The Paradoxical Art of Forgetting and Remembering Your Past to Create a New Self
Hard times are inevitable, but they are temporary. Nevertheless, some seem to be eternal. I am not talking about the days we are in a bad mood, feel overwhelmed by stress, or fail to accomplish something we had been looking forward to. What I mean by hard times are the really hard times. Phases in which we loath ourselves and do not recognize us anymore. Moments in which we lose all sense of self- love, esteem, and worth.
What we are left with in such times is our self-awareness, which only drags us even deeper into the realization that we have lost ourselves. I am talking about the times when our personal compass that is supposed to guide us in the right direction will not stop spinning. Those are the abhorrent weeks and months after a radical change in our social environment. A breakup, losing a family member, or even moving away and leaving our friends are just a few examples of things that scratch our self-love so deeply that they tear us apart.
The depression we gain through such instances quickly becomes a part of ourselves. It is so present that it becomes normal and thus invisible to us.
First, we cannot stop thinking about our depression. No matter how hard we try to distract ourselves, our feelings become the conductor of our thoughts. They are…
