1 UNBELIEVABLE MEMORY LOSS SCARE

Memory loss has been scaring me recently. Unfortunately, memories are not lighting the corners of my mind. They have been AWOL. Am I developing dementia?

MEMORY LOSS CENTERING AROUND GARBAGE

Garbage seems to be center stage in my missing memories. Several weeks ago, I loaded the garbage in my Jeep Cherokee to drive to the county dump. (Note: I am too cheap to pay for trash pickup. I would still have to haul it out to the curb. Using the county dump costs me $3 a bag and, in the winter, I can go several weeks without taking it to town.)

I drove straight to the gym (twenty minutes), exercised, and then turned towards home. After about five minutes, I realized the car smelled like garbage. DUH! I pulled to the side of the road and looked in the back. OMG! I had totally forgotten to drop off the load.

Last week, I took a particularly stinky bag in the back of my old farm pickup truck. I had to wash out the trash can and let it dry. After returning from a trip to San Antonio, I needed to take out the trash, but I couldn’t find the lid to the outdoor can.

I looked high and low, under the car and in the yard. At the ranch, you never leave trash without a secure lid because the raccoons will raid it. Hmm. I put a new bag in the trash. Eventually, the next day, I remembered what happened to the lid. I had stowed it away inside the trash can.

One other event of memory loss scared the bejesus out of me, but I can’t remember what it was. Only the trash comes to mind.

WHY WE HAVE MEMORY LOSS

Our brains are not tape recorders and are not designed for instant recall. Working memory is similar to a Post-it written with disappearing ink. The brain pays extra attention to things that are surprising, full of meaning, or emotional, not the boring day to day stuff.

MEMORY LOSS AND AGING

According to the Mayo Clinic, age-related loss is not responsible for major life disruptions. We may forget a name and remember it later or misplace objects at times. Many are manageable by using techniques such as making lists.

MEMORY LOSS AND DEMENTIA

Dementia is on another level, according to the Mayo Clinic:

Often, memory loss that disrupts your life is one of the first or more recognizable symptoms of dementia. Other early symptoms might include:

• Asking the same questions often.

• Forgetting common words when speaking.

• Mixing up words — saying the word “bed” instead of the word “table,” for example.

• Taking longer to complete familiar tasks, such as following a recipe.

• Misplacing items in odd places, such as putting a wallet in a kitchen drawer.

• Getting lost while walking or driving in a known area.

• Having changes in mood or behavior for no clear reason.

Thank goodness! At least I haven’t stuffed the thirty-gallon trash bag in the refrigerator yet.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT MEMORY LOSS

Lisa Bain suggests these tips:

· Use physical cues. Thinking about where you were the last time you remember being involved with the object helps you retrieve the memory.

· Pay attention. When you put something down, give it some thought, even saying out loud where you put it.

· Write it down. We are not wired to remember to do things later.

· Increase exercise.

· Make sleep a priority.

· De-stress.

· Eat a nutritional diet.

· Limit your multitasking.

LAST THOUGHTS

I’ve lived a long, busy life, and I have so much more to remember than younger people. Just think, those thirty-six hours of college French are floating around in my brain somewhere.

But dang it! If I could just remember where I put my business checkbook three months ago, life would be peachy keen.