View bad memories as an outsider

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
How is it you remember every detail in past bad moments? These were times when you said something totally stupid, stumbled over your feet and fell on your face or worse, got word you were being dumped by the love of your life.
Yet specifics of the days you got great compliments, won awards or received dynamite job offers fade from memory.
But if you have to dredge up the unpleasant past, psychological research has found a way to make it less painful, Allure magazine reports. Lisa Libby, psychologist at Ohio State University, says to picture yourself as an observer rather than a participant.
In one of her studies, she and colleagues recruited 27 people who had had tough times socially in high school. They all were asked to recall an unpleasant interpersonal experience either as an outsider watching or as a participant. Those who could step back and detach rated themselves as most changed and more socially competent now than they were then.
The psychologists said the shift in perspective helps people reflect on events without the original emotion attached.