Clever Brain

Dealing with Distracting Memories

In life we are bound to gather various memories. These may be filled with fun and laughter, but others can be of sadness and grief-even trauma or embarrassment. While there are a lot of things you want to remember, there are also those which you want to forget, as these easily distract your present disposition. Thus, while other people try hard to increase their memory, it is also important that you know how to deal with memories which you’d rather forget.

Learning to forget distracting memories can help you to remember more important things.

Forgetting something cannot be easily done by means of “not thinking” about it. There are still some instances when you just remember them out of the blue, or you encounter things, events, and people which remind you of those memories-and these cannot be avoided. Thus, if you are trying to learn how to get over such memories which seem to haunt you, then here are some helpful ways to deal with them:

1. Learn to let go. The first thing to get rid of all the distracting memories you have is by learning to let them go. One reason why they keep on coming back is because you still haven’t accepted the fact that they already happened, and that there’s nothing you can do to change them. Take a moment to relive that memory in your head, think about everything that occurred in that particular situation, and slowly let accept that fact and let it go. This is quite a difficult process which needs a lot of willpower, but through meditation and therapy, it would only be a matter of time for you to get rid of them finally from your system.

2. Think about the funny parts. In every bad memory there is a funny segment. Thus, when you are reminded of a rather embarrassing or depressing thought, laugh at it, especially when you come to remember how you dealt with them in the past. After realizing that you’ve been acting foolish and fairly hilarious at that time, then you have just transformed those memories from being distracting to actually entertaining.

3. Focus on other, more worthwhile activities. One good way of forgetting bad memories is by keeping yourself busy. The more free time you have, the more space you will spend on wallowing on those sad thoughts. Get a job, watch a movie, hang out with friends or engage into reading. These are just some of the ways in which you can enjoy life fuller, enrich your brain with new information, and as well replace those bad memories with newer, better ones.

4. To those who are grieving, celebrate your departed one’s life and times, not his death. It is normal to cry and be sad for the loss of a loved one. However, it is not healthy to remain stuck with the person’s death for the rest of your lifetime. If you think it would be very difficult for you to forget the fact that your departed loved one’s already dead, then don’t think about it. Rather, celebrate those times you shared where you felt happy-and that that loved one would not want you to be sad because of him.

Caffeine is one common ingredient used by a lot of people in order to boost their brain powers. This is because caffeine, normally found in coffee, wakes the brain up and sets it in an alert, vigilant mode, ready to work overtime. Indeed caffeine has been helpful in keeping people active especially at times when they have to sleep, but it also has other effects which need to be given adequate importance.

While caffeine may provide short-term stimulus to your brain, it is believed that long-term caffeine may lead to a decline in your brainpower.

1. Caffeine causes an adrenaline rush. Our body has a natural way of allotting strength which we use at a normal rate. At the same time however, it also keeps extra, more powerful strength for us to exert during certain instances. Through caffeine, our body unleashes this strength hormone called adrenaline, which keeps us high and active for a period of time. Once the “high” feeling lasts, the brain is left tired and exhausted, and so is our whole body.

2. Caffeine increases the dopamine levels. The feeling of happiness is caused by the neurotransmitter called dopamine. Dopamine signals the brain to be more happy and energetic, and thus we are subject to releasing more strength and energy throughout the day. Because of dopamine, the brain is more motivated to work at its best, and once the caffeine wears off, the said neurotransmitter goes back to normal, and so does the brain function.

3. Caffeine keeps the brain awake for extra hours. We control our actions, movements and activities, but we do not control the effects of caffeine in our brain. Because of its stimulating effect, caffeine keeps the brain working even when our designated assignment has already been fulfilled, which in turn makes it difficult for us to sleep and rest. This can lead to sleeping problems such as narcolepsy and insomnia.

4. Caffeine increases our levels of stress and anxiety. Also due its stimulating effects, caffeine makes the brain not only function better, but also faster, because of the increases speed, the brain easily feels the pressure and stress brought about by the surrounding environment, and in turn make it difficult to process thoughts and ideas better. We then become tense, nervous and anxious, and less confident of our work.

5. Caffeine produces brain fog. One after effect of caffeine is that it increases the occurrence of brain fogs. Since the brain could no longer function at its best due to overwork, we then suffer from blank thoughts and brain fogs at certain times of the day, causing us to forget about important things such as names and dates.

Indeed caffeine can produce such effects on the brain; it may even lead to the decline of one’s brainpower in the long run. These consequences can however be reduced or avoided by drinking coffee (as well as other stimulant alternatives) moderately. One can also practice exercise to enrich the mind, and make it work faster and better without relying on an external ingredient such as caffeine.