Why I Can't Remember Things -- How ADHD Affects Working Memory

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Resource Links for "Why I Can't Remember Things -- How ADHD Affects Working Memory:"
Barkley, R. A. (Ed.). (2015). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). The Guilford Press.

Research Provided by: Farah Mahmud
Research Consultant(s): Patrick LaCount

[HowtoADHD]

Okay admittedly I went on way too long about Wondrium -- oops. I really love their rebrand 😂

[MC-bzmt]

My most recurring working memory issue:
- need to google something
- pick up the phone and open google
- forget what i wanted to google

[theadhdmind]

That's why I have 100 tabs open in my browser so I won't forget what I was looking for lol 😆

[GenghisBlond]

Honestly learning is exhausting with ADHD. I’m insanely curious all the time & I actually love learning. But with learning leading up to my inability to retain what I’ve learned, it’s honestly been..soul-crushing to say the least. I often ask myself what’s the point in learning/reading ANYTHING if I’m just doomed to forget it all the next day

[TrappedinSLC]

The more I watch things like this the more I realize just how much effort I’ve been putting into coping mechanisms for YEARS. No wonder everything is so exhausting!

[TomMeBeee]

I literally opened this straight away so I didn’t forget to watch it later

[pwnedyouwithpurple]

Me as a kid: psh, Pokémon only being able to remember four moves at a time is unrealistic!

Me now: I wish I had room in my brain to remember four things at once. T-T

[vegeratoto]

I've never understood how people in action movies can remember so much detail about a robbery at a meeting. Like "Team 1 is going through the backdoor while Jim and me taking care of the front. Turn right at the entry, after 50 meters there will be 3 guards and blablablablablabla. Is everything clear?". And i like okay there will be doors, and... what?

[Sypherz]

I always get the, "Oh, you don't need to write this down." -.- I totally do. Even if I never look at the note again, it helps it get to my hard drive faster.

[zFerAresz]

Im on meds, but late night they just go off (of course). My wife was trying to tell me a story, I was so interested in the story but I just couldn't keep my mind on it, everytime she said something that reminded me of anything else, my mind went there and couldn't listen what she was saying, and I told her, and she said not to worry, and told me the story back from where i got lost... several times. I was really trying to focus, but trying to focus was also making me ignore everything and i was in Point A again, but she told me the story to the end. I love her 💕

[katetoolate]

When I first learned about working memory impairment in ADHD, I felt SO relieved. I honestly thought I was kinda dumb in some way because I couldn't even remember what page number I was told to flip to during class.
Finding out there was a tangible reason for my struggles was one of the first things that made me realize that maybe my ADHD brain does work differently in ways besides "having trouble paying attention."

[demonschnauzer]

I took a writing class last semester and the professor just had us read our stories out loud to the rest of the class instead of sharing the actual writing documents. People finished reading their pieces and I was like, "Well. I think I liked it. Don't remember anything about it though."

[SandrineMH]

I've notice this year, that it helps a lot to have CC on when I'm watching something.
I focus more on what I'm watching instead of being distracted on thoughts and
missing parts of the story or information.

[nazrarain]

This is like when I'm trying to read a test question and am so focused on "I need to read this" that none of the information I read actually enters my brain

[samstuff]

Can’t remember how many times someone tells me their name and I forget it while talking to them. At this point I just call most new people dude or bro until I’m confident I know their name

[heydiddlediddlegal]

This hits so hard, I haven't been diagnosed but I recently started researching ADHD and so many things are resonating deeply, last year I worked as a seasonal waitress and I was made fun of and ridiculed for how bad my memory was when it came to orders, I would have panic attacks mid shift from the overwhelm of people asking me to remember five different orders at once, and they didn't understand why I couldn't do it.
I'm definitely going to see a doctor about it in the coming months, so many things in my life make so much sense through the lense of ADHD.

[WhiteWolfDarkpaw]

I guess everyone's working memory works differently, too. I can't hold onto a list of tasks to save my life, and I'll often have to ask someone to repeat a question so I can piece it back together, but I have no problem remembering my audiobooks. Even after a week, I just rewind a minute or two, and I can quickly catch up and remember what was going on.
Mental math, though? Forget it.
Also, don't read numbers off to me. I'll go into a stack overflow and reboot.

[gracieb]

I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. And I’ll remember it later but then I’ve lost that opportunity to tell that person important information. It’s absolutely exhausting

[lizzie]

i legit just went into the kitchen and stared into the fridge for five minutes.

[marisad]

“Did anybody else need to rewind this video?” I did, several times...during this part of the video! I always do this with podcasts & videos, & feel like it’s just me much of the time.