Listen, if you tend to forget things.....then your Brain is working Perfectly!
"Just forget about it, it is good for you!"
Now, please don't think that I am a highly intellectual person, who asks you to forgive and forget for your own mental peace and all.
(Maybe I am)
This is not what I meant as I said those words.
This whole this coming is from years of studies done by neuroscientists and other experts.
Neuroscience says, that your Brain requires you to Forget things in order to Function properly.
Now, this sounds so counterintuitive. How does it help, if we forget stuff? There is so much to remember, in order to function right?
Moreover, we are shaped by our memories. How can a person operate without remembering things?
Tons of questions, right?
So, today I will try to explain things a little simpler.
Now, the study of the brain has been a major part of human evolution. With every single generation of scientists advancing the previous works and building upon it.
However, just about a decade ago, it was believed that forgetting or losing memory is a Passive process.
It was said that over time, when the brain stopped using that part of the memory, and it was kept aside, it tends to decay like anything else. And slowly, we lose the last bit of it.
However, after several advanced studies, it was found that forgetting or losing memory is an Active Process. It is actively done by our own brain for its own good.
Active memory is built on the process of forgetting things.
Sounds weird right?
Same here!
However, if you think it through, you will understand how smart your brain is. And you too!
So as mentioned earlier, forgetting and memorizing are a 2-sides of the same coin. We need both to function.
(Side note - I am not talking about any particular disease where people forget stuff like Dementia. This article only discusses regular brain activity. Please take professional help for any kind of disease. I request)
Coming back.
Now, think like this, every single day, our brain is provided with all kinds of information and that too in bulks.'
This majorly consists of unnecessary stuff, which we can consider noise for the brain.
Now, our brain's main job is to think and operate, it is not built as a storage device.
Moreover, these noises actually interfere with decision-making processes. And we make so many decisions each day.
Now, as said, our brains are Smarty!
It figured out a simple yet complex system of finding, checking, and trashing unnecessary information.
Secondly, the brain has another function, which is to make use of memories to form a separate set of functioning rules for similar work in the near future. This is why you tend to do similar things faster.
Brains use that memory to form a pattern and thus it does not need that memory for further use.
Also, the brain does have a lot of storage space but still, there is a limit. It can't use the space to store all kinds of information, rather it forgets the unnecessary ones.
It is auto optimizing. Doesn't this feel cool!
Now, at the same time, the brain uses and strengthens important memories. Thus making them permanent and easy to fetch while clear thinking.
Finally, studies have shown that this Nature of the Brain can be said as the most promising method to take care of Mental Health.
Mental health is a very serious topic and any advancement in the field can make a lot of difference in many lives.
This is the only way so far that can be made as a treatment for Anxiety, and other related issues.
It all makes sense now!
Your brain is making several drafts and discarding them just to keep the best ones, after all the proofreading.
How fascinating.
I believe now it is quite clear to you.
Finally, thanks for spending time with me, and as always take care!