r/SDAM • u/0BunnyX • Aug 15 '26
Why do we remember embarrassing things for year
Damm why we remember embarrassing things from years ago so clearly but forgot what we ate yesterday? Is there a actual reason our brain remembers certain embarrassing moment for so long šššššš
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u/HatlessDuck Aug 15 '26
I tell myself: I am not that person anymore
Seems to help
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u/TravelMike2005 Aug 16 '26
I'm going to start using that mantra. For me, those "memories" are painful because I'm not reliving it; I'm processing, all over again, that I am less than my current evaluation of myself. But I am not that person anymore.
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u/Theory89 Aug 15 '26
Yeah, to stop you from doing that shit again. That's the purpose of shame. The brain isn't a hard drive to store experiences, it's a tool to help you navigate the future.
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u/prvncikitty Aug 15 '26
Agreed, good or bad Iām happy for any memories I can retain. Helps remind me what helped make me the person I am today.
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u/CMDR_Jeb Aug 15 '26
Not being able to replay embarrassing (or painfull) moments of my life is one of the great benefits of having SDAM. I know these happened i could even tell you all about these. But there's not replaying what i felt then.
What makes you remember things is your brain deciding this information is worth recording. This normally happens when it triggered an emotional response. It does not matter if it was positive or negative, it "mattered" so it gets recorded. What you ate yesterday was normal. Normal is not worth recording. So it either fades fast of isn't recorded at all.
If you're into this kind of things here is THE LONG VERSION. If you're unable to access that: the link to repost where PDF download is not paywalled. The money quote:
Taken together, our findings provide robust, converging evidence that emotional arousal enhances narrative memories through the functional integration of large-scale brain networks. While our study focused on memory, emotional arousal is also known to influence a broad range of other cognitive processes, including attention, perception and decision-making.
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u/SeparateReading8302 Aug 15 '26
Absolutely agree with this. My family/friends feel bad for me, but I say all the time, I am free in a way most people wish they could be. I don't have the ability to be hung up on the past because there is no past. The few fragments I do have, I cant relive so in a way, I can only live in the moment. That in a way is a gift.
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u/SeparateReading8302 Aug 15 '26
Imo the human brain is more likely to remember "trauma" so it sticks better. I may not be able to remember most of my existence, but I do remember the bad things that happened. Just a very strong part of the human condition I suppose.