Have you ever got a memory but it turns out to be wrong? And how do you go about remembering things? I’m scared of making things up.
Yeah, I’ve been wrong before. Anyone who says they’ve never been wrong about something is a goddamn liar, so you shouldn’t feel awkward about it at all. Unfortunately for this process, the brain is really good at making things up. Daydreaming is a creative and healthy outlet for processing real emotion (as is regular dreaming, which some people may mistake for real memories), and even maladaptive daydreaming can be a tool for dealing with stress – all instances where things can just be made up while still invoking genuine feeling. I like to daydream on my commute to and from work, to pass the time but also think about situations past and present from new perspectives.
Don’t spend your time being afraid. It’s a journey, not a race or a contest to see who is the most pure in their recollections. You can only do the best with what you have, and it’s honestly a miracle that any of us can remember, let alone in such detail. Some people can’t remember anything, or it can take many years until they start to. My only tried and true methods are through communication with my deity, and talking out my feelings with canonmates. On my own, I just focus on emotions that I feel and see where they lead me – I don’t pick them apart or try to search for specific ones, and they flow better that way. Keep in mind memories aren’t always moving scenes in the mind. Sometimes they’re just “aha!” moments of understanding, intuition, or bursts of sensory input like from injuries or pleasurable moments.
Memories can’t always be proven one way or another, so if you find yourself stressing over one, move on. Accept it with a grain of salt until you encounter something else that contradicts it – you very well may be right, and if not? Forgetting something isn’t a crime. The kin police aren’t gonna bust down your door in the night on charges of imperfect recollection. You won’t go to hell if you die after believing you had red hair when you actually had blue hair. It’s a fine habit to go over what you’ve learned about yourself and your past to see if it’s still accurate and relevant as far as you can tell, but don’t let yourself get bogged down worrying about it too much. As long as you’re being honest with yourself and not just latching onto every random thought that crosses your mind, you’re fine.
