Occasional
forgetfulness is a normal part of life that becomes more common as you grow
older. How often have you misplaced your car keys
(or or eyeglasses if you wear them),
forgotten the name of a person you just met (but recall it later in the
day), or walked into a room and forgotten
why you went there? Forgetting where you
left the car keys is one thing. Forgetting what they do is quite another.
Some degree of memory problems, as well as a modest decline in
other thinking skills, is a fairly common part of aging. Many people worry
about these memory lapses. There's a difference between
normal changes in memory and memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (and
related disorders). Some memory problems are the result of treatable
conditions.
No
matter what your age, several underlying causes can bring about memory
problems. Forgetfulness can arise from stress, depression, lack of sleep, or thyroid problems.
Other causes include side effects from certain medicines, an unhealthy diet or
not having enough fluids in your body (dehydration). Taking care of these
underlying causes may help resolve your memory problems. Healthy people can
experience memory loss (or memory distortion) at any age. Below are seven normal memory problems:
Absentmindedness-This type of forgetting occurs when you don't pay close
enough attention. You forget where you just put your pen because you didn't
focus on where you put it in the first place. You you’re thinking of something
else (or nothing) so your brain didn't encode the information securely.
Absentmindedness also involves forgetting to do something at a prescribed time
(like taking your medicine or keeping an appointment).
Bias-Even
the sharpest memory isn't a flawless snapshot of reality. In your memory, your
perceptions are filtered by your personal biases — experiences, beliefs, prior
knowledge, and even your mood at the moment. Your biases affect your
perceptions and experiences when they're being encoded in your brain. And when
you retrieve a memory, your mood and other biases at that moment can influence
what information you actually recall. Although everyone's attitudes and
preconceived notions bias their memories, there's been virtually no research on
the brain mechanisms behind memory bias or whether it becomes more common with
age.
Blocking-Someone
asks you a question and the answer is right on the tip of your tongue. You know
that you know it, but you just can't think of it. This is perhaps the most
familiar example of blocking, the temporary inability to retrieve a memory. In
many cases, the barrier is a memory similar to the one you're looking for, and
you retrieve the wrong one. This competing memory is so intrusive that you
can't think of the memory you want. Scientists think that memory blocks become
more common with age and that they account for the trouble older people have
remembering other people's names. Research shows that people are able to
retrieve about half of the blocked memories within just a minute.
Misattribution-Misattribution
occurs when you remember something accurately in part, but misattribute some
detail, like the time, place, or a person involved. Another kind of
misattribution occurs when you believe a thought you had was totally original
when. In fact, it came from something you had previously read or heard but had
forgotten about. This sort of misattribution explains cases of unintentional
plagiarism in which a writer passes off some information as original when he or
she actually read it somewhere before. As with several other kinds of memory
lapses, misattribution becomes more common with age. As you age, you absorb
fewer details when acquiring information because you have somewhat more trouble
concentrating and processing information rapidly. As you grow older, your
memories grow older as well. Old memories are especially prone to
misattribution.
Persistence-Most
people worry about forgetting things. In some cases people are tormented by
memories they wish they could forget, but can't. The persistence of memories of
traumatic events, negative feelings, and ongoing fears is another form of
memory problem. Some of these memories accurately reflect horrifying events,
while others may be negative distortions of reality. People suffering from depression are particularly prone to having persistent, disturbing
memories. So are people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can
result from many different forms of traumatic exposure — for example, sexual
abuse or wartime experiences. Flashbacks, which are persistent, intrusive
memories of the traumatic event, are a core feature of PTSD.
Suggestibility-Suggestibility
is the vulnerability of your memory to the power of suggestion, information
that you learn about an occurrence after the fact becomes incorporated into
your memory of the incident even though you did not experience these details.
Although little is known about exactly how suggestibility works in the brain,
the suggestion fools your mind into thinking it's a real memory.
Transience-This
is the tendency to forget facts (or events) over time. You are most likely to
forget information soon after you learn it. Memory has a use-it-or-lose-it
quality. Memories that are called up and used frequently are least likely to be
forgotten. Although transience might seem like a sign of memory weakness, brain
scientists regard it as beneficial because it clears the brain of unused
memories, making way for newer, more useful ones.
“I know for certain that we
never lose the people we love, even to death. They continue to participate in
every act, thought, and decision we make. Their love leaves an indelible
imprint in our memories. We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been
enriched by having shared their love.” (Leo Buscaglia) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Forgetfulness — 7 types of normal memory problems”
by Harvard Health Publishing
·
“Memory loss: When to seek help” By Mayo Clinic Staff
·
“Things Forgotten” by News in
Health
HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY 2020
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