Only 23, but should it be this bad?

by Confused
(Alberta, Canada )

Where to begin?.. I've brought it up to my doc but he says maybe you just have a bad memory. But can it be underlining for something else, or could it be caused from my teen years?

How do I find out? I use to do a lot of street drugs. But have since stopped. And can it be repaired?


I dont remember peoples names, even people I went to school with sometimes. I don't remember what I did on the 'Saturday', or even three days ago.. I have to think hard.

I don't remember wine, (for work) I've worked here for a year. I sometimes have to re-learn something I do everyday. . . Cashouts at work, and it's embarrassing because people I'VE trained have to give ME pointers.

My timeline in my head is so off course. I can't talk about music to friends because I hardly remember this lyrics, actually don't know if it's related but it's hard for me to decipher the words in most songs, like it gets jambled in my head.

I dont know, maybe I'm over thinking. Oddly enough. . . But I don't know, seems my memory shouldn't be this bad at 23.

Doug's Reply. Well, I'm sure the drug use didn't help, but it is also true that everyone's brain is different. It is possible that you were simply born with a less than amazing memory.

You've already been checked by a doctor, and he did not find anything medically wrong. So you have two choices at this point. You can set up a consultation with a brain specialist (a neurologist) for more advanced medical tests and to see if they have the same opinion. It is up to you to determine whether this is possible.

Or, you can accept the way your brain is and learn ways to compensate for the deficiencies. The tips on my website can help you with this.

Unfortunately this will require extra time and effort on your part, compared to someone who has a so-called good memory. But if you want your brain to perform better at work and socially, it should be worth the effort.

I am talking about forming new habits in four areas of your life:

- Lifestyle
- Brain training
- Memory techniques
- Organizational tools

I. Lifestyle

Areas you should look at include diet, sleep, exercise, and meditation. Making improvements in these areas will help your brain function better, which may help improve both your concentration and memory.

Please see the related pages on my website for more details. But, essentially you should consider eating more brain foods, drinking more water, decreasing alcohol consumption, and eating fewer processed foods. Drink green tea. Begin a daily meditation program (proven to improve concentration). Start a daily aerobic exercise program (intense aerobic exercise has been shown to actually grown new brain cells in the memory areas of the brain). Take steps to improve the quality and quantity of restful sleep you get each day.

II. Brain Training

Every day, spend 10-20 minutes playing online brain games and solving puzzles. This helps keep the brain stimulated.

III. Memory Techniques

Memory techniques have been around for centuries, and they are effective. You mentioned remembering the wines at work. That is precisely the type of situation where using a memory technique such as the Link or Keyword Method would help. See the Memory Systems section of my website for details. Also, you might want to get a copy of The Memory Book by Harry Lorayne. It is filled with examples that teach how to remember almost anything, from people's names to procedures to items in a list.

IV. Organizational Tools

For information that you need to remember at work, consider using organizational tools such as Day Planners, address books, and electronic personal organizers. For procedures such as cashing out, write down the steps on a 3" x 5" index card and keep it with you.

As for remembering events, I highly recommend that you start keeping a journal. At the end of each day, spend ten or twenty minutes writing down what happened that day. For a minute or two before you begin writing, read your journal entries from the previous three days. If you do it this way, then every day's events will be impressed on your mind five times: the actual event in your memory, plus your recollection as you write down the events, plus the three subsequent re-readings of the entry.

Assuming that nothing is medically wrong with your brain, and it seems there might not be because you've already consulted with a physician, the next step is to take a more active role regarding your brain. Embrace the steps I've outlined above, and I think you'll start to notice an improvement in your memory, and in your effectiveness in life, over time.

Best regards,
Douglas
Memory-Improvement-Tips.com
This is information only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.