Why do negative emotions and memories last longer than positive ones ?

This sure is an interesting topic Alok! I think it's definitely a consistent trait of human beings to reflect on the bad things in their lives more than they do the good for a number of reasons actually. It's arguably a defense mechanism for one! By maintaining memories of negative events and experiences in our lives, we're subconsciously equipped to protect ourselves from similar things happening again. Many of us would also have a masochistic streak in that we tend to fuel existing bad feelings in order to substantiate to ourselves our emotional state at the time. Can we change these behaviours? Most definitely! But it does take discipline and a change in habits and thought process. Negative feelings and thoughts are like cancer in that they can spread devastatingly fast and become all consuming; but if we were to recognise the signs early on and prevent their growth before they become too strong, then we stand a better than average chance of success in maintaining positivity! Like attracts like too, you've said it before yourself! Never underestimate the Law of Attraction for what we put out, we get in return.

I am a positive person or at least I'm trying to, but I also think that negative emotion and memories last longer and I think it is because of the pains that we have and felt in that situation. But I also believe that this is all depending on each person because there are some people out there that are good of handling negativity, while others find it so hard.

I think its because we generally are negative people. I think we dwell on the drama and we like to see ourselves always as the underdog. Sometimes this helps us, coz we try to be better persons against all odds, but sometimes when its not under our control it destroys our personality making us mean beings and we tend to hurt the ones we love because of this. I do not mean to be a pessimist or what but this is just an opinion on my part as to why we generally dwell on the unpleasant memories rather than on the pleasant ones. To sum it all up, I remember a friend once told me that in a white, white sheet of near perfect paper, we always seem to notice the smudge. We do not notice its whiteness or perfectness but the smudge that ruins the perfect paper.

Take this: "We learned from our mistakes". That's why the negative ones are most recalled because people don't wanted us to do the same thing all over again. People might warned us all over again because they are afraid that we might do it again. Even if we are sick and tired of those warning, but if you can look at it the other way around, they remind us not to do it again. SO that we can be mold and prevent ourselves to the same old habit or mistake. It remains in out mind and heart not to do that mistake and we will think first before we do anything that if it will be good or bad to us and others.

That's probably because negative emotions tend to leave scars within our heart. We will remember it even after time passed by due to the marks they made. We, on the other, love to take things for granted. Positive emotions are one of them. We were happy, we have fun and we forget them easily after that. Maybe we should learn to appreciate so we can remember our happy memory when we're remembering the sad moments of our life.

Well believe it or not, some psychology journal says that people tends to love to feel the pain, the more you feel the pain the happier you are, but because of our society teach us that happy is "good" while sad is "bad", then we kept this feeling locked inside. And it is maybe a clinical answer for your question :p You won't be able to wash away the negative emotions or memories as long as you won't admit that your true happiness come from the bad memories. Once you admit it i bet your negative emotions wont bother you anymore:p i, myself, always thinking about this too, why do such a negative memories keep coming back again and again? Everytime i try to wash it away with some positivie emotions it just keep coming back, so i try the reversal technique:D

Simple because the negative emotions are meant to hurt us and wound us.They stay as scars that are present forever. If we know not to nurture those emotions to become callous they do not last longer. But it is tough.

Do they really!? I am not sure. Even though negative emotions are hard hitting and weneverkindacome in terms with those it all comes down to what we want to remember at the end of the day. I feel, my happy moments have farmore sharp trails than the negative moments. The details and precision of the bad moments are not that clear. May beI have categorically tried NOT to revive those. On the other hand, my happy momemts are nore neat, vivid and deeply carved. If that makes sense...

I feel the present situation determines the rush of negative or positive feelings towards a particular event or person or thing.For example, if you have had some unpleasant experiences with a person and the situation has changed thereon, then the intensity of the negative interactions at one point of time stands faded in the memory.On the other hand when you are not on friedly terms with a person or some relationship has got soured then all negative feelings rush in when you think of them.So, your link with the present situation is the determining factor.this would be valid in interpersonal relationships.

I think it's because we treat pleasant things as something natural, so when somebody makes us angry or do something wrong to us we feel hurt. Beacuse it's no how it should be. And from my experience I can say that even if I think I forgot about something unpleasant there are times when this kind of memories suddenly pops out of nowhere...

alokn99 We get so used to life being all good and nothing going wrong so when it does whack us down we really remember all those unpleasant feelings,they seem engraved on our soul.I think this is because we tend to think all our good days will just last forever and we get into a rut with that thinking. then when life hands us a real beating we wake up and think oh my what happened and why me? I think this is part of being human.

My brother and i have pondered on the same stuff years ago and concluded something. We conclude that this thing happen because hurt is a much powerful emotion than happiness. It's like a scar that is already permanent in our body and is very hard to remove. Unlike happiness, we always feel this stuff everyday. So the memory of being happy is so many that most of it are already forgotten. We also thought about the same situation with sin and obedience. Why do our parents always say that we don't obey them when they want us to run an errand for them, even if it will be the first time you disobeyed them. They use these superlative words that makes things complicated and exaggerated.

I have to be honest on this one, most of the time i do remember the negative ones because the feeling is opposite and it makes you realize that such negative experience like that shouldn't happen in case another similar incident might happen to you. only a few people i know who thinks positive memories all the time.

Memories are all the same whether they are bad or good but the difference in us.Frankly speaking people try to forget the good memories very easily.They will not think of them very often.Let us take an example of whatever it might be suppose you won something in a competition you will celebrate it probably for one to two days then you will forget it but if you lose you think of it very often think of why u had lost the reasons and the worst part you would think how it would have been if you won etc etc that is why we think that bad memories last long only because we think of them very often.Stop thinking they will go

Some good memories stay with us, for example my memory of my mom playing piano... But I think negative ones stay with us because they affect how we act, how we trust, etc. We basically come into this world pretty innocent and then somebody yells or lies or whatever and that changes how we look at things, how we react to things, etc. That's why the impact is so big.

I believe it teaches us a lesson in life. It's there to remind us not to do it again. The mistake or the saying....You can always look at pictures to remember the past and good times, but once in awhile something someone said or it could be on T.V will trigger an emotion or has you remembering a negative emotion or memory. The old saying,"History is taught so we don't repeat it". becomes true in our daily lives. The negative details are there so we don't repeat them.

It is purely related top the ego.Our ego is not satisfied whatever positive emotions we get,take all for granted and always want more.But when it comes to negative emotions,the ego feels hurt most thinking of not deserving it and blames others for it.If a mind can see a balance between the emotions and consider every moments as passing clouds,one can rest in peace.Cheers!

hmm.. could it also be that we tend to ignore the blessings that we have and just feel good thinking about the negative stuff like a cat lapping on milk? isnt it ironic?

I think both can last, but I think you're right, it does tend to be thenegative that produces more intense memories of feelings - I know there are things that happened to me a long time in the past that if Irecall, I can still cry or get really angry about now. Maybeits because negative things are often the ones we either grow significantly from or that affect for a longer time, or in a profound way, than being happy, so they are more deeply imprinted in our psyche.

I think it's a very deep, basic, instinctual trait. It's more important to remember what has harmed us in the past so we know to avoid it in the future. Good memories are pleasant but not as necessary to survival.