Why Are Memories Important To Me Analysis

Why are memories so important to us? Our memories are, in essence, our identities. They are the knowledge we've learned, the feelings and emotions we've felt, and the experiences we've encountered from the day we were born. Without the gift of remembrance, life would not be worth living, for one would never know and remember the things they did or the sentiments behind those events. Yet, many people take their memory, and ultimately, their mental health, for granted. Without a reliable memory, we would not be able to recall the things that mean to us the most. You can spend time with friends and family, but what happens when the time passes? One is left with nothing but imprints of a moment shared by a group of people: a memory. Sometimes,

This assertion is universally seen and applied when we study for tests, memorize important dates, ask for directions, and try to remember past events. In order for our minds to be reliable, we must be content with replaying information until we are confident that the links will not fail when needed. The trust in our mental health is a direct link to how much we will be able to reliably remember when old age infiltrates our cognitive health. The brain, similar to a muscle, can be trained and conditioned to have better memory and understanding of those

A reliable memory and an accurate memory are, by definition, not the same. A person's recollection of an something they've seen, smelled, heard, or done may have been altered by time, emotions, opinions, and other experiences. To them, the memory is reliable, for it is present and cannot simply be deleted and re-installed like a computer program. However, the accuracy of their memory may be off, for bias and subsequent experiences can change major details. One can always presume that their recollection of a past event is reliable, for how can a mind be bias towards itself? Take this example: in order to cope with undiagnosed posttraumatic stress disorder, a soldier may honestly recall that he did not kill a fellow human being, for it helps him sleep at night. However, a neutral party argues that his PTSD is affecting his ability to accurately recall that he did, in fact, kill multiple people. If this scenario was an accurate memory, it would not be a reliable one for our poor soldier, for depression would most likely ensue. Memory reliability and accuracy is analogically similar to the difference between a wise human and a dumb computer, respectively. For Julia, she is able to reliably account her childhood abuse because she was physically present for it, and it is without debate that it has had an adverse effect on her life even decades after the initial stages of traumatization. But