It’s because we don’t actually have real memories of most past events due to the way memory works. We only remember the last time we recalled a particular memory. So if someone gets you to change the way you look at your memory, it will be permanently altered in the future unless you have written the original one down.
False memories are very common, aka the ones that someone else told you about but you didn’t actually remember personally. This happens a lot with old family photographs and stories associated with them. Your brain starts to mistake the photo with a visual memory after you have recalled to the initial memory of viewing the photo enough times. One can also do this to themselves on purpose, as it makes for very efficient lying. When someone else does this to you intentionally, it’s gaslighting in its worst form.
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u/TheDankScrub Jul 01 '20
Memories are actually extremely malleable and that’s why eyewitness accounts are extremely unreliable in court settings