By:Linda Sapadin
Who we are, what we're about, what we stand for is based on memory. Thus, when we experience problems with our memory, it can feel very frightening.
If we can't recall someone's name, if we can't locate our keys, if we don't remember what we were just talking about, we may think, "Uh, oh, I'm really losing it. Is this dementia setting in, a brain tumor, high anxiety or just too much on my plate? What's happening?"
There's no easy answer to those questions. The failings of memory are complicated and varied. When a kid claims that he forgot his homework, we tend to blame it on apathy or inattention. Yet, when older adults forget something they should have remembered, we tend to think it may be something much more ominous. And though it is certainly possible that forgetting may be a sign of serious brain deterioration, most likely, it is simply a sign of the way the brain works.
Here are some common problems with memory that happen to everyone.
