Terrible memory
Hello! I want to know if anyone has any advice or if they also experience having a bad memory. I tend to mainly forget when im having conversations with a friend and they mention something that has happened in the past. Another issue i have is when i think a little to hard about something my mind completely goes blank and it frustrates me. If anyone has any advice or if they have any similar experiences feel free to share!
Good afternoon, and thank you for reaching out. I am sure this topic is very interesting to many readers! What you’re describing can indeed be frustrating and can lead to uncomfortable situations.
Before trying to change anything — which is absolutely possible — it may help to remember that you are already whole and complete as a person, with all your unique traits. This is not a flaw; it’s simply a feature of how your mind works. The brain naturally filters out what it considers unnecessary or not important enough to retain. That isn’t a failure — it’s efficiency.
Practice gratitude for what you already have, and allow yourself — and others — to accept and appreciate you as you are. Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up on growth; it simply removes unnecessary pressure and self-criticism, which often makes improvement easier.
As for advice: the best guidance often comes from within, when you pause and truly listen.
You might gently ask yourself:
“How can I improve my memory? Perhaps by focusing more deeply on events as they happen? By engaging more of my senses — especially smell — to create stronger neural connections and retain memories more clearly?”*
“How can I avoid going blank? Maybe I need to loosen my grip and stop forcing the answer. Perhaps if I relax, it will come naturally in its own time.”*
Sometimes clarity arrives not through pressure, but through patience.
I hope my thoughts help 🙏🏽
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain everything! I really appreciate the insights on adhd and how to work with my memory. What you said about self-acceptance and focusing on the moment really resonated with me. I'm going to try being more patient and engage more. I'm grateful for your help and im blessed to be able to receive such knowledge from someone. You’re awesome 🧡
Very glad to hear that it resonates with you. And thank you for your nice words. I guess you read today’s ADHD article. Yes - staying in presence is our lost and forgotten natural state. If you have more interest in it - feel free to write me a 1-on-1 message. Always ready to talk !
@AnticipationNation
Seconded, I'm trying to be more mindful, it is a challenge 😉
@pieceWarrior
I have always had issues sleeping continuously, 3 -4 hrs at a stint and wake with mind buzzing, just wondering how much that would affect the creation of long term memories as my understanding is it is process that occurs in the latter REM stages of sleep ?
Thank you too for sharing your thoughts. I have same sleep issues. I am not a specialist on memory. I guess connection of long memory and night brain activities is very complex. But healthy sleep is really worth attention nowadays. Sleep disorders are more dangerous than we think, in a long term .
As for memory - it works on its own , brain decides on its own when to pop up some memories from ancient times , when to remember about an iron left turned on etc.
But when I turn on iron I do it with attention and realization that it’s important to not forget later if I will get distracted. Then if I have to leave home suddenly I will have a feeling I forgot something. But if I turned on the iron while thinking about a dinner or a coming date - my attention wasn’t on iron - will lead to mess in my head. So being present with actions helps
There are many tricks to memorize better.
Repeating studied material after 1 hour , 1 day and 1 week moves it to long memory.
I studied programming that way. Used reminder.
Retelling material to somebody - helps a lot.
When I remember numbers or words - always create associations. To remember name John I can think or even pronounce a joke if appropriate- John like Travolta or John Wick. Then once I will ask myself, what was the name - the association will pop up because it also happened in same moment . Or I will remember face expression or tonality of person , also helps.
@pieceWarrior
Thanks for the detailed response, I did my degree in chemical engineering as significant element was practical and course work/projects, took a little pressure of of memory.
@AnticipationNation
Sorry i can't offer mush in the way of suggestions but following post as i cam certainly empathise. i even struggle with names of colleagues I've worked with for years, only to recall them moments later once the moments past, frustrating....
