Why Is It So Hard to Remember Things Right Now?

If you feel like you’ve been more forgetful than normal recently, you’re definitely not alone. Your memory can have a lot to do with what's happening around you.

Hosted by: Brit Garner
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[vteccomplex]

But, my Normal self IS stress, anxiety, depression, and being forgetful.

[metenrog]

Interesting, well welcome to the club everyone, I’m this forgetful all the time.

[Dollightful]

Gosh, it felt like you were describing my exact situation to a T! Particularly the part about zooming in and focusing on a single bad email or tweet. I lost five hours of precious work yesterday stressing over some rando's opinion! C'mon, brain! Glad to know I'm not the only one and it will hopefully get better.

[limalicious]

I've been having trouble lately remembering words I've known for years. =/ I've worked in a classroom with skylights for almost a decade, and all of a sudden, all I could think of was "ceiling window".

[rebeccabrown]

This has made me more stressed about being stressed.

[nebulan]

I didn't know about the anxiety/depression link. I noticed that sometimes my memory recall was worse when my calcium was low (hypocalcemia from hypoparathyroidism) but i also developed a lot of anxiety after my thyroid surgery. I asked my endocrinologist if low calcium could cause both anxiety and memory recall and she was like "yeah it's possible, just take your calcium!" 🤷‍♀️

[SebastianMartin]

having dealt with clinical anxiety my whole life, and also being highly self-aware about it, in extra stressful times like this i can still objectively remember long-past events but the extremely difficult thing is FEELING like they actually happened. i've had like a constant identity crisis for the past several months because i'm unable to emotionally remember almost anything about my life and honestly this video being posted right now was a really convenient reminder that i'm not suddenly a whole different person but that it's just the stress.

[BreathInSpaceFilmz]

Now I want to see a follow-up video that explains how permanent or temporary this forgetfulness is, even after the underlying stress/depression is resolved. Another video idea I would like to see is how memory relates to ADHD.

[ParanoidPixel]

people with adhd: literally how we go through life 24/7 and more

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
― Plutarch

[Starfals]

I'm always forgetful like this. I swear, if i dont take notes for EVERYTHING, i never know what i wanted to do.

[bagandbroad]

As someone who has lived in high stress and isolation for years now, this makes me feel so much less crazy.

[mschrisfrank]

My anxiety is actually lower now than it has been in years, so I’m thinking more clearly.

[cavangriffin]

Honestly, I feel like I'm having trouble forming coherent sentences right now. I'll just forget what I was gonna say halfway through.

Very interesting! I just deleted all my social media apps (except YouTube, obviously) and shopping apps, because I don't want to spend so much time glued to my phone, and also, all the hatred spreading in social media was getting to me. Now you talked about memory issues could be related to stress, and over focusing in bad stuff, it made me think about how my memory problems could be related to that.
I get really angry and perplexed over violence and science illetaracy, and maybe this is part of the problem. Very interesting indeed.

[darinsingleton]

Just going to suggest that there might be a moment to acknowledge the fact that are huge populations of people who have been struggling with relentless chronic economic deprivation and anxiety in the U.S. (and, under far worse conditions throughout the rest of the world) for decades; and the impact that has had on the lives of millions of people.
Not everyone was comfortable enough to enjoy the many privileges that come with not constantly worrying about the imminent possibility of homelessness, the anxiety surrounding wondering if you'll be able to pay for food, surviving violent home environments and neighborhoods, navigating predatory systems of structural violence with few, if any, resources. Struggling with a lack of medical care ...
Getting back to "normal" may be the answer for certain groups of comfortable folks, but for far too many people, corrosively chronic stressors are built-in to every day of their lives. As is often the case, where one stands is often determined by where one sits at the table.

[AntonConstanti]

I feel like this and I also feel hopeless. But at the same time, I am able to function and remember things, I just sometimes feel forgetful.

[Sincyn]

Where are all my ADHD folks? This is our life, right? She’s totally right, it is way worse right now?

[chromeorihara]

Joke's on you, Brit. Being stressed, anxious and depressed is my default state. I have been forgetful for several years already.

[twinberettas]

This was timely for me. My memory is only just starting to improve thanks to an intensive group therapy program I'm doing, but there's still a lot of gaps, including what seems like a total block on happy childhood memories - only able to recall the bad, unless reminded by family of this or that event. It's incredibly distressing, especially when you're known for having a good memory, and it was reassuring to learn more of the science behind what's actually going on in my head at present. Thank you!