How can I forget about the bad memories of my past?

Sometimes the reason we have trouble forgetting the memories of our past is because we have not come to terms with them. If memories are causing strife in your life, altering your behavior, or weighing you down with unhelpful protective mechanisms, it may be time to connect with yourself about those memories, and reassure yourself that it's okay to let them go. If you'd like, find a safe, quiet space, get into a comfortable position (but one you're not likely to fall asleep in!) and close your eyes. Try to connect with one such memory. When you feel it, tell yourself, "This is okay, it's in the past". Ask yourself "What makes you hold onto this? Why do you believe it is useful? Is this still relevant?" and try to find and understand the answers. Many times, we hold onto a memory or a fear because we believe it will prepare us for the future, or we think it will protect us from pain moving forward. But always guarding against a pain that may or may not come can cause us to act in ways that make happiness and connection difficult. Once you have assessed why this memory is still around, thank yourself for trying to protect you, but assure yourself it is no longer needed in this context (if that's true) and that it's okay to let go of these memories that you don't want to affect you anymore. Remind yourself that you (in the present moment) are safe, you are loved (because you love yourself and are making time to connect with yourself), and you want to be here. Hope that helps!

Keeping yourself occupied with things that you love doing such as reading or hanging out with friends or family can distract you from the bad memories that happened in the past. Sometimes acknowledging what happened to you helps to give you closure and realize that what happened to you is now in the past and doesn't define you. What I like to do when I am faced with bad memories of the past is to write it down to let me feelings out, it helps me release built up emotions and I feel more at peace when I write down what is going on, on the inside of my head

I think that personally the memories are always going to be there, in the back of your head. But it could get better with time and then you may not think about them as often, but it takes time to heal from those things. Talking about them might help and just time helps. But if you want to distract yourself from those memories, in my case it helps if I watch movies, go for walks, write, listen music or see friends etc. Talking to a professional about your memories or writing your feelings down on paper may also help.

Forgetting bad memories of the past is no doubt a tough thing to do. Normally, if you keep on remembering the bad memories of your past, it simply means that there are some things that keep on bugging you and keep on hurting you that remind you of your painful past. The best course of action would be to come to terms with your past. Acceptance of the past is often quite hard, however, it also results in unimaginable satisfaction. Once only after acceptance, can you let go of the past and move on. Therefore, resulting in eventually fading of bad memories.

Its not about forgetting them, they have happened and they are a part of your life. Its ultimately about acknowledging them, and not allowing them to affect or control you anymore. Taking the time to remember the bad memories is a good thing, it shows us how we have gotten to where we now, even if that's a negative place. By going back and embracing each memory, feeling the memory and discovering what impact it has had on the rest of your life can show you what things need to be adjusted moving forward. What coping mechanisms were developed and why? What behaviours and actions do we apply when dealing with situations that arise in our lives, why and how now with knowing where they came from, can we change them in a positive way. You must acknowledge and accept your past, knowing that you can never go back and change it, but it can teach you and guide you to a better more peaceful, fulfilling future.

You can forget by talking about things that used to matter in the past and know it doesn’t anymore Actually, there’s a quote I like alot or maybe it’s not a quote it’s a formula , 5/5 , if something won’t bother you in the coming 5 years of your life, it shouldn’t bother you 5 mins now !!! Work on it and know that you’re capable of anything and everything And if there’s a specific thing you’d like to talk about I’m always here to listen okay?? You’re the best!!!!!! And I’m always proud of what you do ! Have a good day

This one is something I have personally struggled with. I don't think anyone can actually tell you how to forget or how you should get through it, but I will tell you what helped me. As humans, we have a tendency to remember the bad things more than the good they call it a negative bias. I almost had to reprogram my brain and empty the clutter so to speak. I began writing every single thought and feeling no matter the reason or the depth of it I wrote everything in my journals. If I had gas, well my journal knew about it lol. What that did for me was take all of the noise in my mind and calm it down some. I also was able to in a way talk about my feelings without shame or embarrassment even if it was just by writing in a journal. But every time I made an entry, I was taking those bad memories and stripping their power away. So slowly I began to read everything I had written and over time I could even see my own progress. I kept all of my journals but some people like to destroy them. As I said, this is what worked for me, it is never one size fits all but hey it is worth a shot. Good luck, I hope things get better!

We don't just forget you know, we just need to accept that these have occurred and will always be in the past. And everything that is in the past should not affect your present. It can be hard yes for some time, but you'll see with time, your mind will get this habit of accepting and letting go. That is when you will be able to say, okay I finally moved on and forgot about what happened, while knowing for sure that it will still remain in your memories but not affecting you as it did before. So yeah, that's it

Bad memories can’t be forgotten, but there is a healthier way of approaching this situation: it would be letting go of the negative feeling these memories are surrounded of, accepting that they made you who you are today and developed your character and learning from the mistakes that have been made during those tough times in order to become better. The past is never meant to be forgotten, but neither should it be able to affect our present and future. It shoud be reffered to as maybe a sad book you’ve read that made an impression on you, but can’t personally affect your life.

I have found through the years, that when my "bad" memories of the past come out of nowhere and hit me, I take a deep breath and then instead of just saying I am not going to think about that, I hit it head on. I take a moment to fully understand and try to remember how I felt at the time. Then instead of looking at that bad memory as a horrible thing, I think about the good that came out of that bad time. I think about the decisions I made and the choices I made because of that "bad" time and how maybe in the long run, because of having that bad experience, I turned into a much stronger person, or how it led to a better path for me.