Memory Loss. Seriously. It's happening to me.

That was "in Soviet Russia."

Today the candy poisons you.

 

For those of us who are, ahem, “experienced” journalists (a nicer way of saying “older”), we sometimes overestimate our ability to handle stress. Just part of the job, right?

But when you combine years and years of deadline and other job pressures with a family crisis or other outside of work issues, it can become too much. We’re only human, and can’t be turned up to 11 constantly.

So I’ll echo what others have said and say talk to your doctor, while hoping this rough patch will pass.

Sidenote: Judging by this thread and many others, SJ really is a Gen X (and older) kind of place! (I’m 51)

 

I will be 48 next week and I’ve had a few dumbass moments like that over the past month, but I was also trying to coordinate what grew into a really stressful move. Now that everything is in my new house (if not exactly put away) I’m hoping things improve. But long term, my family history virtually guarantees dementia. Dad is starting to edge down that path at 67, even with the VA saying everything looked good on his recent brain scan.

 

Count one more who has bits of stored information slowly being deleted from my brain's inboxes.

I find it VERY aggravating when I can't remember a fact that I know I know, like the name of someone who did a particular song. Because I never used to have that problem.

 

FTFY

 

I've found I need to be a more active participant in my cognition than in the past. I used to learn, retain, and recall things effortlessly but now I find I really have to be actively aware of all aspects of memory. My Latin teacher in high school was big on us writing things down ("from your hand to your soul") if you wanted to remember things and, all these years later, I think she's right.

If I want to remember to do something, I immediately set a reminder on my phone. I rarely need the reminder because the act of creating the reminder helped set the need to do the task in me. If something interests me from a movie or podcast, I'll immediately revisit it and maybe even write down what it was. I watch and listen more intently than I used to as my osmotic powers aren't what they once were. I annotate and highlight passages in books now (always after I'm done coloring them, though).

I also stretch my mind more with books and crossword puzzles than I used to. I start my day with a couple of puzzles to get myself going and try to read during times other than air travel. I still make plenty of time for sports, video games, and other inanities that I enjoy, but I'm finding the more effort I make to learn and retain new information, the easier it is to recall all information. In my view, the mind's door swings both ways, so if the hinges aren't working to bring new things in, they'll start getting stuck when it's time to pull things out.

Also, please keep in mind that I am a total cretin.

 

Take up learning a foreign language as a hobby.

Learning a Language May Stave Off Dementia, but Are Apps the Way to Go?

 

person woman man camera TV

 

I spent several weeks with my mom in a care home and got good advice on this.
One of the nurses told me her son takes a half a tablespoon of olive oyl a day to ward off genetic predisposition.
My memory is running at high speed but like I tell my little one, the brain is a muscle and it needs a good workout from time to time. Rewiring, too, if need be.

 

Does Popeye mind, or is it an open relationship?

 

I'm strongs to the finich,
cuz I eats me spiunnachk
(everyone) He's Popeye the Sailor-Man

 

I find myself writing down more reminders in my phone. I think back to that line from “Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade” when Indy asks his dad why he can’t remember what is in his Holy Grail diary and Dad responds, “I wrote it down so I wouldn’t HAVE to remember it!”

I also find playing little games like Wordle, Immaculate Grid and Sporcle to be fun little brain teasers.