Emotions and memories go hand in hand. Many researchers have reported that memories of emotional events are easier to recall than memories of everyday events, like what you had for breakfast two days ago or whether or not you brushed your teeth today, despite the fact that these ordinary tasks are quite literally ones we perform every single day.
Neurologically speaking, there is a clear link between emotion and memory. Emotion affects the formation of a memory because emotions are both physiologically and cognitively arousing. This arousal activates the amygdala and the hippocampus, both of which are involved in memory formation and consolidation. So emotional memories are stored more effectively than are memories for the everyday event. Memories for emotional events tend to be vivid and detailed. These memories persist over time, along with memory for the valence (positive or negative) of the emotion that we felt when the event happened (Dolcos, LaBar, and Cabeza, 2004).
Notice that these especially vivid memories for emotionally charged events involve a clear and vivid memory for the cause of that memory. Most of us can easily remember where were we when the towers fell, who was with us, and our emotional........