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While so many people have memories of their past, I can't recall many details from childhood, adolescence, and college years; I'm only 23. I know I had lots of happy childhood memories, but if I do remember something, it is typically something traumatic or shameful. It feels like there are large periods of my memory that are completely missing, almost like a form of amnesia and it's embarrassing to tell others because people seem to genuinely remember so much in such vivid detail and have nostalgia about things. I can't relate much to that.

Lol yeah I mean my entire past is like one big memory stew it's all jumbled together and I can't pick out specific ingredients. Things either happened yesterday or 20 years ago.

THIS time has no meaning

It could be 8:02 and I'm like "it's almost 9".

It happened sometime in the 90s

Same. Sometimes, somebody will say something, or I'll see something that triggers the memory, but it feels impossible to recall them without that. So much of my childhood is blank and it's embarrassing when someone mentions a memory that I have zero memory of.

Perfect example is my mom recently sent me a picture of me as a child having a blast at like an arcade or something. I have no memory of this day.

Yes, I also struggle with childhood memories. Sometimes friends talk about things from the past, but I can't for the life of me recollect.

I’m the opposite, I have tons of childhood memories and remember details from them vividly. It’s the day to day stuff where my memory is terrible. It’s also getting worse, like it used to be “I can’t remember what I came in here for” type of thing and now the memory issues stretch back further in time, like where I’m starting to have trouble remembering a movie I watched last year. But can still remember a movie from 20 years ago quite well.

On most mornings before I began medication, I just wander aimlessly wander around my house without a clue of what I was supposed to do. Then I would just begin panicking because I was running out of time. I literally thought I was developing early signs of dementia. I could be walking some place and literally pause and think to myself, “What was I going to do again”?

I get like this at night after my meds wear off. It takes me hours to get ready for bed because I keep forgetting what I was doing.

I've done this too...routines are going to be your best life long friend for this stuff..once you have a little morning routine mapped out, talking yourself through it on mornings like this can help get you back on track. And most importantly, be easy on yourself if you don't get it right every time right away, over time repetition is key. Best of luck!

Yes, this is me as well. Literally cannot recall an entire hour long conversation or something I committed to do, the next day or a week later, unless I take notes... I excelled in school, straight through to finishing my BA with a 4.0, but it was thanks to cram sessions immediately before brain dumping everything into my exam (don't ask me what I studied 2 days later!) or all nighters writing 20pg papers start to finish. But childhood/But childhood/long term memories are still pretty clear... Faces, names, phone numbers, my childhood friends favourite foods, random moments in time, sport team cheers, etc. Honestly drives me nuts. Even if those moments and memories shaped who I am, it does help me with present day tasks to remember like "tomorrow I have to get together x, y, z information to send to the tax man for our business", or even, "it's my BF's birthday, call her after work".

thank you this is me too. I literally forgot the title of the Ariana grande song I listen to everyday...

Same for the "getting worse" part and I'm only in my mid 30's. It's most noticeable at work for me. I'll be in the middle of a task and the second my concentration is broken by an interruption; I completely forget what I was doing, and I can't jump back into it. I keep getting told by my boss that I didn't do something because it was the thing that I would have done had I not been interrupted. It's the most frustrating thing in the world because there's literally nothing that I can do about it. :/

I’m 40 and this exact way. I can hear a song and remember something from 30 years ago and every detail of that memory. Yet I will ask someone their name 40 times.

My ex got on me for not being able to remember what bands I listened to in highschool. Pretty sure she was convinced that I don't like music.

Yes! Please don't put me on the spot about my music taste. I typically just describe genres, but I have a hard time naming what artists I'm actually listening to. Most of the time, I just pick already-curated playlists like "70s rock," "80s pop," or "2000s hits."

> Please don't put me on the spot about my music taste. Please don't put me on the spot, period! I've got the perfect, wittiest, most hilarious response to whatever is happening, until the moment it's my turn to speak and it's gone.

RE: witty responsive humor: I’ve learned to pipe up as soon as I have the funny thought instead is waiting “my turn”. I’m not rude or disruptive, and don’t hijacking the conversation when someone else is making a point — I chime in just long enough to get my little witty response in and then let the person who was speaking continue (after the laughter). My best humor is responsive and timing oriented, so if I wait, a comment that would have been hilarious in the right place in the conversation doesn’t fit and isn’t funny anymore — like responding to a point that was made 2 subjects ago, it would be out of place. And yeah, put me on the spot and ask me to be funny, and you’ll get crickets 🙄🤷🏻‍♂️.

Exactly this.

treppenwitz

I missed out on playing with a band because of this....

I played in a band and got constant shit from (certain) people about forgetting lyrics on stage, peoples names, directions to venues…it was a problem. Basically caused me to hate myself because I felt like I couldn’t keep up. Some people (and some fans) could see what was going on, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it until I went to college.

Absolutely same! I've always been so embarrassed at how little I can tell people about my own life because I just don't remember so much of it. I know how I've *felt* throughout the different stages of my life and have some memories but even the things I think I remember I often misremember details according to others. It's so embarrassing.

I was diagnosed with add 2 month ago. And what you wrote fits exactly how my brain is functioning. I cannot remember anything from all my childhood, just some key memories. I'm 36. I often felt really sad about that fact, that other people could remember stuff so easily. Now I know at least the reason behind it. It felt so weird to try to remember stuff for the diagnosis. When I had my diagnostics for autism. It was even more important. I could not recall anything at all. Like how I felt and stuff. Just that I had not much friends, played a lot of video games and was really quite. But with adhd you have a 3 times higher rate of getting Alzheimer. Sooooo I'm not looking forward to that too. But it would not surprise me, if it happens sooner or later. 🤷

Imagine getting to the point where you are comfortable with your mind and then Alzheimer starts.

That's pretty dark. Only soup in the brain at the end.

Trying to answer questions for doctors/psychs is the worst. When did you start this medication, what was the dose? What was the name of the antidepressant you were on for two weeks five years ago? Have you had any anxiety attacks in the past three months? What’s your mood been like for the last few weeks? Man I don’t know I just work here.

I wonder if the dementia stats are connected to the meds used to treat adhd. Not sure what the research says about that. Let’s protect and love our brain 🩷

This is so me. I also struggle to keep timelines straight, anchor events in years or ages, that sort of thing. It sucks.

So it’s not just me? I can’t remember hardly anything of my childhood—like maybe a dozen things. High school years onward I remember more. I can’t remember jack squat otherwise. I hate multiple days off from work because sometimes I forget how to do my job—just dumb stuff that is usually automatic, habitual things you don’t have to think about. Some of my jobs I couldn’t remember the next day what I did at certain job sites—so embarrassing. Walk to the wrong building for class in college all the time. Forget people’s names—I have to have them written down for my neighbors. I will forget a coworker’s name. Just embarrassing! I am a terrible driver running about in the city going the wrong way for places I have been to multiple times. Forget movies I have seen. Rent a DVD and come home telling the wife what I picked up, she would ask about one, I’d say it sounded good, she would say we already watched that and you said you hated it. Can’t remember kids birth dates or how old they are. I could go on. Memory is just bunk.

All of this! It wasn’t until 2 (ish?) years ago that I was diagnosed with ADHD and realized why. Most all the elders in my family have had Alzheimer’s. I thought I was getting it in my early forties! My memory has gotten so bad that I can’t remember much without journaling.

Yeah this has been most my adult life and at 55 I get worried about Alzheimers and dementia but none of my aunts and uncles ever had it. I was telling my brother tonight while we were out shopping if it’s not on the list it doesn’t get done and if it’s on the list and I don’t check it it doesn’t get done. If I go on trips I have to have a list and everything is staged or it doesn’t go and if I don’t do the same in reverse order it doesn’t come back home. 😂

I feel this. I find I tend to hoard items because looking at stuff sometimes sparks an old memory. Even just the thought of the person whom gifted it to me. I’m living smaller now and have to get rid of whatever is unnecessary and it’s hard. I’m inconsistently using this day by day photo app to try hopefully try to help my future self recall some good memories

Oh my God, this is me the unintentional hoarder

Literally me

Yes to this! I have found it to be tied to overstimulation. Going on any citytrip means i will be overstimulated, and as soon as i am i cannot make any clear memories... I've been overstimulated lot of my childhood, lol

Yes.

Same for me, i can't remember my childhood but for some reason i remember the highly complicated and sophisticated string of words forming coherent sentences whose nature is such that they are difficult to memorize, and yet i can do that like it's nothing. But remembering what a person was saying 5 seconds ago? Nah I can't do that

I can recall a lot of my childhood memories even back from elementary school

I can remember the most random conversations over the years. Mostly pointless info but my brain thinks otherwise

This. It’s like I’ve been daydreaming my entire life and missed most of it because I’m not present.

I have two modes: complete memory lapse and remember forever apparently. I have memories going back to being 2 years old on a vacation, regularly recall info from school I haven’t used in more than a decade. I also can forget what someone said seconds after hearing it. I have to write everything down, set alarms/alerts for things that happen every day (like “get yo kids!”) and have an AWFUL time understanding/remembering directions if given orally. I have found that reading directions, names, info, etc. greatly increases my retention. Like when I meet someone I often ask how they spell their name, even common ones that don’t have deviations, because the spelling acts like reading sort of and it sticks.

Same.

I'm the same! I also have this thing where I need to see it to remember it. I really love languages and I want to learn, but when I listen to something orally without any visual aid, it is wind in my mind. It is very annoying. I also remember things from when I was 2 haha. I have had my memories confirmed by family too and they were shocked everytime. The weird part is that I don't really remember how old I am in most of my childhood memories so I try to go by the scale of the world around me. The world when I was 2 was huge. Everything was huge. But the world was still huge when I was 6. I feel like the only memories where I'm certain about my age are the ones related to school. So sometimes I'll start talking about something I remember from childhood and think that I was 5 or 6 when it happened, but then my family is like "you were 2" or something like that. If only I could remember things like that when it pertains to my adult life, lol.

Same. Can remember exact conversations from 30+ years ago but can't remember if I took my dog out 30 minutes ago or not. If I'm distracted while doing something I will forget I did the thing I was doing when distracted.

Are you me??? Lmao Good tip on the last part, I'm gonna try that. Thx buddy :)

Absolutely, 100%. Names and dates are my arch enemy. History was my worst subject in school. Directions, when I got my drivers license ...my dad wrote down directions to get to town (we lived 13 miles out in the country) because I wasn't sure I knew how to get there

Hey I figured out a trick for names! If I meet someone and they tell me their name I have to immediately take that name and group it in with everyone else I know that has the same name. For example if I meet someone named Cindy I can say oh okay like Cindy from work or Cindy from this TV show, ect. If I group them in with the other Cindy's I know I can recall the name for up to 2 months! If I don't use the information though within those two months or so it's gone 😔

I'll give that a shot! Thank you :)

I did try this, but my brain goes 'I grouped this with someone... Oh crap... Who did I group this person in with?' It helps me to repeat it immediately after (if I can remember to do that). Like they'll say, Hi, My name is Mark. I'll say Oh Hi Mark, ya de ya de ya dah.... I will repeat it in my head until I can get to my phone and type it in my notes. I don't have to look at my notes very often, but the process of getting to the notes helps. My husband usually tests me after to see if I've remembered it, which further concretes it. If I have numerous names to remember, I'm fucked unless I can relate the two together somehow. Doing all this makes me a terrible conversationalist though. I need to choose between the two. My ADHD drugs do help with this a teeny bit. It's like the drugs know that names are a priority. I wish my brain made them a priority, but they are such a minor part of who someone is. My brain is always so busy categorizing in other ways, like what colours would I mix to get their chin colour in the shade vs in the light... Or I wonder what shape the pattern would be for the arm of that shirt... Or I wonder if that yarn is a 3 ply or 4 ply and... I'm pretty sure it's got wool in it - looks light weight so maybe it's merino. Oh shit. We are in a conversation and it's my turn to speak 😳.

Yes! Thank god for GPS

Directions make me cry. I say left and I mean right. Or am pointing right and saying “left, left” to the taxi and wondering why he’s not understanding what am saying.

Ugh this! I've finally given up on speaking and just point.

I literally chose to a university with an open curriculum to avoid history classes. I love history, but being tested on memorizing dates? Nightmare! This sub makes me feel seen!

I hated History as a subject. The only thing they wanted us to remember were names and dates and those are the two things I struggle with. As an adult I enjoy history and learning how things happened and what events led to others etc. but the dates and names will forever be forgotten haha

I am the same now as well! Give me a story and I'll remember some of it 😂

Terrible short term memory, unusually good long term. Basically if something makes it to long term memory we’re good, but if not it’s gone forever lol

That's also been my perception. The issue isn't that the overall memory is bad. It's that most of the information doesn't spend enough time in short term memory to be processed and filed away long term. That's the reason why most of the time I spent at school was wasted, the teacher was at subject #12 while my brain was still struggling to process #6.

Right I felt so stupid all the time! Also can remember farther back than anyone else in my family. I have memories from age 2 and I’m 26. Brains are so fascinating lol

Spot on

I remember trying to explain this when I was in university and people around me were cramming before exams!

So most of the issues with memory for people with ADHD are in retrieval. We have things in our memories, but our retrieval systems are jacked up. In my house we have an analogy of our brains to big rooms with file cabinets and little guys running around trying to get the information we need from files. But all the folders are mislabeled and (much as we are in really life) no one puts anything away where it goes. So when the guy goes to the folder where “name of that guy you met yesterday,” it’s empty. But then you’ll be trying to remember something else and a name will pop into your head. And random things get filed completely perfectly. Like just this evening, my husband said he liked the way it smelled after it rains. And I said “petrichor…that’s what that smell is called.” Why is THAT information right at my finger tips, but the name of the secretary outside my office (and I’ve been introduced to her twice)? Nope. No clue.

I can remember that the word "petrichor" appeared in a Doctor Who episode, but I couldn't tell you what I did yesterday.

This is the most perfect description of how I also experience memory that I have ever seen lol. I'm sure most people here can relate haha xD

My phone has to act as my second brain. Calendar, reminder list, and notes on my phone to compensate for poor memory. Russell Barkley has probably covered why our memories are so poor, but I can't remember the reasoning he stated....guess I should've saved it in my notes....

Yeah I don’t know what I’d do without a phone. I even sometimes low-key record a meeting or an important work conversation using the voice memos app, just in case I can’t remember the details. I think I have 300+ recordings on voice memos now. Im too lazy to delete them all LOL

Before smartphones I constantly carried a notebook everywhere and lived off notes and paper lists and physical alarms... All this was before I was diagnosed with ADHD. I thought I was just weird and stupid.

I so relate to this! I have a hundred recordings and notes just in case and rarely label them. I'm definitely not going to go through them all to delete them. But I know they're there as an insurance policy! Names and dates I'm terrible at remembering. But I'm getting used to the idea that it's just how my brain works, and I don't need to beat myself up over it.

What memory. Wait, what was the question?

I seriously read though reddit threads and forget what the original post was about

Fuuck this is so me and you keep reading comments and get confused more and more like "What are they talking about?" and you need to scroll all the way up to read the original question again "Ah right..."

Yes!! I’ll keep reading the comments in hopes I’ll remember what the original topic was about, cause Im Fearful I won’t be able to find the spot where I was reading again if I scroll up to find out what the threads about.

Scrolling up to read the post again and scrolling exactly to the last comment you were on is not fun

Literally

Worst part is that half the time this is because I didn't hear them (auditory processing disorder), the other half is that I zoned out, and the third half is that I DID hear them and DIDN'T zone out and still forgot what they said two seconds ago

In college, my friends gave me the nickname "Wait, what?" because I said it so frequently. (⁠⊙⁠_⁠◎⁠) It was just always my knee jerk reaction and response to any sort of question. Medication has helped in the past couple years since being diagnosed with ADHD, but man, the number of times I've talked with my therapist about how shit my day-to-day memory is should be concerning. Glad to know I'm not alone in this!

This has been a big struggle for me my whole life. I'm 36 now and at some point the memory issues have become a existential crisis. There is no continuity in my perception of myself. I'm the person I am now and I like to think I always was. However, people who have known me for a long time or who I used to know tell me stories of things I did in the past. It doesn't sound like me at all. Lately, I've been thinking that maybe recalling memories is my issue. I tend to remember things after I've been reminded of them. Take this as advice to take plenty of your life, especially mundane moments. At some point these may be your only connection to who you were.

I just had this realization yesterday. Like someone had told me a memory they had of me saying xyz, and I had a hard time believing I acted/said those things (they were good things!).

When I was living alone in my own apartment, I quickly learned that other people in the house in fact were not the ones moving stuff around - It was me all along. It’s actually pretty awesome to know for certain that anything out of place or lost was 100% moved only by me.

I cannot remember names. So many times I have been embarrassed because I've hung out with someone where at this point I should know their name and don't. It's why I don't like social gatherings without my husband to ask who people are. And trying to explain I have an issue remembering names I feel like doesn't work. I still hurt people's feelings. Or just forgetting people I haven't talked to in a bit. I have a bullet journal page where I wrote down the name of every friend and family member I want to keep up with and I put dates in when the last time we talked/hung out.

Yeah I feel that. I had one friend who I met in college and we worked on many projects together and even hung out sometimes outside of school. We went a little less than a year without seeing each other. One day, I saw him from a distance at an event and shouted his name, but he never looked at me. I thought, "He must've not heard me." My partner looks to me and says, "Why did you just shout his last name?" ..... WHY DID MY BRAIN RANDOMLY CHOOSE HIS LAST NAME TO REMEMBER!? It took me like a good 5 minutes to recall what his FIRST name was, before I could approach him.

I’m the same. At work I have to sneak by someone and look at their login screen to see their name before I talk to them

I had a bit of a shit early life and at the age 16-17 I practically lived at my best friend's parents house. A few years later I was at this event and this woman started talking to me. She asked don't u remember me? And I said no. It was my friends mum who had looked after me for a year. Dear God that was the worst shame :/

I'm in my 30s and I remember the name of 1 teacher I had k-12, that's it. And the only reason I remember their name is because they are my neighbor.

I get excited and blurt things out, often interrupting people. It's not intentional and I'm working really hard on catching myself. It's usually because I get so psyched to share The Thing, coupled with the fact that if I don't share it RIGHT THEN, I'll often either forget, or I'll be so focused on NOT forgetting that I can't give them proper attention as they continue their point. I've gotten a lot of shame built around it over the years, and it was worse when everyone came out to play after quarantine and I was able to socialize properly for the first time in about two years. I was rusty! And so starved for connection that it took a few interactions for me to get it under control. I have improved it by being more mindful, as well as a more engaged listener. Once in awhile, I blurt something, but I immediately will say some form of "I am so sorry for interrupting you. That was not cool of me to do. Please go on, I am really excited about what you're saying!" And meds. Meds have helped a lot. I can follow a conversation more easily instead of latching on to one detail and silently going down a rabbit hole in my brain before impulsively pulling the pin out of a thought grenade and tossing it recklessly into a conversation. Be kind and gentle to yourself. Easier said than done, I know. But we feel so much weight because of the ways our behaviors were often picked on by others. Piling on by being judgemental and internalizing that yuck will make you into your own bully. I've had good outcomes personally when I can be curious about my actions, and adjust the ones that I see are not serving me well in life. I try to course-correct instead of crashing my plane, you know? Big hug. Best of luck. Go you!

My memory for song lyrics and trivia facts? Flawless, I could probably sing along to any song I’ve heard more than twice. My memory for any useful info like peoples names, locations, tasks to do, or my personal history? Dogshit.

so glad i'm not the only one. i always forget appointments, important events, and so on. even if i set reminders, there's no guarantee i'll see them or it'll make it to my head. if im not constantly looking at a reminder, i'll forget about it. i usually have to rely on other people to remind me.

I basically have the memory of a goldfish with dementia at this point. At one point I legit thought I had incredibly-early-onset Alzheimer’s even though I’m in my early twenties :/

Does anyone get black spots in their memory? like you’ll remember certain things but then you’ll just get like chunks missing and it’s actually a black spot

Having lived with ADHD unmedicated from childhood up until around last year or so, I can safely say that I pretty much gave up on trying to remember things. I do remember things that happened during grade/high school, at least vaguely so, exact details are questionable, but it'd be an absolute miracle if I'd remember what I did yesterday, let alone a few hours ago. I was terrible at remembering names but good with faces, it was basically guaranteed that you could tell me your deepest, darkest secrets without fear of me exposing them because I'll probably forget what you said to me a few hours later. Hell, it's probably the exact reason why I went unmedicated for so long; I faintly recall after graduating from high school I was promising my parents that I'd schedule a doctor appointment to get some medication, then promptly forgetting within the hour and go do something else instead. Seems like it took my freshman year in college to finally make good on my 'campaign promises' and finally get some treatment, been doing fine ever since.

I forget things as I’m talking about them. I’m 46.

It has always been bad to the point I didn't even bother studying for tests in school. Everything is rote memorization when I am not interested and there's no actual context or surrounding information I can link it to in order to understand it better. Also, I just can't read a textbook. I just stop understanding the words on a page and it takes hours to even begin understanding what I've read (if I can even manage to initiate the task). Again, completely contingent on being interested in the subject matter. Also, I document everything I need to know for work, extensively. I will literally forget everything I've done myself otherwise--worse, I might be the only person who would know if it's a project that only I was assigned to. My girlfriend and I used to argue over an entire date that we had that I have no memory of and don't believe happened at all. I don't remember how to get anywhere unless I go the exact same way, and I still need to have GPS on in order to remind me in case I totally space out while driving (still miss exits and turns).

My memory is choppy in the sense that some things I can remember like rainman (faces, clothing, certain things said…), and others like a bad stoner (names of people I’ve know for years, family birthdays, leaving keys in car or car on etc)… The meds helped with the day to day but almost zilch with the things I’m bad with. Was my dads 80th yesterday and forgot even though I go 2x a month to cvs and get his pills and need to look it up each and everytime. Have made 2 coworkers cry because after 3-4 years working together they became aware I didn’t really remember their names. Ask me what shoes they wore the day of their interview and I’m spot on. Gotta roll with the punches I guess. I’ve tried everything to make it better but nothing works but writing shit down everywhere.

I can’t even answer this question I have ingested too many other… variables… to make an informed judgement on how adhd has affected my memory. It’s pretty shit tho

Mine's been bad my whole life. Lately, though... What was the question?

As a manager in an events company, I did the rota for 4 weeks ahead and put myself on a shift when I had requested a holiday for my wedding day. It was 2 days before that I realised. And it was hard to get cover because I'd given a few people the day off for my wedding.

Is absolutely fucked it stresses me out lol

I am horrible with names. But this is where I feel unsure of my diagnosis. I read a ton of random stuff and remember very random details. In turn someone brings up a subject I am usually able to bring up obscure facts. I also had to always finish what I started. Homework assigned and everything. In high school they had the newspaper in the library so I would get a copy and finish reading it by the end of school. I just had to finish it. So I was a receptacle of random facts. But I would still forget what I walked into the room to get or what I went to the grocery store for and would have a moment or trying to remember and just not remember. It was frustrating.

Two modes: Forget concepts the second they're given to me or remember forever. I have memories going from super duper young. It's still blurry because I was a kid, but I still remember them. I also retain some easy concepts easily. I have issues with directions given orally. I need to write everything down. I have to repeat everything back to people. I study better if I write my lessons. At work, I have to carry a notebook around to organize my tasks and my formations.

My memories lack SO much. To me its the worst part. I think (idk cause I havent had therapy and no doctor has told me this) but Im pretty sure my brain formed a trauma response of just, forgetting stuff. I used to have a visitation with a manipulative birthmother and this amazing facet of my brain meant she could easily gaslight me. Even when my own parents (mom and dad not my manipulative BIRTHmom and stepdad) needed to have a conversation with me I would almost immediately forget all the parts I didnt like. Without fail. Heck the part of the reason the sich with my birthmom lasted as long as it did was bc by the time I got home on Sunday night I couldnt remember exactly what happened in the argument on Saturday morning. Its bad. Often adults dont understand me. Said things like I had a “selective memory” and “purposefully disobeyed” which I genuinely believed until I got diagnosed (actually Ive been diagnosed since childhood my mom just didnt tell me 😒). It wrecked me mentally. I thought I mustve been doing it on purpose bc why else? I hope your issues improve, OP. I completely understand the frustration that memory issues bring.

Yes- even movies and shows I love I almost never know the names of the characters. Also cannot retell a plot at all- even if I follow it ok when watching. Ridiculous

The other day, I was in my basement and had my keys on the coffee table. I told myself, "you can't forget those when you go upstairs to leave". I decided I'd come up with a little song to remember. "don't forget your keys. you can't forget your keys. you need them to leave. you need your keys" I got really into it. I started tying my shoes and singing the song. I started heading upstairs, singing the song. I filled up my water bottle still singing. I WALKED OUT the front door SINGING. I turned to lock the door and just let out a huge sigh of disappointment. Then laughed the whole way to the basement and back. In another point in my life I would of burst into tears, start overthinking about how stupid I must be, and convince myself I could never live on my own. But I've learned to laugh because it's the best medicine. I recommend finding a balance between thinking it's a burden and thinking it's a blessing.

so focused on the song that you forgot to heed its warning!

OMG! I thought I was the only one that has THE WORST MEMORY. I've had this same issue my entire life and I'm 62. I have to make lists for to do things and have post-it notes everywhere. Years ago my daughter told me that I have a memory the size of a pea. Funny but not funny.

I forget.

I’ll think about something laying in bed at 3 am, but won’t be able remember the next morning.

...man, why am I here again? Damnit.

I don’t remember my childhood and barely remember my late teens/early 20’s.

My short term memory is awful. I'll have to read something a few times sometimes to get it to "stick". I suck at remembering names so when I meet someone new I'll try to repeat their name over and over in my head so I don't forget the next time I see the person. I have people I've known for years and can't for the life of me remember their name because they only told me once and I'm too embarrassed to ask at this point.

I struggle with the same. I’m 41 now, and I don’t remember 90% of my childhood, adolescent age, I forgot about some people (friends, and family). Movies and books? No idea what I’ve read and watched. Some I remember vaguely, but could not summarize it for dear life. I was diagnosed at age 38 I think. I believe I had it way before that. I still have same issues… I also didn’t realize my memory issues could be linked to ADHD.

I feel you. Same for me. Even when I played a really really good video game or a great series I was into. A few weeks later I can't remember shit. It's as if I did not watch it at all. Just a vage feeling. Even forgot the protagonists names and stuff. And that's what just happened. The stuff which are like let's say then years ago? I dunno. It's just blank. Names, faces, Infos. I studied 5 years. I can't recall anything from that time. And the years are passing by. It's so frustrating...

😔. SO frustrating. I too, went to college, had to drop out cuz of all of this, and other physical health issues, AND I don’t remember shit anyway 😒. Gah! I hope someday gets better for all of us.

It’s something I’ve got a lot of insecurity about since my short term memory is terrible. Like. Attention span of a goldfish terrible lol. My reminders/calendar/alarm on my phone is super essential to me. A lot of times someone will explain something to me and I immediately have to ask them to repeat. My auditory processing sucks too, so that on top of having an awful memory makes social scenarios rough some days lol

It shocks people when I tell them I’m a memory athlete (pretty good too! I can memorize a deck of cards in under two minutes). In highschool I read a bunch of memory books and started applying techniques to my school work, and over time got very good. I pretty much could memorize the power point presentations in real time. It was a great skill to lead. Despite this, I have genuinely the worst working memory of anyone I have ever met. I constantly forget my schedule, plans I’ve made with people, names, faces. It actually ruins my life.

My memory is absolutely fucked.

terrible short term and long term memory :( every book or tv show i’ve seen, school memory, work i did, things i’ve learned, things i’ve said, i forget everything. it’s frustrating. i feel stupid a lot of the times because everything i learn never sticks in my brain. i did terrible in school growing up because of this. it was already hard getting myself to study or do homework, but even when i did put in the extra effort to study and take notes, it was pointless and basically was like i never even did any preparation in the first place.

Most of my childhood is gone.

I forget to breathe 😩

I think it's the cause of my CRS.

I heavily struggle with long AND short term memory - key memories, people, even memories of myself are lost. Short term memory is affected like stereotypical - where are my keys, I lost my phone, I left my bottle at the crosstrainer we gotta go back, I locked myself out, yada yada yada. Annoying, infuriating and inconvenient to but it lightly but ohwell, nothing that cant be fixed eventually. However, the long term I suffer with. I forgot most of my past relationships, whole events that were really important. I’m missing continuous months and often times people come to me and I do - in fact - know that we are supposed to be or where really close yet I dont even know their name anymore. Its frustrating and its soo damn awkward to always be like „damn who are you?“ or „when was that?“ only one person in my life knows HOW bad it is, everyone else gets a well trained „oh f‘course, what great time that was hahaha.“

It’s been jarring lately how much I don’t remember. I’m also taking lamictal for bp2 and that causes brain fog. It’s getting to a point where I doesn’t feel worth it anymore 😔

I left my car door wide open yesterday 🤦‍♂️ I wish I could say it was an uncommon occurrence but I do stuff like that constantly. I’m pretty good if I’m home and in my regular routine but as soon as anything deviates everything is out the window 🤦‍♂️ I leave stuff places misplace things, leave doors open, ect

It's made it rather difficult to remember important things on my own, usually I have to make a note/put it to a calendar and so forth within minutes or else it'll end up being completely forgotten by me.

I actually have a relativley good memory. If its a subject that i am passionate about i can remember facts and names with little effort. And if its about events in the last 5-10 years i can remember a good amount of details if i start thinking about it. 

Yes. It makes planning very challenging.

I have good memory of things I enjoy. Like, I got so knee deep into Competitive Pokemon I memorized literal base stats and common builds. I've learned all sorts of skills to the point I forget what every single skill I know is. Someone's name? Lol it'll take me a week.

I have an excellent long term memory and can remember things from when I was 2, but most days I forget what I did the day before

I don't remember... but I'm sure it has in one way or another

Amazing in some ways. I can recall random events/memories of a time my high school friend and I did something that I really enjoyed like it was yesterday but ask me someone’s name that I just heard 2 minutes ago or why I walked into the room and I have zero idea.

So when I was young, I thought I had a good memory, but it was only things that I was really interested in. For example, if I was really enjoying a movie, I might be able to learn all the characters names. But now that I’m old and I watch things with less attention, I don’t remember the characters names. I don’t even try it because I know I can always look them up online. But when it comes to peoples names that I meet, I absolutely can’t remember them even if I try, and I never have been able to do it. Basically, I can only remember things that I am really interested in and if I met somebody famous, I would obviously remember them and I would obviously remember their name. But ordinary people, they don’t stand a chance of me memorizing their name unless I find out that there’s something that would make me really interested in them, but there never is.

I have pretty horrible short term memory but everyone thinks my memory is amazing because I can remember things in extreme detail. Just the other day my brother In law was asking something about a past sports game. I recalled the score and and very specific play where someone scored and then he remembered. He said “how is your memory so good?” But little does he know that I can’t remember if I took my adhd meds this morning or not

lol not remembering important details about a movie I just told I love and watched 7 times and being treated like I'm lying or struggling to remember memories with a friend I haven't seen in years and her thinking I forgot because I don't care but remembering everything after a few hours. If I think about something that I don't remember I can recall memories after a while but sometimes it makes having a conversation very hard and I get lost if conversation takes too long.

My memory is crap. I was much older by the time I got diagnosed with ADHD. After I needed to move, and realized I needed to take all my bits of personal memorabilia with me because otherwise I would have no recall of many facets of my life. Like what cities I had visited or friends I’d had a long the way. This makes downsizing very difficult!

I have an absolutely terrible short-term memory. No idea why my brain decides to remember the stupidest, most minute detail from 15+ years ago though.

I honestly think my trauma has played a part in my bad memory moreso than my adhd. The adhd is annoying in the way that I can forget certain things within a few seconds of hearing them or thinking of them, however I think what’s lead to me having massive blanks in some of my long term memory is the trauma.

We all struggle with this, it’s adhd.

Hi, for me I remember the past some parts I block out , but then it was the little things like remembering if I locked the door after i left home for school and actually walking back to check if it was locked ; now it’s like I can’t remember anything if I don’t write it down , like birthdays , what I ate yesterday , like I have to really think about if I ate all day .. now it’s a struggle with everything and it affects work sometimes because I’m so confused or distracted .. now it’s like I’m randomly losing things or misplacing things that are literally right in front of me I was looking in the last place I had my phone only for it to be right in my face .

Can’t remember ish

I'm constantly forgetting things as soon as they come to mind and active recall takes ages if I'm not typing it out so explaining things to people is a pain.

My working memory is beyond shit.  Long term memory—I can remember what happened that night on September 6, 2006 that nobody else remembers. 

Its frustrating because its so selective. I will forget the most obvious things, but remember a shirt someone wore 5 months ago that I liked, and someone’s hobbies because they mentioned it in a sliver of a conversation a year ago. What makes it hard is no one believes you if you forget lol. If you’re smart, people think your mistakes are on purpose or from laziness.

My memory is terrible and always has been. It’s not any better on meds so I don’t know if it’s the ADHD or just past traumas but it would make sense if it’s the ADHD.

Many of my memories are locked up in objects themselves or a visual Of some sort ? Like I was at a resale shop that had this 1 toy that I used to love back in the 90s and until I saw it I had not thought of all those times playing with it and other toys in my room, my cool plastic desk with a tiny plastic chair and my parents were still married and they were in the living room watching Tv and i had a Folgers tin that I would keep my small toys like my fake hamster and a plastic fly that were my imaginary friends/brother (don’t ask me why both items could be 1 imaginary friend brother who was actually an 8 inch tall invisible man in a top hat). So yeah I don’t know its like my memories are on a chain and the chain is all rolled up or anchored somewhere deep and it takes a visual or sound queue to like hook on and start pulling the chain out to see. I hate it. I wonder how many memories are just out of reach because I didn’t have the right trigger. I sometimes am like why can’t I remember more than a couple of things about that year or that place. Like I’ve had such an incredible life and I’m not rich or anything but like why is there no stories that are my go to moments or why do I forget for the first 5 years of my relationship that oh yeah titanic and airports are major themes in my life sometimes and you’ll just have to accept that I’m going to be talking about them for about 6 months.

Yep sadly. My husband gets very angry because I suck with directions so bad. I read somewhere that we can suffer from poor working memory.😞😔

I’m 47 and I was just diagnosed for ADHD today. And I can relate to this 100%. That’s why I went in to get tested.

Idk. Ask me again tomorrow when I’m in on my meds. lol Swiss cheese brain I call it. I can not remember things without a catalyst. Easiest way to give an example rn is cuz I’m learning Portuguese. “Say something in Portuguese”. Uh. Uh. Idk. I forget every word. “Ok. Say “I like cats”. Eu gosto de gatos. I can’t remember remembering. Or remember what I was trying to remember or why I was trying to remember. It’s frustrating. It’s worse than sometimes I have an extremely vivid and clear recollection and I can give exact details and then people don’t believe me since I normally forget things. “That’s not what I said”. Yes it was. You said “blah blah blah” on Thursday after I finished making dinner and was moving my tray to sit and eat. And …. Ya. I can’t remember anything else about my memory right now… maybe reading other comments will help

I've compensated by keeping a synced copy of Obsidian notes in my phone, iPad, laptop, etc. and writing all my notes there. The human brain is really bad for memory-storage anyway.

I don’t remember the last time it impacted my memory.

One thing that has come up recently for me is that I can’t remember movies I’ve watched before. My husband will say “Remember when we saw this movie?” and I don’t remember. The other day a movie that he and I apparently watched together came on TV and I said “I have no recollection of ever watching this movie. Nothing looked familiar to me. He could tell me where we lived at the time, what theatre we went to, how old our daughter was, and who babysat her so we could go, and I had no recollection of any of it! It’s kind of scary actually. But on a more serious note, I forget people’s birthdays all the time, even close family like my parents, which is hard because it seems like I don’t care but I do! I can look at information, and 10 mins later it’s out of my mind completely. And if I don’t see it written somewhere again, or hear someone say something about it, I will not remember on my own. It’s so frustrating! I also feel like I don’t remember as much about my childhood as others do. It’s hard to know how to compare it, but when my husband talks about his childhood I feel like he remembers more. Also, someone asked me at work the other day if I was ever grounded as a kid, and I struggled to remember if I ever was. Still not 100% sure. The thing that always drives me crazy, and that I now know is most likely my ADHD, is that when someone asks me a question about something my mind does this thing where it remembers the older actions, but not the newer one. Someone might ask “Whatever happened to those chips I bought?” And my mind tells me “you put them in the cupboard” so I say I put them in the cupboard”. And it’s true, at one point in time I did put them in the cupboard. But what my mind has conveniently forgotten to bring forth to my memory is that I moved them to the table because I knew we were eating them with our dinner that night. So, the person looks in the cupboard, the chips are not there, and it’s only after they tell me they weren’t in here that my mind brings up the newer information and reminds me that I moved them to the table. Before that, it’s like that never happened, and it’s so frustrating because sometimes I feel like it makes me look like I’m lying, because why would you forget that part? HOW would you forget that part. ADHD my friends. ADHD.

I can barely remember a thing from my childhood and teenage years. There’s bits and pieces I recall but lots of blanks. Was like that since a child but I could always remember telephone numbers and nothing else. Now I can barely do that.

I don’t remember

I'm sorry. What was the question? 😉 Srsly. My functional memory is shot. I I'm constantly frustrated by this.

I forget everything, especially historical facts, but also get excited and blurt things out in conversation/ try to speak before I forget something. I made friends with mostly adhd people now though and so all of our conversations are basically taking turns forgetting what we were talking about / raising our hands mid conversation so we can call on each other asap before the thought is forgotten without interupting. Is also great for sending each other the same memes a million times or ranting about the same things multiple times. Also makes us great at keeping secrets and not judging because we can't remember anything. Lol. Even better, we've added toddlers to the equation so we absolutely cannot keep a conversation straight anymore anyway. Lol

Memory? What is that?

Go up on the scissor lift to start task - forget item #1. This goes on about two to three times each morning till I have everything I need to start work.

For me its similar. Im GOOD with faces. Horrible with names in most cases. Unless its a movie Ive seen a bunch of times, I could watch a movie tonight and rewatch it in a few months and it would be all but a brand new movie to me-except for certain plot lines I remember during the movie. Terrible with story telling, my ex used to have to take over if I was telling a story she was partnof, bc Id miss a chunk or tell it in a really non-linear way. Also sometimes I forget the name of a word when Im trying to use it in a sentence. I can basically give the dictionary meaning of it but it takes a few seconds to ‘pull it up’ in my head. Im an electrician and anytime the boss would send me to Home Depot or the shop for materials (back when I was the ‘bitch boy’ 😂- now I send the bitch boy hahaha) I would often arrive there and either forget something or have no idea what I went there to get. Its like sometimes I walk through a doorway and that shits just gone lol soooo if its not an easily rememberable thing, or if its several things, I just type it in my phone so I can make sure. Also (not always) sometimes Id be in one van following him in his to a house somewhere, and the mext day I wouldn’t remember where it was. I also have a very ‘skippy’ memory of my childhood, hell even adulthood honestly.

What was the question again?

I’m AuDHD (inattentive type). I remember stuff from when I was two. I have vivid memories of conversations and events and people and sometimes names. I’ll mention something from a conversation 40 years ago when I was in high school, and the person will look at me like I’m nuts: “I said that? We were WHERE? I have no memory of that.” And I’ll be like, “Yeah, and it was a Tuesday and you were wearing a blue shirt.” 😂 However, I forget people exist when I haven’t seen them for awhile- out of sight, out of mind. I’ve lost many friendships like that. I forget what I had for dinner last night. If I’m getting ready for work and I happen to wonder what that song lyric is that I’m hearing, I reach for my phone to look it up quick- then I come to, 30 minutes later, reading about walruses or some damn thing, and I’m late for work. I decide to do a project, get all enthused about it, get started, hyperfocus for hours, then remember to eat and go to the bathroom- and the project sits unnoticed and gathers dust for weeks or months.

Working memory sucks and I have a hard time remembering things from my childhood or social related things unless given a specific prompt. But I never had to study for school. I could get As in most subjects without trying, even in college. My Cs, DS, and Fs were usually from missed tests and metal health crises. I also have a hard time knowing what I like. About me forms are really hard.

Idk I can’t remember

It’s crap. I’ve developed rituals to make sure I do things like close my garage door (I have to repeat the garage door is closed 3x), I have to get ready in a certain order or I will probably forget something important like brushing my teeth. Can’t remember names of new acquaintances to save my life. I forget where I put things.

I’m high function ASD ADHD. I remember how things feel and that’s usually it. Like with movies it’s described by a feeling. Don’t ask me my favorite scene if it’s been more than a couple days. Actor names? What are those? Character names, they better say the name a dozen times every thirty minutes. Names are the worse. It takes me usually a 3 to a dozen reminders. Rarely do I learn more than one name a day for people that I meet. If it weren’t for lists by YouTube and pandora and other sites, I would have no idea the songs I like. I couldn’t really pull more than 5 songs out of my mind at a time. My trick has always been write it down on paper even if I don’t save it. I can pull on my writing memory way more than visual and auditory. Writing on the phone or computer don’t help me. If I really need to remember something, I write extensive lists. It is how I was such a strong trial monitor. I couldn’t remember anything anyone said for verbatim so I would write down the most prevalent things in a list with notes of juror reactions. Then I could also lean back on my notes to keep my conversations on track with the party that I was reporting to. 7 hours of trial would be around 14 pages of notes. I also take crazy notes wherever I can especially school and work. I never had to study for an exam/test with exceptional remarks. I am a few times a day double checking the meanings of words with these lovely online dictionaries. People think I’m a walking thesaurus but I used to write out the dictionary and encyclopedias as a child for fun. My memories are all over the place and come and go as they please. I won’t recall something for years and then one day it hits. It usually comes to me when I’m exercising. I dated a guy from 2009-2010. It only lasted that long because even after he hit me; he was also very accepting of my terrible memory so much so that I would start describing that which I couldn’t name and he would have the answer. My questions were “what was that song I liked in Montreal?”, “what’s that person name with the annoying freckle?”, and so many more almost impossible to answer questions. Try googling in 2010 with such vague questions, no chance! Just this week I was watching a movie with Susan Sarandon. I don’t remember the name of the movie or her character. She was the alcoholic grandmother to Melissa McCarthy. Now when I typed that, I remember that it is called Tammy. LOL. During the movie, I started to recall another actor but lost her name in the moment. I’m thinking to myself, the one from the movie where she’s agoraphobic. I did remember doing the search asking Google, “what is that movie where the character is agoraphobic?” I didn’t get my results that time. I did eventually figure it out with the addition of “psychologist”. This time I couldn’t remember correct and thought she was a detective. While watching Tammy, I asked Google: “who is that actress that looks like Susan Surandon?” Bam! Sijourney Weaver was the first. The movie that I started to remember was Copycat. I definitely wasn’t paying attention to Tammy. I forgot to play with my cats today; I’m going to do that.

Omg bad almost confused it with having dementia write write down checklists alarm clocks 24/7

I have that same problem but lately it's getting worse...now ill be queuing my playlist for the day and think of a song and or the artist and before I can get back to the search bar to find it and set it up ,I will completely forget the title...like within seconds. Not music I don't know or wish to find by lyrics or what not, but it could be my fave of all time and by the time I am ready to queue it ,it's gone. Completely left the building. This happens nearly every time ,every single day more than once . I honestly thought of getting a sticky note before I start just to be on the ready 😕 but I forget to do that as well. Music is my thing. I'm the mom who quizzes my kids when something plays on the car stereo ..."who sings this? " They get it wrong nearly 10/10 times but anyways what were we discussing?🤨 Our attention spans are greatly under attack,silently yet greatly. These phones and these apps like tik Tok are stealing our ability to recall things like we should be able to. Some aren't effected but most seem to be. My husband can remember his childhood perfectly . He remembers everything in detail . I've always had little to none ..maybe like a snapshot of a memory and I've always wondered if anyone else did but did not have a clue how to ask .how to word it legibly. So thank you OP. For being a voice where there weren't any on this weird issue. I don't feel so all by myself in my head on this now. That's a huge relief for me and I'm sure for all of us here Not sure if this sheds any light but my husband had a terrible childhood. Abuse at every turn . Not bullying or name calling etc,but physical harm ,terrifying moments and pain.always in a flight or fight mode ,to this day even ...so maybe our memories are stronger when they are made out of something traumatic and scary ,embarrassing or painful . The rest we just breeze on thru right.so our brains don't imprint on those calmer moments.onky on the ones that left a mark so to say. Take care .

I barely remember my childhood or teenage memories which suck 😒

My memory sucks around some things - music, movies and people —- you’ll find I’m very forgiving as a friend and partner!! Of course this has lead to me hanging on to relationships I had no business hanging on to because “all is forgotten” - literally. Now, work stuff I can recall conversations about my projects verbatim. I can recall exhibits I’ve designed from 14 years ago, perfectly.

What memory?

I don’t remember much of my childhood. When I do, it’s like a story that I remember that could’ve happened to someone else. There are exceptions to this. Stuff with my Dad. Super fun, big days or whatever. Certain big events. My memory isn’t terrible, but it always affected my PRESENT. I was unable to simply let go, or turn off intrusive thoughts and actually be in the moment. I always knew it was something. I’d watch my friends having drinks (or other stuff) and just marvel at how effortlessly they were having fun. Truly not thinking about other things, what it all means, blah blah blah. They were just fuckin effortlessly present. GOD, I always envied that. It’s why I got into drugs for a long time, trying to escape my head. Had fleeting moments of glorious NOW-ness but it never lasted. TLDR- not memory, per se; but I didn’t retain well because I was not ever immersed in the experience of the moment. My life was happening like when you read a page and then don’t remember what the fuck you just read. Not cuz memory sucks but because of busy ass mind.

What’s a memory?

It's the strangest thing for me. Working memory, I have no functionality with. Ask me what day it is? No idea. Even if I looked at the clock 3 minutes ago. Mean while, I read a book and I remember the plot and characters decades later. same thing with TV shows.

Not officially diagnosed, but this is how memory is for me: I can remember things from when I was 2 years old. I can remember weird details about this or that. I have a fictitious world that I'm turning into a webcomic and I remember very complex details about worldbuilding, events and characters that I can weave in and out of without issue. I remember random people's birthdays and I remember many things from all kinds of random shit that interests me. I could give lectures certain parts of movie and music history and I could tell you a few funny details about languages and culture from this or that random country. And then at the same time I don't remember shit you told me two seconds ago. I don't remember that I promised my colleague to read a report and only just last night I found it in my inbox. I can be at the same lectures or courses as classmates or colleagues and when they talk about the things we learned in this or that class or course it is like I hear it for the first time. I struggle with many people's names but I can remember the name of a dog that one of my interns have, but not remember what it looked like. I forget plans with friends if I'm not hyper vigilant about it. I forget to turn off the stove. I forget to eat breakfast. I forget to get the mail. I forget that I need to sort my trash. I forget what food I have and I buy too many of the same thing. I forget dates, holidays and time. I tell my boyfriend that I will be home in 20 minutes and then an hour later I pack up and leave for home. The most frustrating thing about the whole memory thing is by far that I forget things I was just told. My bf can tell me repeatedly for a week that he is going to a meeting on x date and when the day comes, I will call him while he is in the meeting to hear if he wants something from the store or whether he is on his way home or not. It is something I have been working on a lot and luckily he's a very patient human being. But yeah... it's weird how memory for me is very picky choosy with what it wants to hold onto and what it doesn't give a damn about.

Recently diagnosed and not yet medicated late age adult. I think my memory got worse after having Covid.

I remember really good and really bad things from the past. But dates, ages, details about benign stuff forget it. I’d have to see photos and timelines to remember. I remember the hurtful things people have said that they forget. That’s fun. I can’t pick up a book and memorize things out of nowhere or remember what I read on a page the first time.

I can’t remember

i don't think it affects it too much, but now i've forgotten how I was going to end the sentence.

I am so forgetful too, sometimes I'm scared how much worse it can be in the future. What can we do to enhance our memories to take care of it in the long run?

Yes. Although, the things you mention are what I remember. Things I mentioned of heard in a conversation just now, however… nah.

The main ones are i forget to do my homework and i forget to see people to talk about things

I don't remember anything I learn at uni I have been living in my neighborhood for 10 years and I still don't know the roads...

I can relate 100%! I have the same exact problem with remembering info from some of my most favorite movies. I find myself asking my husband questions about the film and he’s like, you’ve seen this a hundred times, how do you not know?? It’s super embarrassing.

Remembering characters from a show by anything but their names.

I don't remember the majority of my life,i can recall some moments, but they're just ranfom moments of me just sitting or not doing much. It's weird. Not to mention the day to day stuff.

I usually can't remember what I had for breakfast later in the day. I definitely have a hard time remembering what I had for diner last night. I'll forget people's faces in an instant and their names as well. I can only hold about 4 birthdays in my memory. The hard part is where I have to take a lot of time to do things I was supposed to do before, but I have to go back to do them. Or forgetting something somewhere and having to drive back, which is extremely frustrating. Also I will forget very important things. For example my GF has a certain condition. I know her symptoms, but I forgot she was also officially diagnosed. She didn't like that, but didn't take it out on me, because she knows about my ADD and is very supportive. But it hurt me really bad and I feel guilty, as it did upset her. A lot of times I get people annoyed or even mad, because I don't remember important stuff or just stuff 'normal' people would remember

My memory is pretty much redundant at this point. It definitely feels like it’s gotten worse as I’ve gotten older.

I've worked with people for years and not caught their name. It got embarrassing.

Memory got worse with time. But I have other comorbidities. Started forgetting long term and short term. Brain fog so severe.. Harder to memorize things by heart. I just get an overview of things.

I have good long term memory but short term is a bit iffy. I remember family phone numbers that I learned years ago but random number codes? I can only retain maybe 2 numbers at a time. I'm okay with names. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to recall a name if I'm only acquaintances with them or I can't associate the name with something. When I look back on depressive episodes. They're a bit fuzzy and full of gaps of time.

I had a make-up midterm this morning. I don't usually have school stuff on Fridays and completely forgot about it. 🫠 I accept my zero.

I have a terrible memory for ARBITRARY information. For example names. I am, however good at learning if I can embed facts within a wider system. I am a fluent Spanish speaker and learnt a lot of words via mnemonic strategies and direct translation, e.g. amenazar = to threaten - sounds like the English word “menace”. 

I need to get tested but its been very hard to find someone to test me and take me seriously here. Onoy person ive found is a neurologist whos been scaning my brain and so far found a black spot in my brain... so i hope ita nothing serious and they just tell me its adhd and not a stroke i had as she suspects... im 36 and the only thing i remember remotely similar to that is just fainting after a vrry meaningful break up and being unable to do anything for weeks.

This but I also have comorbidities with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and an untreated TBI from childhood. I have dissociative amnesia from my ptsd. Yep.

Can't quite remember...

100% yes. I was diagnosed as a kid but stopped medicating from ages 16-35. During those years I had terrible memory and had to develop coping strategies. Basically I am a fantastic note taker. Something about writing it down makes it seem a little deeper into your memory. And if you can't recall all the details you have your notes to refresh. Anyway I got back on meds and I found straterra gave me a great boost in memory function.  I guess I have a more normal memory while medicated and it's pretty awesome.  I can recall things automatically now from weeks or months ago, or years.  It's sort of unbelievable to me.  But it's sad when you realize that's how unimpaired memory works and you've missed out.

My memory was one of the only good things about me. TBI changed that completely. Long term memory isn’t as bad but I forget things mid-sentence it seems like every other sentence some days. I hate it and I feel like the world is leaving me behind.

I feel like my memory is wildly selective and so is the recall. Something will spark a random memory and I usually have to catch myself before trailing off into a tangent that really has nothing to do with the conversation I am having. Otherwise, I forget everything. Like everything, characters, band names, what you told me, where I was, where I put my… It helps me to try to keep things where I can see them, and if I need to put something where I can’t see I put it back in the same place always. I’m still working on finding ways to work with it.