The weirdest thing happened to me this morning.

I have started writing a book (again – this is a regular occurrence) but this time it is based on real events.

Delving into those memories, I started getting really sad. I had a little cry while I was writing and then, for the rest of the morning, I felt absolutely miserable. I was right back there, reliving the whole thing on an emotional level.

It was a sombre reminder of the power of memory as a trigger.

Proceed with caution if you’re planning to dig up the painful past.

If you don’t need to go back there, I would suggest, just don’t. It’s not going to do you any favours.

There’s a belief in some forms of therapy that you need to go back and analyse things to make sense of them.

I disagree with that. I believe it’s better to create new memories and thought patterns.

With any luck, the old junk will fade away from neglect.