How we routinely ‘massage’ certain memories to show ourselves in a better light

New research reveals that humans can choose what they remember, writes Ailin Quinlan

WE’RE brought up to believe our memories are infallible — but they’re actually the opposite. In fact, not only do we unconsciously ‘select’ what we want to actually remember — we routinely ‘massage’ certain memories to show ourselves in a better light.

‘Forgetting’ an uncomfortable or distressing incident, in fact, can be something we do very deliberately. “We usually talk about forgetting as something that happens later in life, or for example, in terms of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr Sabina Brennan, Research Assistant Professor at Trinity College and an expert on brain health and dementia prevention.