Lived Experience Forum

[JT]

How does everyone else deal with remembering things?  I have one of those annoying memories in that I can quote my centrelink, drivers licence, user names, passwords, tax file numbers etc and so on.  I can even recall something I did 5 years ago to the point of what I was wearing and where I was standing.  I can't however tell you what I had or even if I remembered to eat breakfast this morning.  That said about the biggest sign I'm about to meltdown is memory recall where I start forgetting pretty much anything.  Beyond all that I cannot for the life of me remember to take my medication half the time.  Or I can't remember if I remembered to take it.  I've tried phone aps, leaving it in a strategic position, notes around the house, routine - problem is the minute I turn away from the reminder I forget what I was about to do.  This has been becoming more of an issue the past year.  So frustrating!

[kristin]

Hi JT,

I so relate to what you are talking about! I also have a lot of memory problems, although it's not nearly as bad as it was 5 years ago (when it hit rock bottom).

I could go on about days when I would get distracted constantly from what I intended to do so I would wander around the house the whole day trying to do housework and I would be doing well if I managed to do 1 load of washing as well as care for my then infant son. I would get to 3pm and be having a massive anxiety attack and had no idea why, then logically work out I hadn't eaten all day - anxiety and hunger still have exactly the same physical feelings for me. I also have an extraordinarily good memory for details of things that seem etched in my brain - sometimes word for word conversations which people hate! Five years ago, in the aftermath of the Victorian bushfires, I was so bad I could hardly bear to leave the house, if I went to the supermarket to buy 4 things I'd only remember 2, if I wrote a list I couldn't find it.

What's changed for me? Things are different on two levels.

First I've finally got some good ongoing help dealing with the trauma which was a major cause of the memory overload I was suffering (not saying this is cause of yours, may be something different). I've been able to have a thorough but fairly gentle search through my internal "closet" and get well acquainted with the skeletons there. Now they are mostly fairly quiet and when they aren't I usually know why and can be kind to myself.

Second I've learned to get a lot better at self-care things which help me function better in lots of ways. This has been a very long road and I continue to work at it. Eating meals when I should, trying to sleep reasonable hours even when I'm a bit manic or triggered, putting my needs before others when I really need to (instead of last), taking life much more quietly and not running around so much, being kinder to myself for being an imperfect very flawed human being who is nevertheless doing her best to survive and grow whilst keeping her family together.

Sooo this is a very long way of answering your post. What I'm trying to say is that there are good reasons why you are struggling with your memory, which you may not be aware of. The reasons may be in the past or the present or both. With time, self-compassion, and working at it with some good help you will figure out what helps and your memory will improve.

One other thing that has helped is playing cognitiver games on Lumosity.com, but that's a fairly new thing (about 1.5 years). This also might be worth a try, I don't know.

All the best in working on it. It's been a long road for me but incredibly worthwhile.

Kind regards,

Kristin

[chemonro]

Hi JT, I find the first thing to go when I'm anxious or in a "meltdown" is my memory, and it's definitely not helped by the medications! Sometimes this makes me feel like a blithering idiot as facts I should know just swim away from me. 

I have a special block with people's names, so at work when I'm doing reception I write the caller's name on a post it note at the start of the call so I won't forget. It works for me! 

[kenny66]

 Hi Howard

I had a similar thing which my Psych said can be the result of medication or probably more accurately add to the problem. I dont know what medication you are on but in my case the culprit was one of the mood stabilisers. Dropping the dose helped but didnt fix it entirely which seemed to indicate it was only part of the problem. I am no expert but maybe short term memory problems can go with MI sometimes as well as the medication we take for it.

kenny

[kenny66]

Hi JT I forgot to mention the bit about to help you remember. I put my next day morning medication in a pill box the night before and put it on my computer keyboard which is the first thing I look at in the morning. If the box is empty then there is no doubt I took it. My flatmate usually makes me take whatever else I need during the day and at night. If he is not around I have a couple of friends who will ring me at an appointed time to remind me and hold on to the phone until I take it. Otherwise I would probably miss taking most of it. Failing that I think I have heard somewhere about a service that you can access maybe through your pharmacy that will text you when it is time to take your meds.

Hope that helps

Kenny

[Lilly]

For me routine works really well. The other thing I have is a mood journal which has space to include the medications I take and I mark it off daily. Perhaps these two combined may help. Keep the journal with your medication and mark it off for the day then and there. Keeping the same time for me really helps. Before work I have one, and before bed I have another. It may take time to settle into a routine that works for you but keep trying with it, even if you forget one day, don't use that as an excuse to stop.
Hope that can be of any help to you.

[JT]

Thanks everyone for the responses.  In thinking about replying I thought about another suggestion for the page lol.  Aside from lots of copying and pasting or replying to each and every post I don't have a hope of remembering all of them.

Yes, it's worse on overload.  It used to be only when I was either becoming manic or depressed but now it's constant.  Could be I'm doing too much but the only thing that I can cut down on is work and lets face it, no one else is going to pay my bills!  

I did have a routine but it fell apart ealier in the year.  I would turn on my computer, make a coffee, sit down and open Facebook and take my meds.  Unfortunately I caught the flu and stopped drinking coffee.  Only part of the routine that changed initially but it threw me.  Then I decided I needed to spend less time on the computer.  I can't remember to put the meds somewhere to remember in the morning and I can't seem to get them into the new routine.  I now have a pack in my bag so if I remember on my way to work I might remember to take it when I get there!  

Mood journals and all that - boy would my psych like me to use those.  I just can't do it.  I even set alarms to make me use it with no sucess.  

Could it be the meds?  I don't think so.  I was on them a year before it started and one of my big problems prior to starting it was memory loss.  I guess it will pass.  Nice to know I'm not the only one though!

[Ma60]

Totally agree about memory loss. The only positive thing is when I recognise memory/concentration problems, I can step back and see if there has been a trigger. Concentration tends to be my bigger issue as I can start things and then find I can't finish them.

[JT]

I'm the same MA60.  Much easier to handle once reconised isn't it!

[janM]

hi all...

luckily i live a very simple solo life, so i don't have a lot to remember on a daily basis, & when  have to remember appointments etc i put reminders in my phone - sometimes 3X as i have forgotten many appts in the past...

but memory retention is another story for me...

i retain vast amounts of trivia, but i don't remember who said it, where it came from or any other details...

google is my new best friend in attaining this information...

for many years i didn't think i had a good memory as i'd know things happened, but i cldn't recall details or picture them in my head, mostly family memories or personal experiences...

i learned through counselling that i actually dissociated from many events, especially the traumatic stuff...

being an active alcoholic/addict for 20+ years has also affected my short-term memory...

on the plus side, i can watch repeat after repeat of my fave shows & i never remember who dunnit...