He continued: “In financial decisions, people are more upset about losing £50 than they’re happy about gaining £50, and indeed they’ll alter and distort their decision processes – economists call it loss aversion – with an irrational bias to minimise losses, even though it’s often better to take a little bit more of a chance and pursue the big gain.”

Baumeister also explained how the negativity effect can influence our relationships, where instead of focusing on all the good things our partner has to offer, we’re more likely to focus – and obsess over – one bad trait.

And as it turns out, our tendency to focus on the bad things and overlook all the positive bits of life is actually the result of evolution. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it – when we were running away from predators and fighting to survive on a day to day basis, it was in our best interests to focus on the threats around us.

Do you find it hard to let go of negative experiences and memories? You’re not alone