Memory flashes
I’ll be in the middle of something, either thought or action, and suddenly will have a very quick flashback of memory to a time or place that lasts all of a couple of seconds. Today I was playing an online game and suddenly remembered the basement at my grandparents’ house. My grandfather died 25 years ago and my grandmother hasn’t lived there for several years. I haven’t been there in over fifteen years and probably didn’t even see the basement. I never really spent all that much time there in the years I was growing up either since we visited once or twice a year. So I wonder how such a seemingly trivial memory of a place was suddenly triggered.
That’s just one of a great many flashbacks I’ve had over the past few weeks. I don’t think it’s a new phenomenon but it must be happening more often than in the past. Is it something that happens more as you grow older? Or is it just me? I guess now I have a real understanding of the term flashback.
One Comment
Marie
I’ve lived with these kind of waking flashbacks for much of my life. I’ve had to work to avoid dwelling on them too much since they sometimes make it hard to live the life right in front of me! They are compelling, though.
One friend said once that her distant past didn’t seem so long ago since it was still so much of her life. I’m torn between trying to keep much of my past right in front of me or keeping it as interesting nostalgic trips. Sometimes it’s not so pleasant when I’m taken back to a difficult time. But I do know what you mean about revisiting scenes/places from your past. Maybe there is something that is bringing up some of your old neural patterns and their associated memories. It’s an intriguing topic!