do you think things stay in your subconscious mind forever?

Question

i do...often your brain will just remember things that happened too long ago and you havent consciously remembered since they happened...

also things like horror movies etc that you dont think affected you until you are in a familiar place etc and the 'thing' from the movies plants itself firmly into your head,etc...

i was just wondering if memory has limits of time...or dont we know?...;0)

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure the brain must be like a hard disk, there's loads of stuff there but some of it is long forgotten but still in there somewhere. I don't think it's possible for us to reach its limits.

Answer 2

The brain's matter is finite, so I'm sure there is a limit, but whether it is possible to reach that limit or not within a lifetime is hard to know. Everything you have ever seen, smelled, heard or tasted is still locked away somewhere in your brain, you have trouble accessing it at times because of the way it is compiled--neuropathways that are not frequently used become hard to use to access the memories stored in those areas. I hope that helps answer your question.

Answer 3

First of all, the term 'subconscious' isn't really a psychological term - it finds its basis and use in psychoanalysis, which is a different field and way of dealing with matters of the mind. Essentially, you have a long term and a short term memory. You are using your short tem memory when, for example you are driving along a road and suddenly think - I can't remember driving the last five miles - your brain has chosen not to process those events to your long term memory and it would take some very deep therapy to draw anything at all from you that you might have seen during that period. Otherwise, things get processed by your brain and transferred into your long term memory where it is reasonable to say they are stored for as long as your brain remains healthy. There are illnesses that come with age that cause deterioration of the brain itself and hence our ability to retreave information. The scary thing is it doesn't take much. A world famous pianist and conductor contracted Herpes Simplex but complications within the virus meant it shot straight up his nerve ends into his brain and now his memeory is of only the last 30 seconds. It is tragic and frustrating for his wife - who he remembers - but ebery time she walks in the room he reacts as though it is the first time he has seen her in years. So memory is a very complex thing on one level but very fragile on the other. As for running out of storage space, we don't use anything like 30% of our brains capacity in a normal lifetime so I don't think there is the remotest possibility of running out of storage. My partner and I are both psychologists so these issues get discussed on a fairly regular basis. We are looking into where all our memories go when we die at the moment, studying the different thoughts of various philosophies and religions - just to add a more surreal dimension to our search for enlightenment. Best wishes. N

Answer 4

I don't think absolutely everything stays in your mind forever, I think the brain looks like a very small thing for the amount of work it does in the body but I can't say that it remembers everything maybe thats just because I want to believe that though, cause theres many things I would like to eventually forget !

Answer 5

Yeah, there's an information processing center in your brain. I think it might be called the hypothalamus, but it's been a while since I was in class. It stores everything you have ever inputed from any of your senses. So yeah, you can be affected by things you forgot in your upper lobes and recent memory.

Answer 6

Of Course

Answer 7

I don't think we know for sure...The human brain is a world within itself. My opinion..No it doesn't have time limits...You just store it in ur archives...and sometime u lose the key...it's a big library with many shelves...Sad for those who's shelves are empty... =)

Answer 8

Everything has limits over time so the subconscious mind must have limits as well.

Answer 9

Yes .. i think they do ... you can try to exile them .. but they are still in there somewhere... just waiting


Dr Bad
that was a serious question for you ..

Answer 10

There is evidence that nothing ever leaves the unconscous!
CJ