Mental
Common Memory Problems and How to Handle Them
How good is your memory? Lots of people wish they had a better memory than they do,
but only a small percentage of people actually try to do anything about it. Fortunately,
people have been experimenting with different ways to improve their memory for
thousands of years, and the passage of time and the study of these past methods have
delivered a collection of excellent solutions. In the next few paragraphs youíll see a
discussion of common memory problems and how to solve them.
Absentmindness
This memory issue is closely tied with the amount of attention you give to specific
details in life. A person usually heard something in passing but isn’t absorbing the
information completely at the time. This is what is seen in people when they say yes
and nod when they arenít paying attention. The best thing to do is stop and give your
focus to the things happening around you. Take time to use cues to remember tasks.
Awareness can be important and save lives at any moment.
Blocked Out
Blocked is simply a term for the thing that happens where you know a piece of
information normally, but trying to recall it from memory is blocked. There isnít currently
a fully understood reason for that, but itís possibly caused by an abundance of
hormones and other chemicals causing some kid of confusion in the brain.
Misattribution: Times, Place, People
This is when people remember many aspects of a situation, but will forget some of the
details and place another memory in place of that lost detail. There are usually lots of
different reason why this kind of memory issue happens, but depending on the situation,
it can have serious consequences. If you have the opportunity to compare notes with
others in the situation to gain perspective, itís always a good idea.
Transience: Use It Donít Lose It
Transience is the name given to memory that is forgotten soon after it learned due to
lack of relevance. When you first meet someone and they give you their number or tell
you something about themselves, itís likely that you could end up forgetting some part
of the information that they told you. A lot of times this happened because this
information as never needed for recall, but if you become close to a person and you call
them all of the time, then youíre now having to use that kind of info to help you find out
what they enjoy when youíre going to be hanging out with them. The more you recall a
memory, the more likely you will be to remember it.
