Posted on Sep 18, 2022
Ask a Therapist: How Do I Deal With Bad Memories That Pop Into My Head?
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https://www.verywellmind.com/ask-a-therapist-how-to-deal-with-bad-memories-5095967?hid=62af4114a2eb6a6c94413a67f892f41be9d47089&did= [login to see] 0917&utm_campaign=verywell-mind_newsletter&utm_source=verywellmind&utm_medium=email&utm_content=091722&cid=841439&mid= [login to see] 8
Your brain responds differently to experiences that are highly emotional. The amygdala heightens your sensory awareness when you’re facing a highly emotional experience which may encode memories more effectively.
When you recognize your triggers, you can decide how to respond to them. You might decide it’s just easier to avoid the things that trigger your bad memories.
Or, you might learn that it’s easier to respond to those memories when you know why they’re popping into your brain. Seeing that they aren’t as random as you might think may help you feel more in control. And telling yourself, “I’m remembering that right now because I’m seeing something that reminds me of that time in my life,” may help you feel better too.
Your brain responds differently to experiences that are highly emotional. The amygdala heightens your sensory awareness when you’re facing a highly emotional experience which may encode memories more effectively.
When you recognize your triggers, you can decide how to respond to them. You might decide it’s just easier to avoid the things that trigger your bad memories.
Or, you might learn that it’s easier to respond to those memories when you know why they’re popping into your brain. Seeing that they aren’t as random as you might think may help you feel more in control. And telling yourself, “I’m remembering that right now because I’m seeing something that reminds me of that time in my life,” may help you feel better too.
Ask a Therapist: How Do I Deal With Bad Memories That Pop Into My Head?
Posted from verywellmind.com
PTSD
Counseling
Mental Health
Memories
Therapy
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 4
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I do have bad memories come to the fore front now and then, they're issues that happened when I was in my mid teens, I repressed them at the time, but every now and then they sneak out to remind me of that time in my life, it only happens now and then, but I have learnt to deal with it quite well Lt Col Charlie Brown
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
Good for you SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth I meet people who are still running from them years later...and we cannot escape from ourselves except in bad ways.
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Lt Col Charlie Brown I had bad childhood experiences that haunted me; some go back for up to sixty years. I didn't want to deal with them, it was easier to repress them and try to go on with life but eventually it caught up to me and I got help this past year. It made a difference in my life for sure.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
Great input Vic.
- "Seeing that they (Bad Memories) aren’t as random as you might think may help you feel more in control." OFTEN RACING THOUGHTS OF BAD MEMORIES ARE QUITE RANDOM. IF THE BAD MEMORIES ARE LINKED TO A TRAUMA, THEN THE $100 QUESTION IS HOW DO WE MITIGATE THE TRAUMA AND ELIMINATE THE RACING THOUGHTS?
- TALKING ABOUT TRAUMA CAN BE GOOD, BUT THE $100 QUESTION IS HOW DO WE GET MITIGATE THE TRAUMA? CAN IT BE DONE?
- WE NEED THERAPISTS WHO UNDERSTAND A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HELPING PEOPLE WITH PTSD. I HAVE LITTLE CONFIDENCE THAT THE MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY CAN PROVIDE THIS. THEY MIGHT KNOW BITS AND PIECES, BUT THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND PTSD BETTER. THAT IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.
- "Seeing that they (Bad Memories) aren’t as random as you might think may help you feel more in control." OFTEN RACING THOUGHTS OF BAD MEMORIES ARE QUITE RANDOM. IF THE BAD MEMORIES ARE LINKED TO A TRAUMA, THEN THE $100 QUESTION IS HOW DO WE MITIGATE THE TRAUMA AND ELIMINATE THE RACING THOUGHTS?
- TALKING ABOUT TRAUMA CAN BE GOOD, BUT THE $100 QUESTION IS HOW DO WE GET MITIGATE THE TRAUMA? CAN IT BE DONE?
- WE NEED THERAPISTS WHO UNDERSTAND A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HELPING PEOPLE WITH PTSD. I HAVE LITTLE CONFIDENCE THAT THE MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY CAN PROVIDE THIS. THEY MIGHT KNOW BITS AND PIECES, BUT THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND PTSD BETTER. THAT IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.
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Cpl Vic Burk
MAJ Ken Landgren - When dealing with PTSD in my opinion, (from personal experience) generally speaking, unless the therapist has suffered from it themselves, they offer little help; they really don't truly understand. What they know is from a book. I'm trying not to make this so negative but it's hard after being through a few "licensed" therapists. Find someone who has experienced PTSD and got it under control.
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Cpl Vic Burk
SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM Good advice but in many cases much easier said than done!
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