Brain Fitness Tip: Stop Catastrophizing!
Anxiety makes your memory worse, and worrying about your memory can make your anxiety even worse.
Just as studies have shown that stress can have a negative effect on your memory, it’s pretty clear that anxiety can make it harder to remember things, too. We’ve probably all had the experience of trying to remember a name or a word and feeling frustrated about not being able to come up with it. Paradoxically, the harder you try to remember, the less you’ll be able to do so.
So far, that’s pretty normal. Younger people have the same kind of trouble with their memory occasionally, although it may happen more frequently as we get older. It’s what happens next that makes it different for older persons.
Many of my older patients may have a problem with remembering a word or a name, but they go one step further: When they can’t remember something, they start worrying about it. They may interpret the fact that they can’t remember means they have a memory problem, maybe even Alzheimer’s disease!
Sometimes, when people start worrying about a problem, they think of the absolutely worst thing that it could mean. A cloud in the sky, for example, may mean that a tornado is coming. We call that catastrophizing. It’s not good English, but it is pretty clear what it means. It means taking a real problem and magnifying it by exaggerating it to the worst possible outcome.
How do you avoid catastrophizing? When you begin to feel worried or anxious, try to stop and consider alternate explanations for whatever you’re worried about. Could that cloud just mean that there’s a cloud, not that a tornado is coming? Odds are that the answer is yes. Is having trouble remembering annoying. Yes. Does it mean that you have a serious memory disorder or neurological disease? Probably not.
As always, there’s no substitute for a thorough evaluation of your memory by a competent clinician. An evaluation ought to include assessment of your general ability, concentration, and memory. And never forget the importance of taking care of other medical problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
Great post. Other things that can help are gratitude – give thanks for all the good things in your life, now matter how small. Make a list. This will help keep you positive. And also, meditation helps to control your mind and to relieve stress.
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