How does one divorce their present from the past?

[Weebster]

My past is why my present sucks, but I think it's because I carry it into the present. But if I were to forget the past, wouldn't I still have the same problems? I just wouldn't know the root of the problems anymore.

 

[timf]

Sometime people can lose perspective. Holding on to the past can be because it is familiar, to punish oneself, or a fear of something worse happening.

It can be helpful to create a mental hypothesis of what advice you would give to a friend with the same past.