3 Common Memory Biases That Can Maintain Your Low Mood
And how to counteract these tricks to improve the way you feel...
How we think and interpret situations is what can affect our mood greatly. If you’re walking down the street and step in dog crap and you think “I’m, useless, I can’t walk down the road without making a mistake,” of course that will upset you even more.
In contrast, if you think “nevermind, I’ll just wash it off,” you’ll likely feel fine.
When we’re in a low mood, it’s common for our minds to engage in biases that occur automatically which makes us feel even lower.
A lot of people assume that psychologists, and in my case trainee psychologists, have all the tools needed to keep their mental health in great shape.
The simple answer is no. Everyone goes through tough moments.
With that being said, here are a few different memory biases our mind engages with which can negatively impact our mood.
1. Autobiographical Memory
When we’re in a negative mood and feel so low, the autobiographical memory bias kicks in.
It’s just a fancy way of saying that our memory will easily recall other past negatives, sad and unpleasant memories. It also increases the likelihood we will remember really tough experiences from when we were younger too.
When we begin to do this, it’s easy for us to stay in that negative mood cycle because all we’re recalling are tough moments. Essentially, it becomes extremely difficult to look at anything positive or remember times when we felt good.
A load of research supports this too. For example, a study in 2017 found individuals in a depressed state were less able to recall positive memories relating to themselves than those who were not in a low mood.
Another piece of research also found a higher risk of depression is associated with a greater likelihood of retrieving negative memories.
This is just one memory bias we encounter, but the good news is we can try to counteract it.
How to Counteract In a Nutshell:
Although it’s tough to break this bias, one of the simplest ways to do this is by taking time in your day to focus on positive moments.
Whether that’s a positive moment from your current day, a positive memory in the past or something you’re looking forward to. It can all help with getting you away from recalling negative and unpleasant memories.
This can always be tough to do, especially if our mood is low. So, a way to overcome this is by utilising a friend or family member for help.
They may help draw your attention to something enjoyable that you’ve done which can decrease this negative autobiographical memory.
Also, pictures can be great to help you see positive moments. So, scroll through your phone to recall those nice, pleasant memories.
2. Depressive Rumination
This memory bias involves continuously dwelling and going over negative thoughts or experiences that have occurred in the past.
For example, you may have felt you said something embarrassing in front of someone and later on you can’t stop thinking about that moment. It’s no surprise that this will make you feel low and continue to do so.
Dr Susan Nolen-Hoeksama, a former Professor of Psychology at Yale whose specialist interest was in rumination found rumination predicts the intensification and the persistence of a depressed mood.
It’s clear to see rumination’s effect on us. The difficulty is, when we are feeling low, it becomes a memory bias — we automatically engage with rumination.
However, there is a way to stop this memory bias when we aren’t feeling great.
How to Counteract In a Nutshell:
Distraction techniques can be a great way to get us out of the habit of ruminating.
Research has even found when people are made to ruminate, distraction is one of the best strategies to help them cope with ruminating.
As Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst, Dr Carrie Barron says, “Distract with books, movies, magazines, museums, a busy street or bustling park. Once you are involved your mind has a chance to take another path.”
It’s so vital to figure out what specifically will help you with distraction against rumination. Think of hobbies or things that keep you busy.
Then, when you slip into a ruminative state, engage in one of your distraction techniques to help.
3. All or Nothing Thinking
This bias emerges so easily when our mood is low. It involves thinking in absolute terms and extremes such as “never” or “always.”
When our mood is low, this bias kicks in and we start to think we’re failures or worthless. Essentially, we think there are no shades of grey in life — it’s either a success or a failure.
Evidence published in the Journal of Clinical Psychological Science found that words frequently used in all or nothing thinking, such as ‘always’, ‘entirely’ and ‘totally’, were consistently mentioned in depression forums. This research indicates that engaging in all or nothing thinking and using these phrases is associated with low moods.
As with the other memory biases, when we’re feeling low, we automatically start to think in this way.
We just need to draw our attention to it and challenge this type of thinking.
How to Counteract In a Nutshell:
Catch yourself engaging in this type of thinking — Notice yourself using ‘absolute’ words such as always, every, never, totally etc.
Challenge the thought — what evidence is there for this all-or-nothing thought? Often, there is no evidence, we just create it ourselves.
Ask yourself, what is the shade of grey? Once we notice the thought and challenge it, we need to try and replace it with something. Seeing the shades of grey, rather than thinking in all or nothing terms is a great way to counteract this memory bias.
As an example, if I gave a presentation to people and I made a tiny mistake, all or nothing thinking might be: “I’m a total failure, I always mess things up.” Instead, I can see the shade of grey by saying “I made a slight mistake, but I presented the information well and people we’re engaged.”
Final Comments
As you can see, when we’re feeling low, our mind loves to take over and automatically put us in a worse situation.
It’s so automatic that it can be difficult to stop.
However, have these three memory biases in mind. The more you’re aware of them, the more you notice them, which will allow you to counteract them too:
Autobiographical memory.
Depressive rumination.
All or nothing thinking.
These all happen to me too. However, because my awareness of them has been raised, it makes it easier to identify when they’re happening — which makes it easier to counteract.