help with leaving the past in the past, please

Distraction

How do I snap out of the past? 

I have a good life going, I have my dad and my step mum, I have a job and I go to college. I'm studying product design, it's something I finally decided I wanted to do and I'm so happy I found it.  Life is looking up, not perfect but quite good 

One of the things keeping me back is the thoughts of my past. I'm not sad or angry about it anymore, what happened has happened and I'm ok with it. But now (especially not doing my normal routine with going to work and college) I often find myself getting distracted by it, I end up writing short stories or poems and I just want to forget about it. 

I don't feel anything towards it, just memories, like I'm dwelling over them. 

I want leave it behind but I don't know how.  

Many thanks x

Former Member

Hey there @Distraction I think this is something that a lot of people on the boards deal with from time to time, especially if they've gone through something particularly traumatic in the past. For me personally the best way to keep my mind off of things I don't want to think about is to keep myself distracted. The more active the distraction you pick the better since you can really lose yourself in a good book or a crafting activity.

Another option of course is to try and talk to somebody in your life who knows about what you've gone through. Sometimes our minds focus on certain things because we have unresolved issues or feelings about them and the best way to work through it is just to get it all off your chest. That's just a suggestion though since I know it's not gonna fix every problem.

It's really wonderful to hear that your life is going well at the moment, hopefully with so many positives in your life you'll be able to clear up this problem on your own. Oh and if you end up deciding that you want to share your stories and poems you're more than welcome to post them here on the Creative subforum on the boards.

Azziman

I don't think the past is something we forget or 'snap out of', so to speak. We have to learn to simply accept that it has happened and leave it as-is. It'll always be a part of our memory. The important thing is not letting it seriously interfere your life in the present - that's where things like counselling etc can help a lot. Reminiscing in itself is fine though!x

Distraction

Thank you both. feeling better about it 

Former Member

Hi @Distraction

Sending hugs

I think @Riley 's advice is really useful.

But I just wanted to say it sounds like you've worked out a really positive way to deal with the past by using short stories and poems and while it might not fix everything I think it's a really great and important step