I’ll be 33 in a few weeks, and I’ve been thinking about some stuff from the past. I realized that many of my memories from long ago are kinda gone. I don’t remember school life anymore, I don’t remember “clearly” how it was on my first year with my wife 14 years ago, like I remember but not very detailed. Is that some mental condition? I take a lot of sleeping medicines and stuff, I live a very stressful life, professionally speaking. How you guys feel about it?
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I’ve lived a _very_ stressful life also and I still remember everything in very vivid detail. You may wish to see a doc and/or eliminate the sleep medicines and other “stuff” from your life.
A good memory can be a curse. Take wife as a example. She can recall every single thing that I did wrong over the two decades we have been married. For the life of me I have to take her word for it and apologize over and over again, since I can only remember a handful.
Unfortunately it doesn’t work in reverse. As I tend to forgive and forget as part of my nature. But one thing for sure she has only apologized to me one time during this same period of time. And only after arguing about it for two days. And not whole heartedly either.
Constantly.
I’m an engineer. I’ve been with my employer for 30ish years. I’ve been around the proverbial block.
And more than once I’ve found a piece of equipment in the plant and been like, “Hey, this is really badass! Who designed this??” Only to have people kinda look at each other and be like, “Umm… You did.”
Apparently younger me did some good work! I guess that older me can take some solace in at least recognizing good work when he sees it?
Not really. I still remember things from 30 years ago like they were yesterday. Like, I still remember my first day of Kindergarten. We sat at group tables and we had a sticker designation. I was at the cat table. I remember believing that it was a competition so we needed to win.
Honestly, there’s a lot of my life that I wish I didn’t remember.
I remember things but its usually foggy and only key parts of it. My wife seems to remember everything clearly though. I’ve noticed that if I have a better time remembering something if I’m doing something else while I do it. Like listening to music.
34. Been with my wife 14 years. Narcoleptic.
I have not encountered this forgetfulness.
I don’t have advice, but for anecdotal reference this doesn’t resonate with me.
I’ve found myself struggling with my short-term memory the older I get. It’s caused issues with my SO, me not remembering the score for a tabletop game we had played multiple times (I asked if she had beat me yet).
I was shook I didn’t remember the multiple times she beat me, she felt it was because I didn’t care to remember which is so far from the truth.
I’ve been sober for almost 3 years now, I truly believe the alcohol did this to me, but who knows.
All we can do is take care of ourselves now the best we can right?
I only remember a few bits and pieces. But saying that I can’t really remember what I done last week 😆
Only the ones I THOUGHT were special before i matured more.
In my 20s I could remember all the Tom foolery because we told and relived those stories now we don’t care to “dude remember that time, Alex reached in and took a stick out of that fountain in front of the bar and the cops hooked him up for drink in public”
I have a horrible memory with people and names, though objects and places I can recall quite well. At 53, I might not remember something right away, but it’s easy enough to get it back by focusing on 1 specific thing, such as a great meal, or a unique part, or any number of things.
What’s really eye opening is when you discover history in your mind changes over time. You’ll be so positive you are right about an event in the past only a video could prove you wrong. Yeah, fun times.
Okay, this is weird. For the past couple days, I’ve been getting fleeting images of scenes from dreams I’ve had in the past, while I’m awake. Long forgotten, but resurfacing at frequent, random, intervals.
As soon as I try to remember these flashes of dreams, they slip away, but the feeling remains.
I remember a lot of the important stuff but other stuff is gone. Like in high school I had a locker every year, but I could not tell you where one was. I remember a few of the teachers I liked, but not the rest. I remember a few good interactions, but mostly bad ones. But otherwise…. Nah. College too. I remember more interactions with friends on campus than time in classrooms. There are snatches of it all, but I went back to campus after 15 years and it was way different. I think we remember the things we think about a lot, so happy times and sad times, but not so much the pb&j times.
I realize it all the time.
I catch myself thinking of my college, prime days, quite often… I tend to try and just cherish the memories instead of anything beyond.
I don’t think we remember all that much in general. Or at least I don’t. I remember a lot but a lot of day to day stuff I don’t remember.
Some of it might be good tho. Definitely don’t remember posting some cringe Facebook posts in HS lol.
The thought has never occurred to me even once. Or maybe it did and I forgot. Either way, it’s a non-issue for me. It’s all fleeting and impermanent. There’s no hanging on to anything. No solid ground.
I’m a similar age and this way too. I don’t have many memories of my life in general, which when I realized that a few years ago really distressed me.
My suspicion is that it’s related to my lifelong anxiety and a poor ability to focus. I have always been the type to isolate and push people away, too. Spending time alone, every day will seem to blend together, and no new memories will form.
But yeah, primarily, I think anxiety and focus are the culprits. I’ve lived my life in my head. Memories form, but they’re anxious thought patterns, not moments that took place outside me. It’s the cause of the obsessive ruminating. I have poor focus, too, because I’ve lived my life inside my head. I have a difficult time directing my senses. Like tuning my hearing into something or focusing on a certain scent. Frankly, until recently, I thought I didn’t smell things at all. Turns out I can pretty well if I try.
The good news is that focus seems to be something that can be strengthened at any age if you work at it.
I’m in the same boat to some degree. I don’t remember things I wish I did, like some of my time in high school and college, certain memories from childhood, certain experiences I’ve had.
I’ve come to realize a lot of that is due to dissociation, and not being fully present or fully aware in a lot of moments in my life.
However, I started journaling about 5 years ago and I wish I had done so much earlier. That at least helps take me back to those moments and often recall details I’d otherwise forget.