Do you have painful or just simply sad memories that return occasionally come back to haunt you? Do you believe these thoughts define your personality? Maybe your whole life has been defined by a particular negative event that you think about over and over again.
Problems usually tend to arise because our consciousness is unable to tell the difference between the actual event and the memories of it, causing the memory to become the “actual event”. Sometimes, we add to the problem; we spend hours of the day wondering if things would have happened differently, would the results still have been the same? As human beings, we associate place and dates with the memory. We give it labels and attach emotions to the event such as remorse, grief, blame, or guilt. Down the road, the painful memory has become so embellished that it is now found a significant place in our reality, it’s simply a part of who we are.
What Happens When Painful Memories Take Over?
There has been solid evidence that becoming a slave to sad memories has a huge effect on the human body. When we allow ourselves to sulk in negative thoughts every day, it triggers the release of the stress hormone and cortisol from your adrenal glands. This inhibits the hypothalamus in our brain from releasing any other hormones that can restrict the adrenal response. Therefore, negative emotions cause a vicious, never-ending cycle of stress, causing you to eventually feel worse and think more unhappy thoughts.
Sometimes, we become so fearful that it’s hard to engage emotionally with others. We think that we are forever doomed to relive the unhappiness forever. Everywhere we go, everyone we see. From movies, books, newspapers, social media to TV, it has the ability to provoke those memories. Try to avoid certain places or a group of people, this can make a significant difference. The same method should be considered for dates or anniversaries.
What Are Some of the Benefits of Releasing the Past?
Letting go of bad memories has been proven to have great positive effects on both your mental and physical health. We start to feel calmer, and able to do more and be more “in-tune” with the presence. Life is no longer an uphill-battle when your brain, heart and body are all in-sync. Most importantly, take your time for your emotional healing.