How can i learn to let go of pointless memories?!
Question: i have pretty much EVERY SINGLE sheet of paper i ever wrote in middle school in a box. i still have all my old spelling packets, notes, everything. i know i dont need any of them. but i like looking at old stuff at the end of the year. i dont think this is very healthy and whenever i try to recycle them. something tells me to keep them. how can i just make myself do it and not regret it?
Answers: i have pretty much EVERY SINGLE sheet of paper i ever wrote in middle school in a box. i still have all my old spelling packets, notes, everything. i know i dont need any of them. but i like looking at old stuff at the end of the year. i dont think this is very healthy and whenever i try to recycle them. something tells me to keep them. how can i just make myself do it and not regret it?
You need help to do this. Take someone you trust into your confidence, and create a ritual to part with most of these items. Notice I say most--you should save a few things that have a great deal of meaning to you (most of it won't), and showcase those items so you can see them--in a picture frame or as computer screen background (rotating).
This is very difficult, and you may regret a few things after you do it, but it is very important that you move on from this. There may issues you need to deal with, and you don't need papers to do that. I would seek out a therapist who can help talk you through this--it's not major but there may be other things holding you back as well.
Good luck!
I am the same way, I'm a senior and I just got rid of my stuff a few months ago. You just need to tell yourself that you don't need that stuff and throw it away, or is there someone who could throw it away while you're not watching?!
it's physically possible for you to do it, right? just throw it all in a shred box and take it to the recyclers...or just get rid of it all together. i'm sure you might feel anxious about it for the rest of the day but i think that you'll find you'll forget about what you've done by the time the week is over. if you can't do it yourself. ask for a friend or family member to help you. trust me you will not need ANY of that stuff...it will just accumulate over the years...and then you'll have tons and tons of trash to take care of and it'll be even harder for you to get rid of. That's what happened to me when I was moving out of my parent's house....i found a bunch of papers back from all sorts of grades...and i got so fed up with it i just threw it all in big trash bag and out it went. i felt good after words to start over without any emotional baggage..well actually physical baggage too hah. just do it. i promise...it's not so bad once it's actually gone
ask yourself this question.... will this better my life in the future? if not, throw it away. your keeping stuff that will never help you because you are ot in middle school anymore.
thats hard. you just have to do it unless theres a use for it
Just find the right partner
Every second that we live past the present actually becomes a memory. Ask yourself while going through your memoirs, how would you benefit by keeping these items? Old school work memories? No, that's what your yearbook was for.
Please, please find a way to get rid of the stuff. If you keep these things, you'll keep everything from high school and college, too.
Hoarding is a hard habit to break. Stop your hoarding now. It is a sign of anxiety, fear that losing one thing (sheet of paper, birthday card, doll) will ruin your life.
There is no shame in asking for help. Ask your school nurse or other school personnel for information about finding a therapist or therapy group.
Good luck.
(You can google "hoarding" or "compulsive hoarding" for websites devoted to the issue.)
NEGATIVE THOUGHT REPROGRAMMING TECHNIQUE: It is important to deal with a negative internal monologue (self talk) by the process of (a) recognising it, and (b) challenging it immediately. When you notice that you are saying something negative to yourself, such as: "I'm never going to get over this!" or: "Why am I always so pathetic/useless/such a loser?" or even: "I can't do this/will never get the hang of this!", recognise that this is part of the mindset which will hold you back from progressing in your recovery. Having identified and labelled it, say to yourself as forcefully as you can, even aloud in a big voice, if alone: "I know this tactic: GO AWAY FOR A WHILE !!!" You may want to use either: "ruse", "ploy", "game", or "trick", instead of "tactic", and some people put a wide rubber band around their wrist if they catch themselves backsliding, then stretch and release it, as a way of reprogramming their minds more quickly, but I don't regard it as being strictly necessary. It is a good idea, however, to replace a negative statement with a positive one, like the daily affirmation, mentioned below, or the tried and true: "Every day I'm getting better." If you read: "EMOTIONAL THOUGHT STOPPING", in section* 2, however, it is said not to be as easy as that. *http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris Also see page D, in section 7. You could always scan them, and save on 2 (HIGH QUALITY) CD's, keeping one elsewhere (stored optimally!). In that way, you could then dispose of the paper, (by having a "vacation", and leaving instructions for a company to pick up several labelled cartons and recycle the paper inside), but save those precious memories, which you may well associate with happy times. Unless you use hypnotherapy, (if fairly suggestible) I doubt that you can do this yourself, without regrets, later.
If you store digitally: replace every 10 years!