Cognitive Decline and how to deal with it - advice??

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

This is one of the hardest posts I have had to write. I recently turned 50 last August. I have recently had my THIRD issue of "lost items" within the past month. One was with a members submission on the group sub. Another was a couple raw commons I sold on Ebay. The third is an American Caramel Bill Bailey I planned to get graded during the most current vintage sub.

I won't get into the details on each item, but I am alarmed. I am disturbed to no end. I guess I want advice on how to deal with losing things, just wanted to see if I was alone in misplacing cards, and should I just get out while I still have some normalcy before it gets worse.

Get a complete physical including blood work, could be a health problem. Many thing can cause memory problems. For me it was diabetes. Now that I am treating it life is WAY better and my memory slowly came back.

[swarmee]

How tidy is your house? Is it possible these items are hidden in plain sight (like fell behind a desk, slipped into a drawer, etc)? Rearrange your workspaces and move your furniture around. Have a "clean desk" policy where everything is put away daily.

Aside from physical ailments, consider going to a counselor to check for stress. If you're trying to do too many things at once, you might be overextending yourself. Also a neurological exam may be valuable.

[36GoudeyMan]

I'm 62. When I turned 40, I told people that I wish I had the memory I had when I was 30; when I turned 50, I told people I wish I had the memory I had when I was 40, and when I turned 60, I told people I wish I had the memory I had when I was 50. It happens to everyone. Your hard disk fills up; your vision declines even a little bit, making it harder to see things, especially in the darker areas. I'm also diabetic, and have other health issues.

One trick that works for me (it took discipline and practice) was to designate very specific areas for things to go: everything has its place. Eventually, muscle memory and routine will remind you to put today's incoming cards in the pile by the sock drawer next to computer, and to put the outgoing mail on the table in the foyer. Creating designated spaces for things, pretty much anything, can help avoid losing things, as your mind associated thing with places pretty quickly. It then becomes habit, which depends less on cognitive skill levels that mere repetition. You may still misplace things, but I think it will be less and less often. Good luck!!!

[nsaddict]

Bobby,
I think it could be a little of everything mentioned. I don’t think it’s abnormal. I agree with another poster, you’re putting too much stress on yourself. Now if you would have posted, “what overdue October group sub are you guys talking about” Then I’d be concerned!

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by nsaddict

Bobby,
I think it could be a little of everything mentioned. I don’t think it’s abnormal. I agree with another poster, you’re putting too much stress on yourself. Now if you would have posted, “what overdue October group sub are you guys talking about” Then I’d be concerned!

LOL...I'm not that bad yet.....but I am very concerned with the sheer number in just a short amount of time when I had gone years without a hiccup. It's like these items are simply vanishing into thin air. And that's the scary part.

[ullmandds]

I agree with everything thats been said...good advice. maybe voice notes in your phone or a digirecorder.

[Snapolit1]

As I get older I find 8-9 hours sleep absolutely essential or I am a total wreck and can barely remember anything.

[MooseDog]

Robert,

When my 50th birthday came long, I stressed to no end. I was pretty down and honestly I don't think I've fully recovered from it. My filing system was piles, and I knew which pile and where everything was. I prided myself on what a great memory I had. I don't have that power any more.

I turned 60 last year while I have come to grips with the aging, I still walk into a room and forget exactly what I went in there for. I have to put my keys and glasses in the same place all the time when I put them down or I'll never find them. Some forgetfulness is what happens when we age. I played a lot of sports and have had my share of concussions over the years so I am a little paranoid that might affect me.

During this lockdown period, I've been going through a LOT of old stuff, and have been finding things that I FORGOT I had. See there's that "F" word. It's been quite an eye-opener on my own brain. I've even found things I thought lost long ago.

Agree with the previous posters, if you are really worried, make sure you are having annual physicals and let your Dr know your concerns. If you can, find out about any family history you may or may not have in terms of any congnitive issues. Get all the normal blood work and at least that should let you know if anything might be health related. If anything is suspected you'll get a date with a neurologist for some more tests.

If you turn up healthy, and if your health plan allows it or if you're down with it, have a couple of sessions with a psychologist, call it a sanity check or brain check up. Some hospitals and plans will even let you do sessions by phone or teleconference. You don't have to commit to anything long term but they'll at least "ease your mind", so to speak, and give you some tips on keeping your brain active and healthy.

From a personal standpoint, if you are the type that has to be doing something all time, have several things going on at once, just stop it. It's been proven that multi-tasking is a myth and I think the ability to divide one's attention gets less as you get over 50. Slow down, work on one thing at a time and give it your full attention. This takes a lot of work. I'm more easily distracted now then when I was a pup but I have found if I just do one thing at a time things go a lot better. I also make a lot of lists, but I have done that most of my life (and still never get most of the stuff checked off!)

Some suggestions:

- Take walks. Doesn't have to be long, around the block, up and down the street, whatever. And just walk, preferably by yourself. You're brain is going to start telling you stuff you need to do, tell it to shut up until the walk is one. Don't listen to music, don't discuss stress-inducing subjects with your walking partner if you have one.

- Watch less TV. I found my brain turning to mush the more hours I watched and cut back quite a bit. I'm pretty much down to sports and very few TV shows and movies. I limit news to about an hour.

- Exercise your brain...it should be something you actually enjoy or it won't do much good...reading (anything, fiction, non-fiction, medical journals, whatever floats your boat)...puzzles (word search, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, sukoku, trivia - lots of apps for these). Playing or learning a musical instrument.

- Relax your brain...mindfulness meditation (no religion involved, you just sit and breath, try and turn your mind off...just be there in the moment). Personally I've found zen meditation very helpful, my brain just wouldn't shut up and I found the "empty mind" philosophy worked for me. Just remember as I told a buddy of mine it's "empty mind" not "empty brain"!

- Declutter. Marie Kondo gets a lot of s**t but she is onto something. We have too much stuff. Get rid of that which you don't really care about any more.

- Laughter really is the best medicine.

Your brain is like the rest of your body, it needs exercise, and it needs rest. When it gets overtaxed it's going to keep working but it will send you signs you need to take a break.

I kinda went on a ramble here but I hope something here is helpful.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Get a complete physical including blood work, could be a health problem. Many thing can cause memory problems. For me it was diabetes. Now that I am treating it life is WAY better and my memory slowly came back.

I'd second that, lots of potential causes, and knowing for sure if it's something fixable or just getting old makes a difference.

I have ADD, and if there's one thing I'm an expert on it's losing stuff. I've lost multiple pens in under an hour without leaving my chair. I KNOW it can't be more than arms reach away, but it's just gone.

As I've gotten older, so many small details just vanish, I used to be able to pick a card out of a box full of random stuff after years, and tell where I got it and usually about how much I paid. Now there are more things I find and ask "When the heck did I get that, and (often) why?"