragments, the soul is torn. She wants and strives to be with you forever.
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When I feel bad at heart, I think about you... And it immediately becomes warmer...)))
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Memory is a crazy woman: she collects bright rags and throws away bread.
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In my memories - You smile only for me.
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And I smile, remembering our acquaintance...
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Memories... all that I have left of you... it’s difficult for me, but this doesn’t solve anything... now even the edge of the world is closer to me than your palm...
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The best moments are the ones that no one films on camera, but you still remember them for the rest of your life!
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So many years have passed, and the imprints of your kisses still warm my lips...
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My memories of him become duller, my feelings subside and he gradually leaves my soul.
Statuses and statements about memories