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.

As we age, our brain’s function deteriorates as well. We may soon find it hard to remember dates, names, places and past events, and this is due mainly to memory loss. A poor memory can be a great disadvantage especially when we are exposed to a hectic environment and rely on our ability to remember things for most of our activities, and it can also be a good focal point for conditions such as senility, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease which we may develop during our senior years.

Improving your memory can help you in leading a more fruitful life.

Some Effective Ways on How You Can Improve Your Memory

1. It pays to be attentive. Whenever you are exposed to information, encode the whole event into your brain. You can do this by paying attention to what’s happening and staying focused until the whole event is over. It takes the brain eight seconds to create memories, and this can be easily disrupted when you have a divided attention span.

2. Furnish your learning style. Ever person has his or her own way of establishing memories. Your method of learning can be done by visual processing such as reading and watching, or by auditory learning (through listening). Thus, in order to enhance your memory, establish your own learning method, so it wouldn’t be difficult for you to gather and store memories into your brain.

3. Use all your senses most of the time. Remembering things not only involves the eyes and ears; it also uses the person’s other senses, such as smell, taste and touch. If you can’t remember something by means of its visual properties, knowing its smell, taste or feeling can be of great help.

4. Make memory associations. One way of remembering things is by linking or connecting them to already existing memories. These include relating a newfound friend with a famous personality with whom he or she shares a resemblance with, or linking the person’s address with someone who lives on the same street or village as him.

5. Organize your thoughts. It’s not always that your brain gathers and indexes information right away; at times you can even be left confused due to the messed up information you have incurred. Thus, it is helpful that you write things down to help you remember facts, dates and other substantial information that you will need sooner or later. To make things easier, learn to use an organizer.

6. Interpret information in your own words. When you are exposed to more complicated information, do your best to learn the basics, such as in mathematical formulas. Knowing there they come from give you a better view of the whole picture, and understand the complexities much easier.

7. Practice makes it perfect. This cliché always works in improving your memory, as while you rehearse a thought, activity or anything over and over, it will be part of your subconscious and become second nature. You don’t have to recall how it is done as your body already knows exactly how to do it.