Why do I dream about past trauma?

Trauma-related nightmares generally occur during REM sleep, which is when we tend to have vivid dreams. Because they’re so stressful, you may begin to fear going to sleep or attempt to aid your sleep by drinking, using drugs, or using/abusing prescribed medications.

Do Photographic Memories exist?

The intuitive notion of a “photographic” memory is that it is just like a photograph: you can retrieve it from your memory at will and examine it in detail, zooming in on different parts. But a true photographic memory in this sense has never been proved to exist.

What is it called when your brain makes up memories?

What is confabulation? Confabulation is a symptom of various memory disorders in which made-up stories fill in any gaps in memory. German psychiatrist Karl Bonhoeffer coined the term “confabulation” in 1900.

Why do we remember bad memories better than good ones?

A new study suggests that we recall bad memories more easily and in greater detail than good ones for perhaps evolutionary reasons. Researchers say negative emotions like fear and sadness trigger increased activity in a part of the brain linked to memories.

How does the brain purge bad memories?

How the Brain Purges Bad Memories. Holmes sees the amygdala and prefrontal cortex as two major hubs in a complex communications network. In the case of impaired fear extinction such as PTSD, however, it is just the one connection between the two regions that is faulty, not the hubs themselves.

Why does an unpleasant memory keep popping up in my mind?

Memories – good and bad, are held in our subconscious mind. If an unpleasant memory “keeps popping up in your (conscious) mind”, this is simply your subconscious waving a flag, trying to get your attention.

Why do bad memories linger?

Bad Memories Linger. Researchers say studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have shown negative events stimulate activity in emotion-processing regions of the brain, such as the orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala.