Obsessive thoughts about the past, haunting a person and interfering with enjoying the present, can bring him to a nervous breakdown. In addition, looping over past events does not allow us to realistically assess what is happening at the present time. How to stop thinking about the past?
Instructions
Step 1
Formulate for yourself the answer to the question: why are you so attached to the past? This may be due to the fact that the past was beautiful, and you are afraid that no future can compare with it. Or, conversely, bad events happened in the past, and it seems to you that they are superimposed on the present, making life unbearable.
Step 2
If the first option is closer to you, try to realize that life will turn in the direction in which you want to turn it. If your option is the second, then you should know that a repetition of the past is possible only if the situation that was then is completely recreated. Moreover, the individuals participating in this event must be at the same level of intellectual, physical and moral development as at that time. Which, of course, is impossible.
Step 3
The past is a person's experience, his life. On the basis of the past years, you form the present. But at the same time, the past should not prevent you from living today and now. To get rid of obsessive thoughts, try using a psychological technique called Archiving the Past.
Step 4
Set aside free time for exercise in which you will not be disturbed. Sit down and calmly recall those events of the past, the thoughts of which annoy you.
Step 5
Imagine that your brain is a supercomputer. Create a folder named "Past" on the hard disk of this computer. Mentally place in it those events, the memories of which do not allow you to live in the present.
Step 6
Place your memories in the folder slowly, carefully. Try not to forget anything. After filling, compress it with the archiver to the smallest possible size.
Step 7
Then create a folder called "Present". Place the most important and significant files in it at the moment: "Child", "Parents", "Dreams", "Work", "Success", etc.
Step 8
Whenever thoughts of the past begin to appear, remember about the zipped folder in the far corner of your memory, but open the important folder with the present on your Desktop.
Step 9
Of course, there should be access to memories of the past, if they are needed. Continue filling the Present folder with new files and send outdated files to the archive.
Step 10
For the proposed technique to be effective, you will have to make an effort and accurately follow all the recommendations. But without work on yourself, progress is impossible. And don't let the past shape the future. this is the work of the present!
