Friday, November 27, 2020

Reassurance Needed

This probably never happens to anyone else but just the aging me, but I ask anyway.

Do you ever draw a blank when thinking about something that you otherwise do automatically?

No? Well I do.

Yesterday, I experienced the craziest blank ever.

I couldn't find the ? key!!

Now this is something that I have done on autopilot for I guess more than three decades, which is how long I have been regularly using computers. I didn't do much typing before that, but I was a pretty early user of computers.

But I drew a blank yesterday. Because I stopped to think about it, I guess. I hope.

It worries me a bit that this occurred.

But the fact that I can remember this a day later -- both the incident and the location of the ? key -- is positive. Right?

Please tell me that I am okay.

15 comments:

  1. That happens to me sometimes. The only difference is I can’t think of an example. Lol.

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  2. It happens for me with words I know how to spell or used to. Good thing for spell check.

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  3. I am older than you and yes, it happens now and then. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If it continues, I'd see the doctor.

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  4. I have to laugh out loud...because I went to a doctor about memory problems at least 15 years ago. She told me not to worry. And here I still forget the dumbest things. However, various members of my family have had Alzheimers and other dementias, and I felt really bad about that. So if it should happen a lot more often, I think I'd have myself checked out. I used to administer tests to elderly people in nursing homes to see if they had dementia. A lot of them did. But they still were not there for that reason...usually a physical disability was the reason they needed care. However, there was also an Alzheimer's unit where patients were really suffering memory problems. Changes in personality are another thing to worry about. Either very short-tempered when they might have been kind before, or the opposite, running around kissing and hugging. Watch out!

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  5. I lose track of words all the time and I know I know them but just can't spit them out. I can sit there and focus on the keyboard for what seems like hours and it won't come. Finally I use a different phrase to get by and then BAM, the word I was searching for will about knock me out of my chair. I explain it away at my brain not being as agile as it was when I was younger, much like the rest of my body.

    What worries me is repeating the same story to people I've already told it too before like my father tends to do these days.

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  6. I often say something to one of my kids and they respond "Dad, you told me that yesterday."
    I prefer to think I'm eccentric rather than forgetful.

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  7. It sounds normal to me! I'm having to preface my remarks with,"I may have already told you..." I think that anything we do on automatic pilot isn't stored in the front of our memory, so if we focus too hard on it, it'll be tough to grasp. Our memory is still there, it's the retrieval systems that get rusty.

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  8. You are okay. It happens to the best of us.

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  9. My automatic response to that was to look down at the keyboard to where it is.

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  10. Remember, I am the lady who forgets everything. You sound normal to me. If you are really worried, go visit your GP and tell him/ her the problem. :)

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  11. There gets to be the odd hole in our memory. Sometimes things are on pause. A few weeks ago I couldn't remember what date my birthday was. By the way , I can't remember your name right now but I'll think of it later!!! The joys of growing old!

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  12. This lost key phenomena strikes me often, of late.

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  13. In the last month I have noticed that when I type I keep forgetting to use the space bar. Over and over again I have to go back and space out my words. I never used to do that. At least no one can say I am "spaced out"!

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  14. I forget words sometimes. Simple ones that make me feel really dumb. I worry about it getting progressively worse, too.

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  15. I've been having memory problems for a while now. I keep blogging hoping my brain keeps moving. I'll be talking about something and a word or name just won't come to me. Simple words. Then I'll spend a bunch of time just testing myself to see if I remember it hours later. I think we're all slowing down a bit these days.I remember a psychologist friend telling me it's OK if I forget where I put the keys. The problem is if I forget what the key is for.

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