Hey guys -

I was just wondering if anyone else, besides myself, has problems with their memory. I have an extremely hard time remembering things about my childhood but I also have great difficulty remembering things as an adult and it seems to be getting worse.

For example, I can barely remember what I did on Friday and it's only Monday. There was a day last week when I had extreme panic and didn't sleep all night, but I can't remember what day it was that this occurred. I guess this also plays into my problems with time and dates. I can't, for the life of me, remember what year certain things happened or "how long" I felt a certain way (and I'm not talking about my childhood, I'm talking within the last 10 years). I lived in VA for a while before moving to NC and I honestly can't remember how long I lived there.

I used to attribute this problem to all of the pot I smoked as a teenager and into my early twenties. But, now I'm questioning if that is truly the case.

This is becoming scary for me. Does anyone else have these kinds of issues?

Best,
Rachel

It is very difficult for me to remember a lot of things around the time of my abuse. There are a lot of blanks and when I try to remember I have to gauge everything around the date of a concert that I attended. That date can be found on the internet, but I still get confused and am not sure everything happened in the order I remembered. That is one reason I do not like discussing it, I get very confused.

In present life, my memory is not very good, but I mainly attribute that to stress. It is difficult for me to remember names and dates and appointments....just about anything, but I usually end up where I'm supposed to be....at least I think I do.

I have these same issues but, I too have smoked a lot of pot so, I can't say for sure that it's not related. Anyhow, my life is very confusing because of this issue. Sorry I can't offer some words of wisdom on the subject but, at least you know that you are not alone. Right?

Maybe some non-smokers will respond and relieve us both.
Take care, Morgan

yes, i can relate with you on the memory loss...i am on the up swing of a deep depression and my memory is shot...i rely on my sister to keep me up dated...i feel like parts of me are missing, i even have the same problem with my words...i start to talk and all of a sudden the word i wanted to say is gone...im on about 7 meds for depression so i blame it on that but im not sure that that is it...im hoping in time this will work its way out...but i know how you feel and i feel for you too.

IMO, it's just that we have so much shit in our heads to deal with, that the unimportant stuff gets lost. I too have a hard time with memory of childhood, but I attribute that to trauma and blocking stuff out.

As we age we also tend to lose some memory. As old as I am, I know the reason I have shit for brains.....LOL!!!!

I have this same problem, big time. I have no words of wisdom.....just to let you know you are not alone.

You are not alone; I am SO frustrated that I cannot remember my past. I finally received some old photos from my abusive adopted mother and boy, did it trigger a lot of stuff. I would NEVER have remembered things without seeing myself in those pix and the clothes I was wearing reminded me of things. I feel like I'm not tethered down most days, just kind of aimlessly floating. It's embarrassing to admit to others that I can't remember things, so I try to avoid situations where the subject of memory comes up. Or wait for (hopefully) someone else to answer if somebody asks, "What did we do last week?"... sigh...

Rachel, IMHO you are describing yourself in the same manner as most people who don't have PTSD. When people can't remember what they did 4 days ago, it's usually because they didn't do anything of significance.

Our memories don't come with time stamps, nor are they indexed by date. You're not describing a PTSD problem, you are describing a human problem.

I saw my T today and he said it's not from the pot, since I haven't been a chronic pot smoker (bad unintentional pun) for 10 years.

He did, however, state that it's a symptom of my chronic depression and panic; that when a person's mind is constantly grinding away at rationalizing, nothing sticks because it doesn't have a chance.

- Rachel

I'm a non-smoker and have the same problems. I'm not sure how much is normal, how much is poor memory and how much is PTSD.

I mean, what is normal for people to remember?

Very recently like 6 weeks ago, I suddenly remembered right before a therapy session that I once saw a male therapist one time. I saw him because I was being sexually harassed (not severely) and because this guy had a bad track record and before it escalated I was sent to a therapist by my employer as part of there employee assistance program. This happened maybe 8 years ago?

I had completely forgotten, and I can't even remember the nature of the harassment, but - and I'm not downplaying it - but I don't think it was that serious which is maybe why I forgot.

Anyhow my T said that when people are traumatised, and subsequently under even normal stress they can forget things quite easily. The reason being is we tend to have tunnel vision or she likened it to a deer in headlights we are stunned by the light and can't see the car, the colour of the car, or the forrest around us.