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If you could erase all of your bad memories, would you?

Firstly I wasn't sure where to post this, so I settled for this forum.

I was thinking earlier about my life, and the good and bad of it so far. The question I eventually came to was:

"If you could erase all of your bad memories, would you?"

At first, the my gut reaction was to say "Yes, who wants to remember all the bad things that have happened to them?", but then I thought about the person I am, and I concluded that the only reason that I am the way that I am, is because of my past experiences/memories. Therefore erasing a traumatic event could also fundamentally change my personality, and while I have regrets and bad memories, I wouldn't want to alter myself.

What would your response be?

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I have repressed memories due to trauma, and I can't remember exactly what happened but I remember the feelings from it. I'm glad I can't remember. I remember when I could remember and it was vile having that recollection. I am glad they are gone
Reply 2
I guess, at points I'd like to stop remembering the past because it brings back awful memories that upset me, but at the same time, they're life lessons I should probably learn from. If I forgot bad memories then I'd probably have more occur in the future because I wouldn't have any experience. Really, I'm talking about relationship problems when I say this, being cheated on, forgiving then being dumped... all those things really hurt but if I forgot them then I'd probably make the same mistakes again. I've probably become a stronger person because of bad things happening so yeah, although at the time of the event I'd wish I could forget, I think in the long-term it's not a bad thing to remember...
Reply 3
If I could cherry pick and only remove certain bad memories then yes, I would erase some. If that's not an option then I'll keep them.

The bad ones I would erase are mainly me saying something I shouldn't have said and I cringe when I think back.
You can't learn anything if you have no bad memories, nor can you fully appreciate anything. So no, I wouldn't, purely on the basis that it would set me back incredibly far. Besides, they'll only be replaced with new ones sooner or later, and it'll be so much more difficult to cope.
Reply 5
Definitely not. They're a part of what makes me me; they're hurdles that I've climbed over to get to today. You learn more from your failures than from your successes.
No. If I didn't have bad memories to learn from they'd just happen again.
Reply 7
No what the guy above said summarises it perfectly for me
No, the bad things that happened in the past has made me a different person (in a good way)
Reply 9
Definitely not. Bad memories are what keep you from making the same mistakes again.
Reply 10
Anyone who says no has never suffered a nervous breakdown. Once you have you know how silly such semantics are.
Reply 11
Yes
As cheesy as it sounds, those bad memories are part of who I am and I would be a different person had I not gone through them.
Reply 13
Original post by The_Duck
Anyone who says no has never suffered a nervous breakdown. Once you have you know how silly such semantics are.


So the same is true of people that said yes?
No.
No. I am created by the good and bad aspects of my life, I wouldn't be me without them.

I think that you need those bad moments to know when you are having the good moments and you learn a lot more from the bad memories such as what not to do in future.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. :smile:
Most of my worst memories are of me being embarrassed and while some of them I would give a lot to forget, others I know have made my skin thicker. I've dealt with it to the point where I'm learning to care less.
No. It is the depths of despair that makes us enjoy the heights of pleasure that much more
Reply 18
No way. If I did that then I'd be insatiably curious about what happened to me. My memories are valuable to me, even the ones I wish never happened.

Edit: But on deeper reflection all I am really saying is that I don't have any memories severe enough to wish to forget them. If I did then I would. There's nothing that would keep me from forgetting memories in principle, so if my memories inflicted significant pain on me then I expect I would wish them gone.
(edited 10 years ago)
No they made me into the person i am today i would not be myself without them

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