Sometimes our childhood places do not invoke pleasant memories.

As an adult, we recognize that memories from our childhood can play out in our adult world in challenging ways.

With a trained therapist, you will be able to break down psychological resistance. This resistance often disguises itself as defense mechanisms. By doing this, you can better understand how your behavior today stems from your childhood memories and experiences.

So how do you do all of this?

1. Embrace the bad memory. Accept who you are and how your life is today.
2. Muster up the strength so that you can mentally say “This is the feeling that I have dreaded. I have felt it and faced it completely. Now, I can let the feeling go.”
3. Cultivate a positive self-image connecting you to the present rather than the past. Practice mindful breathing. Cleansing your mind and body helps lift your spirits and can eliminate unpleasant associations to memories.
4. Reconnect with the current happenings and people in your life. Recollect positive memories to counterbalance the negative ones.
5. Establish a new connection between the old memory and new emotions. Express yourself in creative ways such as writing, painting and crafts.

Bad memories and experiences can consume you negatively in your personal life, career, and relationships. They lie there in your unconscious where they can’t be deleted or undone. Overcoming painful childhood memories can be complicated.

The best place to start may be with an experienced counselor.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 17 Jun 2012
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.