Do You Suffer from Bad-Memory Flashbacks?

For no particular reason my brain will suddenly recall an embarrassing or painful incident that may have happened years ago. Surprisingly the flashbacks which disturb me the most are those which recall an incident where I handled a social situation very badly, if I tried to explain these to you you'd likely think them trivial but they cause me anguish. Fortunately I recently learnt a trick to nip the flashback in the bud (see earlier blog posting). I try to look out of my left eye as wide left as possible and at the same time as far right as possible with my right eye. This seems to exert the brain sufficiently that it is incapable of continuing to replay "the video" of your bad memory. Try it , it works every time!

You can also use this "Eye Exertion" trick to stop you going into a worry cycle over a forthcoming trip to the dentist or before a job interview.

In fact the trick is a useful pattern interrupter (Tony Robbins expression) for many many other situations when you feel your mind going into some useless but harmful cycle.