Getting Past Your Past

These negative cognitions are a verbal expression of the emotions and thoughts that are a part of the unprocessed memories. In Jon’s case, when he thought of the latest incident at work, his negative cognition

In addition, knowing that your current reactions are being fed by the past can help give you the distance you need to deal with the negative emotions when they arise.

For all of us, unprocessed memories are generally the basis of negative responses, attitudes and behaviors. Processed memories, on the other hand, are the basis of adaptive positive responses, attitudes and behaviors.

Unprocessed memories not only can intensify our sensations and emotional responses, they can also prevent us from feeling.

Label the first column “Recent Events” and the second column “

is the disturbing reaction you’re having the most recent example of a long list of similar responses?

As responsible adults with sufficient knowledge, we have the power to take control of ourselves.

and felt the joy of being an “equal” in her relationship.

This is obvious if you’ve ever awakened in the middle of a nightmare. The nightmare is simply your brain trying to process the information. The images reflect the emotions that are being reactivated. For instance, a woman who was molested as a child may have nightmares that a monster is chasing her. When that memory is dealt with during EMDR sessio