Facing depression & anxiety is correlated with being unable to remember and loss of memory.
Often it's a coping mechanism to disassociate, mentally daydream, escape & blast off š
Luckily, this is partly reversible and you can color in your experiences & life events!
I don't know about you but when I look at my past struggle to remember many parts of my childhood.
Through deep work I've been able to uncover more of my memories and even at times change the past.
Huh?
How do I change my memories?
You canāt go back in time and change the past, but you can change how you think past.
What do I mean?
Well, I remember growing up and getting bad grades, never winning any academic achievement, and lived in a time where if you werenāt a good student or an athlete, people thought you were dumb and would never be successful.
I always thought I was stupid and lazy as a result of thisā¦
On the surface, my mind wouldnāt think about this deeply and as a result, I just believed whatever my mind would tell me like I was somehow lazy or stupid and never questioned it.
It wasnāt until I remembered a memory of talking to my best friend when I was a teenager.
One day he took me aside and said āhey man Iām really proud of you for creating what you created. You are winning. You escaped the system Iām in.ā
Next, I asked my parents and all of a sudden recall memories of being a student of the month as a young kid, and different situations my parents told me where they knew I was a very smart and different person.
I never thought about these throughout my life ever.
While there are things you can do additionally to improve memory like some supplements like Bacopa Monnieri, Acetyl-L-carnitine, Gotu Kola, CDP Choline, and more. Here's a great illustration from Dr. William Wallace.
Below is an exercise you can try now to improve your working memory and it's relation to your mental health.
Takeaway:
Pull out a piece of paper, and identify what you think is ābadā about yourself. Now, come up with memories that are the exact opposite of this bad trait. My example, my bad trait was laziness & stupidity and writing down the memories I listed above as evidence that I am not that.
Continue to do this, with the good and bad traits. You will build up a cognitive library of evidence in your brain that is more equipped to now battle any negative thoughts or perceptions about yourself.
Feel like you canāt think of any memories? Ask your friends, family, and spend more time thinking about it. The more you think, the more your mind will be able to go back to the past as opposed to locking away your former memories.
Conclusion
š¬ I am opening my calendar right now to work with 1 more person 1-on-1 on an ongoing basis to manage anxiety and heal your mind more effectively.
Interested? Schedule a free call with me to see if itās right for you or not :)
PS. If you want to take the self-paced individual program, check out the details here: www.markmetry.com/program