Memory loss is a common concern as we age, making it important to understand the difference between normal forgetfulness and a serious health issue like dementia. Recognizing this difference can help you or someone you know seek the necessary medical help. While it’s normal to occasionally misplace things or forget someone's name, persistent memory issues may be cause for concern.
What's normal forgetfulness?
For the average person, it's normal to forget facts or events over time and it is not something to worry about. Memory tends to have a use-it or lose-it quality, so the less you recall the information - the more likely you are to forget the memory.
It’s also common to forget information if you are distracted or don’t pay close enough attention when you receive it. For example, you might forget where you placed your keys because you were talking on the phone when you set them down.
Other normal memory problems include:
- Blocking: The temporary inability to remember something (it's on the tip of your tongue, but you can’t think of it).
- Misattribution: Recalling part of a memory correctly but misremembering some details.
- Bias: Your personal biases filter your perceptions of memories which affects how information is encoded in your brain and causes you to remember certain details differently.
Signs to see a doctor
If you are experiencing memory loss beyond normal forgetfulness, this might be a sign of an underlying memory disorder, such as dementia.
Each memory disorder has unique characteristics, causes and risk factors. However, below are common warning signs:
- Memory loss disrupts daily life: This includes forgetting recently learned information, forgetting important dates or events, asking the same questions over and over and the increasing need to rely on memory aids.
- Difficulty completing familiar tasks: This could include having trouble driving to familiar places, frequently getting lost or struggling to create a grocery list.
- Confusion with time or place: Struggling to understand something that is happening in the future or forgetting where you are or how you got there.
- New problems with words: A new struggle with vocabulary like naming familiar objects or using the wrong name – this goes beyond occasionally having trouble finding the right word.
Everyone is occasionally forgetful. If you or someone you know has experienced any of these warning signs or noticeable changes in memory, reach out to your health care provider. The provider will assess your experiences and help find the source of the memory problems. If needed, the provider will refer you to a specialist to ensure you (or your loved one) gets the necessary memory care.
