Diagnosis... CRS

They say it is the second thing to go but I can’t remember exactly what they said the first thing might be.  I chalk my lack of recall up to the amount of clutter I have accumulated over a well-lived life, which is currently milling freely about in my head awaiting the request to be pulled out for a constructive or positive use.  Recently, however, the number of times that I go into a room and totally forget why I went in or what I needed to get is on the increase.  The lack of intimate knowledge of where my keys may be located has been escaping me.  These aren’t the only things.

There are the items I can’t seem to recall I need when I get to the grocery store.  I hear you, why don’t I write it down?  Well, I would, except that implies I’d remember to put the list in my purse and then not forget once I am at the store to pull it out and actually look at it.

Another example, I have been calling my love muffin by my child’s name and my child by my love muffin’s name… you would think I could get it right by now.  Heck other than my son looking like a mini-me of my husband, they do have their obvious differences.  That is what I get by having them both have one-syllable names.  If I was thinking, way back when, I would have thought this out and given the child a multi-syllabic name, perhaps in a foreign dialect, to circumvent such problems now.

I don’t keep appointments unless someone calls to remind me.  There is something to be said about choosing a doctor, dentist or hairdresser on the basis of this relatively simple exercise of jogging the memory.  I admire the people who have the skill to do this… they must be young and still have the ability to multi-task with ease.

I have noticed that many of the more timely magazines (AARP, Prevention and assorted sundry rags dedicated to the betterment, well being and redemption of the baby boomers) have suggestions to reinstate senior moments and jog your memory.  The best explanation I could find on the web: “There are three stages that must take place for memory to occur.  Stage one is encoding or input.  In this stage, you pay attention, process information and give it meaning.  Stage two is storage.  During the processing period, the information is held in your mind long enough for it to be stored for later recall.   Stage three is retrieval, during which the brain recalls the information previously encoded and stored.”

Imagine, “most memory problems are due to lack of attention (guess I need more exciting stimuli), so the information never gets processed in a meaningful way (encoded) and never makes it to storage.  Making a conscious decision to pay attention is the first important step toward improving memory skills.  Then simple techniques can help you process information so it stands a better chance of making it to storage for retrieval.”  The experts suggest the stages of Association, Visualization, Repetition and Rehearsal will enhance what is ailing you in the memory department.

The specialists seem to know what the core of the problem is, but after a chance encounter with worldly and wise friends at the local coffee establishment, they were able to put a name to the set of symptoms I have been experiencing… CRS… “Can’t Remember Stuff (or something like that)”.  I was thrilled.  Something short, sweet, to the point and most importantly, something I think I will be able to retain.

Confucius once said, “Improving memory requires awareness of the possibility of forgetting.”  I like his thinking; two steps forward, one step back and I will still be ahead of the game.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-