Correlation between anxiety and bad memory?

[gunsintheground]

I've been thinking about this a lot recently, and was wondering if anyone else with an anxiety disorder (I have GAD) has a really terrible memory or if that is just me? Like- my memory is bad enough that I forget if I tell my friends/family something and tell them it repeatedly, I can barely remember anything from a few years ago or before, I forget where I put stuff constantly and also can barely remember appointments/lesson times at college. I can manage this stuff -kind of- with carrying a small diary with me wherever I go, but I'd like to know if this is common or an individual problem.

[Hidden]

Hi

It certainly is for me, it gets easier and I remember more when my anxiety levels drop over a period of time.

I think maybe a quarter of my life has been lost in anxiety dream state, of worrying about the future/past etc.

I use a diary too, on my phone with an alarm so I dont forget appointments

Wish you well

B

xxx

[angelfaced]

I am like this too, i carry a diary with me at all times, also have a calender too and still forget lol.

[Paw52]

Me too, most of the time I can't remember what I did yesterday. Live in an anxiety fog most of the time wishing it would clear.

[wantscontrolofmyOWNlife]

Sounds very farmiliar to me too. My memory is so bad i get half way through a sentence and forget what i was talking about or i'll forget what ive just said and when someone responds to me they have to repeat back to me what ive just said. And yes i tell people stuff repeatidly too. It amazes me somedays that i remember to put matching shoes on x If you are like me you will remember unimportant stuff like the nextdoor nieghbours daughters bf buying a tv from lidle for less than £400 four years ago. But remembering my daughters first word or the first time my son smiled is impossible. Which is really frustrating and upsetting. You are not alonexxx

[wallflower_fairy]

Hi this sounds about right for me as well, I have a bad memory and am really disorganised as well. It makes me feel anxious because I feel as if I'm not in control. I feel powerless. Like others have said at least it's not just us, we're not alone.

I think it can work both ways, I think feeling anxious can make our memory worse as well which makes it even harder to break the cycle.

I hope you're getting the right support and feel better soon.

It's horrible when the people around you don't understand.

Kindest Regards

wanderingwallflower xx

[Ugliebettie]

Me too at the very worst of my anxiety I was a walking liability. Not ply had I no memory, I had no word recall, or concentration either. My thinking mind just didn't seem to work. That was one of the reasons I had to stop working - the large reports I used to write once or twice a week with little stress - became literally impossible to do.

[sasays]

My memory is terrible. I get the feeling a majority of people just think im not listening, i ask ask them the same questions over and over. If someone has said something mid sentence ill be so busy trying to remember a response when theyre finished that ive either unintentionally missed the end of what theyve said or ive totally interrupted them as i know i might forget otherwise and my mouth has just opened and said what im thinking without waiting my turn.

I can go to the cinema and when the credits roll i remember that i thought it was quite good but i cant remember what it was about or who was in it. The people im with might say blah blah bit was very funny and look at me for a reaction and they dont get one as i dont know what theyre talking about as i dont rememeber anything. I can meet a friend for dinner, get out of the tube and start walking, get lost, not rememebr where i came from, where im going, the name of the tubs i got off at or the name of the restaurant im going to. They have no patience whatsoever for what im going through, i spent a long time staring at a map looking for a road name i had written down and get angry calls to ask where i am and i cant tell them as i dont know and they dont understand why i cant go back to the tube i just came from as i dont know where it is any more. Im almost always late due to my anxiety, which leads people to be rude when i arrive ie not even say hello. I find it hard with old friends as they reminice and i just dont remember anything. I find it hard to make new friends as i cant rememeber if ive met them before and if i have i dont remember anything about them, inc their name. Feel like im living in a cloud and everything misunderstand everything. I get the feeling most people think im miserable and maybe a bit selfish as i dont ever listen or contribute but i constantly worry about people, would do anything for anyone but find socialising really hard as i dont know what anyone is talking about most of the time.

Sorry for the rant, you're defnitely not alone x

[sasays]

I also can't remember how to spell words, when i read stuff back i miss some words or letter out entirely sometimes. Its very frustration to witness my own deteriation