Happy Memory Jogger Sample [1:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s long been known that mulling over unhappy past events and dwelling on the minutiae of negative aspects of the past (above and beyond learning from mistakes) is bad for us. It makes us feel miserable and can actually make us unhealthier as we re-access the same or similar feelings as we had in the original time. (1)

When you recall something, your body responds physically almost as if that event were happening all over again. So, if you recall being angry, more likely than not your blood pressure will go up and you’ll feel angry again, in the here and now. If you recall times you felt anxious – you’ll feel anxious again and you may even sweat as your pulse starts to race. And conversely, if you strongly recall happy times, then your body will again reap the rewards of positive emotion you felt in that time.

So it makes sense to recall happy memories often and regularly. Strangely, all too many of us just keep replaying stuff that went wrong, but hardly ever mentally re-visit the really great past times. When you strongly recall a happy memory, your immune system will work better, you’ll feel more optimistic and even your self-esteem will improve and you’ll feel more positive towards your future and other people in your life. (2)

Happy memories and hypnosis

Hypnosis can be used to vivify memories and enhance positive feelings formed from the original experience. Hypnotic recollection can be much more powerful than everyday reminiscence. And, although hypnosis should not be used to try to ‘discover what happened’, it is a great way of re-connecting to past resourceful feelings for use in the present and future. I produced the Happy Memory Jogger download for hypnosisdownloads.com to encourage the healthy act of positive recollection and to begin to link positive past feelings to future positive events.

Happy memories!

Mark

Notes

(1) A large body of research (including studies carried out by Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of University of California at Riverside, shows that ruminating about past unpleasant events merely serves to re-traumatise and embed the negative emotion. Writing about past negative events is a more effective way to come to terms with an unpleasant past circumstance or events.

(2) Thinking of good memories for just 20 minutes a day can make people more cheerful than they were the week before, and happier than if they think of their current lives, report researchers from Loyola University. Psychologist Fred Bryant found that mood was strongly enhanced in study participants who were encouraged to recall happy, pleasant and triumphant events. Conjuring up past good times is much more powerful than simply thinking about day to day life, and could even help students struggling with current exams perform better when they reminisced about past triumphs, Byrant found.