How memories form and how we lose them - Catharine Young

Think back to a really vivid memory. Got it? Now try to remember what you had for lunch three weeks ago. That second memory probably isn’t as strong—but why not? Why do we remember some things, and not others? And why do memories eventually fade? Catharine Young gives the basics on memory and memory loss.

Lesson by Catharine Young, animation by Patrick Smith.

[steveroger]

_"people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."_
- Maya Angelou

[kimriseul_]

Ever since I had depression I noticed that I tend to forget things a lot and cannot memorize like I do before. Now I know why

[DuizhangLu]

Medical school: they expect you to remember everything. They also completely stress you out. Makes sense.

[someperson]

I don't know why I can't remember good memories but I can remember a lot of bad memories

[sabaca]

Eventually you will forget what you have eaten, so make it something healthy, because your body won't forget.

[snowwonder]

Long term stress kills our brain cells... so does lack of sleep. Well, it's official. High school is trying to kill me.

[kehroro]

Learning a new language is definitely a workout! all that new vocabulary *___*

[laojace]

Pffft. Memories are OBVIOUSLY stored in glowing orbs and before long pushed into the abyss of our subconscious, vanishing into grey wispy trails of air.

[amazingsupergirl]

This just shows how powerful our imaginations are. I read a LOT and sometimes I can’t remember if an experience was mine or from a book, especially if I read it a long time ago. I also sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between dreams/books/ movies/YouTube/internet and real conversations. They’re all memories.

[marta-dyno]

I've always wondered, when we forget something temporarily but then remember it as we think really hard, where do these temporarily lost memories "go"? Are all lost memories retrievable? I guess you have to register a memory properly in order to be able to recall it, but still?

[ShawnRavenfire]

Why do all my memories have a creepy evil grin?

[santiagorestrepo]

0:19

why do I remember dumb things
but not something I studied 5 hours?

[etownshawn]

For me, the more you re-live a memory the stronger it gets and easier to recall. Also- the more unusual something is- the more it will stand out in your mind over time.

[boy]

how are we able to visualise virtually anything in our minds?

[aishwaryabhattacharya]

You just explained my psychology’s whole chapter 3 in 5 minutes 😂♥️

[philipcheung]

I had always known how memories are stored, and that stress impacts one's ability to remember, but didn't know that chronic stress can lead to depleting brain cells.

[Kitsudoku]

I've had depression and chronic stress since I was about 12 and I literally only have a handful of memories. I hate it. Everyone else around me can remember so much about themselves, and my family is always bringing up memories that we experienced together and I'm so embarrassed and ashamed that I don't remember anything. Constantly having to ask "Oh yeah, what happened?"

I'm only 22 years old. I've considered talking with a doctor about it, but aside from what the video recommended, I don't know where to start. It's a really scary thing to be dealing with because I have to avidly try to remember things. I've been trying to journal, but sometimes I just don't have the time.

No one really understands what I mean when I say I'm really bad at remembering. "Yeah, me too" No, you're not. You just got done explaining your entire childhood to me and memories we've had together that I don't even remember. I've only told 2 people about it and neither of them ACTUALLY understood what I meant.

Anyway, it was just nice to vent. Life sucks.

[tashkash]

i've had depression for the past few years and recently started noticing how i cant remember things has much as i used to, i had a feeling it was linked to my mental illness

[enerxiazelementa]

It gives me some insight about why I performed rather badly in my previous job under that sup. And that I hardly remembered things I've been told, hardly made sense of them, and even became disoriented when doing everyday activities at my own home.

[TexasRedneck]

I have a really hard time remembering people's names. They can tell it to me a few times and right after, I'll forget. Same with numbers...