How Problems Can Persist Even After Their Source Is Gone
It’s a sad fact of life that the problems people give us can live on in our own heads long after the person who gave them to us has died.
It’s a sad fact of life that the problems people give us can live on in our own heads long after the person who gave them to us has died.
This phenomenon is not just an abstract notion but a deeply human experience with psychological, emotional, and sometimes even physical consequences.
The Psychological Imprint
The human brain is incredibly adept at learning and storing information, especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships and conflicts.
According to psychological research, experiences that elicit strong emotional responses are often encoded more deeply into our memory. This means that negative interactions with people can leave lasting impressions that shape our thoughts and behaviours long after those individuals are gone.
Emotionally charged experiences activate the amygdala, the brain’s centre for emotion processing, which enhances the consolidation of these memories. As a result, even after the source of these negative experiences is no longer present, the…
