I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with my friends where I’ll ask them if they remember something that happened not too long ago and they can’t recall almost any of it. All my friends that this happens to have one common link – depression. But it’s not one the symptoms that’s often thought of when depression comes to mind — ironically, it’s the forgotten symptom. Read on for more information about depression and memory loss.
It’s in the details
While my friends can remember that we went to a McDonald’s, the vast majority of what happened there is gone not too long after it happens. One time a friend and I laughed so hard about something that I snorted, and she couldn’t remember it at all four days later. Depression won’t take away your memory, it’ll just dampen it.
Makes Prospects Hard
Remembering to do something becomes almost impossible. Your brain can’t hold it in your head that you’ll need to do something in the near future. I’ve found that I have to write things down because my brain just refuses to keep that stuff locked away for me anymore.
Changes in What You Remember
Depression isn’t just a mood or a bad day. It is a state that your brain exists in. Being in this state changes the way you brain operates. It has been shown that depressed people have an easier time remembering the bad things that happen to them. While a neurotypical person might remember going to the beach or a promotion most prominently, a break up or a bad grade will spend more time at the forefront of a depressed person’s mind. The brain adapted the way it thinks, stores and recalls information.
There isn’t much research on depression and memory loss, but it is a real thing. If you’re struggling with memory loss, you might want to explore if you have depression. And if you have depression and have memory loss, you’re not alone.