ADHD

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Remembering things you forgot (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 month ago by PolyPig@lemmy.world to c/adhd@lemmy.world

7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I was diagnosed with adhd as a young child, and still very often forget stuff. My short term memory can be terrible and I often immediately lose a thought or forget an idea after just a couple of seconds.

However, I'm often able to recall an idea by going back to what I was doing, which is something I never hear other people with adhd talk about. Sometimes all it takes is going back to the visual that triggered the thought or reading back a couple of sentences. This usually doesn't take longer than ~10 seconds. Other times I have to retrace my thought process, which can occasionally take up to a minute... If it takes any longer, then the thought is likely to be lost forever and I always feel terrible when it happens. At times I randomly remember something days later, even though it had felt like the thought was truly lost forever.

Is this common among folks with adhd? I only ever hear people talking about forgetting, and never about remembering.

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[–] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

This is why I use a list and I judiciously refuse to let people force things onto the list. It's my list and if it becomes cluttered with crap I will not look at it and just make a new one (i.e. your boss telling you "X is your top priority but you're going to need to do Y first because of a client deadline but the X ticket should be at the top of the column" fucking end me - I've had conversations like this and it makes me want to check my wall for studs so I can safely drive my head through the drywall).

My memory is absolutely rubbish, I have good friends I never think about until I'm with them and then I love every moment. When I'm with my family I have to deal with constant guilt over someone says "Do you remember Sandra who played flute in the band with you?" ... and I smile and nod with no clue who Sandra is. I assume these are pretty common experiences since it seems to be quite a frequent expression of ADHD.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My memory is great.

It's my recall that is actually shit.

So I remember shit that happened when I was three. But I will only ever be able to recall any given memory when it does not fucking matter. If I witnessed a crime, I won't be able to recall anything during the trial; but 3 years later in the shower it'll all come back to me.

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

Absolutely. I often find that re-tracing my steps makes the thought come back. It makes me wonder if the same set of stimuli would make me have the same thought even eg. a month later

[–] snrkl@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 month ago

Yes.. I realised member everything in the shower.. Even the things I remembered in the shower yesterday....

And have zero ability to get it into my digital journal...

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Oh that's totally me.

Best way I can describe it is that my mind is the Google homepage. Give it input, and it will spit out everything it knows about that, but by default, it's just a blank page waiting for a question.

I need triggers to jog my memory. Sticky notes are a lifesaver.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yup, it is for me. Visual cues are huge for remembering stuff. I also set constant reminders in multiple places, and make copious use of timers.

[–] PolyPig@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I always like to leave my devices in really unusual spots, so I don't forget to charge them. It works surprisingly well.