How to get rid of memories of bad things and don't want to be remembered

Everyone has memories, good or bad. The two of them clung tightly, sometimes even came back. When a good memory pops up, you may smile happily. Conversely, bad memories can actually cause trauma or phobias. These negative memories would want to be forgotten. However, how to get rid of memories or forget something bad?

Why are bad memories clearly recorded in the brain?

Before discussing how to forget something you don't want to remember, first understand how the brain works in processing memory.

Your brain has a special room for storing memories. Even though it has been days or even decades, this memory can still be remembered. Why? This occurs because protein stimulates brain cells to form connections in old memories.

However, the connection can change. Sometimes there are bits and pieces of memory that are forgotten or even clearer, even seem exaggerated. For example, a spider that falls right near your eye while sleeping.

This memory can get worse due to many factors, such as movies or photos featuring scary spiders. The more vivid and redundant the memory, the more likely it is to cause a phobia.

If someone is already experiencing a phobia, one way to forget about something that is feared is to ask a doctor or psychologist for help.

Journal studies Current Directions in Psychological Science reported that bad memories are much harder to forget because most people remember them more clearly. Bad memory is known to involve parts of the brain, namely the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex, which are also responsible for processing emotions.

How to get rid of bad memories

Something that you want to forget, usually makes you afraid, anxious, sad, and depressed. In more severe cases, the emotions you feel when the memories come back can hinder activity.

Actually you can't get rid of bad memories from the brain, but you can reduce the emotional involvement that comes as a way to stop feeling anxious or afraid like before.

To get out of this problem, you can try the following ways.

1. Find out the triggers

Bad, sad, or embarrassing memories are not always in your head. These memories will appear because there are triggers, such as scents, certain images, or sounds.

For example, person A, who has had the trauma of rebellion, will remember the incident when he heard a loud noise, thick smoke, or a crowd. Well, the loud noise, thick smoke, and crowds were what triggered A to remember his bad memories.

Knowing your triggers is a basic way to help you remove something bad from your memory. The more sensitive you are to these triggers, the better chance you have of controlling yourself and cutting off the connection between the triggers and the negative memories.

2. Consultation with a psychologist

If your bad memory has traumatized you, it's time to visit a psychologist. The goal is that psychological and mental health professionals can help you find the right way to forget something traumatic.

After the trauma has occurred, the psychologist will ask you to wait a few weeks for your emotions to stabilize. Then, you will be asked to retell the experience or incident that traumatized you once or twice a week.

Remembering bad memories repeatedly turns out to be aimed at forcing the brain to reconstruct events and reduce emotional trauma. Although these memories can't be erased, at least the emotions that appear are no longer as sensitive as before.

3. Doing memory suppression

According to studies in journals Trends In Cognitive Science , memory suppression (memory suppression) can be used as a way to get rid of bad memories that keep coming up.

The study shows that using high-level brain functions, such as reasoning and rational thinking, can interfere with the brain's work on remembering a memory. This technique is actually the same as training the brain to turn off a memory by replacing it with another memory that is more fun.

4. Exposure therapy

This therapy is actually a treatment for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). However, it can also be done as a way to help erase one's memories of sad and frightening events.

This therapy involves retelling the traumatic event, followed by training in dealing with the trauma. The therapist may give the patient something or take the patient to a place that triggered the trauma.

5. Take propanolol drugs

The drug propranolol is a drug for hypertension, which is often used to treat people who have experienced trauma. This medication can reduce the body's response to anxiety, such as shaking hands, sweating, racing heart, and dry mouth.

Propranolol is a blood pressure medication from a class of drugs known as beta blockers , and is often used in the treatment of traumatic memories.

Once taken, propanolol will reduce the emotional response that occurs when you remember trauma. This treatment will be more effective when accompanied by therapy.

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