Written by Sydney Sohn
Artwork by Ina Kim
An article from Psych Central says, “Our past experiences can affect our current mindset and our choices in how we interpret our lives. If pain or trauma has been experienced in our past, it can impact how we view our current circumstances or even prevent us from living in the present”.
Oftentimes, with or without realising it, past experiences and events from our life tends to hinder and impact our mental health alongside our day-to-day activities. Whether this experience is good or bad, these are the additional instincts that our brain develops each day. Some of these events are noticably hindering our day-to-day activities, and some are more vague to identify. For instance, if someone burned their hand on the stove, in their day-to-day activities, they uncontiously develop instincts to stay away from hot/warm surfaces in order to avoid the pain they’ve dealt with. On the other hand, more vague instances could include snapping an elastic band on your wrist. The first time you snap it, it hurts. You feel the burn and tend to develop a fear that it’ll happen again. However, in day-to-day situations, you won’t find yourself running away from every elastic band you see. Instead, you may flinch at the sound of a snap, or if a rubber band slings towards you. As it can be noticed, there is a difference. Each individual has their “burn” and “elastic/rubber band”. It may be hard to notice and identify, but those past experiences and/or events tend to impact our day-to-day activities additionally connecting back to our mental health overall, as these events can lead to a mind-block of pursuing different activities in life.
It is important to identify our “burns” and “elastic/rubber bands”. The identification of these experiences can help loosen our mind-barriers that prevent us from living our day-to-day activities. Reflecting upon those experiences/eevnts can help us move on and learn from the past, instead of living in constant fear because of them.
Works Cited
Tanasugarn, Annie. "Healing from the Past and Living in Your Present." Psych Central, 6 Apr. 2020, psychcentral.com/lib/ healing-from-the-past-and-living-in-your-present#1. Accessed 21 June 2023.
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