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[rabidgam3r]

I'm worried about my memory, namely the fact that I need to focus on something to transfer it from short-term to long-term memory, with other bits just sort of.. Tagging along? For example, I was at a Chinese restaurant with my family, and when I ordered something, I'd completely forgotten about what I'd ordered not 20 seconds later. However, when they were talking about whether or not it was operated by a bigger chain ("China Jade" or something), I put in that I'd seen an ad from China Jade on the cover of the menu, even though I hadn't seen it for more than a few seconds. More and more things like this pop up, and every time it leaves me incredibly confused. If someone gives me directions, I have to say them out loud over and over or I'll forget them immediately. If I have a conversation with somebody, most of the time I'll forget what we were talking about afterwards. Is this just the bad memory that runs in the family, or do I have a problem?

[smjjames]

Might want to ask a doctor about it, especially if anybody in your family has been diagnosed with alzheimers. Plus you said that it's something that runs in the family.

I'm not trying to scare you or anything, but if it's slowly worsening like you seem to be saying, you might have early stage alzheimers. Luckily though, there are treatments in the works (or even out already) which can help.

Edit: I don't know how old you are and I'm not going to ask, but yeah, if you're concerned about it, ask a doctor.

[Sappho]

Sounds to me like you have poor "working memory," I think it's called. I've got that big time. Can't remember what I was saying, midway through a sentence, and definitely can never remember what people said if I have a conversation with them, but I can recall in great detail just random bits of info, and I remember almost everything I read. Common among people with autism. Also common with hyperlexia: I taught myself to read at age 3 and can process written information with no trouble, but spoken information is very difficult to process, and even more difficult to remember. Nothing to be done about it, just find ways to work around it. I write everything down whenever possible.

Also, it could be that it's not really happening more often. It might just be that you're noticing it more often. If you're under 20 or so, these things can change rapidly in short periods of time, and are nothing to worry about.

Memory is tricky. There's a million things that could cause memory issues. Everyone you ask will give you a different possibility. There is one thing I can tell you for sure, though: worrying about it will definitely make it worse. Worry = stress = further memory problems, even if you didn't have a real problem to begin with. If you're under a greater-than-usual amount of stress recently, that alone could be your answer. So could lack of sleep or other factors. I do agree with smjjames on one point: if you're really concerned, just see a doctor. If you worry about every possibility that people suggest online, you'll only make yourself feel worse, and probably for no reason.

[alamoes]

I'm have a terrible short term memory.  I have photographic memory.  Isn't that ironic?  I can remember at least 8-10 digits, I believe.  Probably more, but I was getting bored with the scientists, so I threw the last test (I was quite literally falling asleep).  Oh, and I must add that I am the poster boy for autism, because of the thing about autism said in the post before me.  Although I'm sure autism is less a disorder than a personality type that is considered by others to be weird and thus evil. 

[i2amroy]

Ugh, part of autism involves parts of your brain working extreme different than the average person's. Since this difference does cause some harmful effects (some good ones too, of course) it is fully possible to classify it as a "disorder", i.e. a difference from the average that leads to some potentially harmful effects.

[alamoes]

Ugh, part of autism involves parts of your brain working extreme different than the average person's. Since this difference does cause some harmful effects (some good ones too, of course) it is fully possible to classify it as a "disorder", i.e. a difference from the average that leads to some potentially harmful effects.

Its all relative.  I feel quite fine the way I am.  And I do have autism.  You don't even know.  I used to have a compulsion to collecting things, then sorting them.  Just hours sorting things.  Now, I really don't care, because now I simply mentally categorize things as a hobby.  Takes a lot less effort than collecting things.  Doesn't really effect much, just is what I do in my free time.  Admittedly, I'm probably very lucky that I didn't turn out to be one of those people who MUST have certain things a certain way, otherwise they lose the ability to live.  Still, it is an inseparable part of my personality, and I would have it no other way.  And yes, my brain probably does work extremely differently from other people's.  I'm sure yours works differently from your brother's, or your neighbors, or whatever.  They might make similar decisions, but they probably think completely differently from you. 

[JuanCarr]

Sounds quite unusual. Depends how old you are though?

If you're young (under 50), I'd get that checked out if I were you.

[Parsely]

Seriously I forget small things like that from time to time. IMHO I really don't think it's a big deal unless it's actually been affecting your daily life in a severe and chronic manner.

[pisskop]

The solution to my life is a PDA.  I know phones do that too, but I try to keep business and pleasure separate if possible.

I have no less than 10 alarms set on a good day.
I learned to use excel so I could set up my own calanders.
Sticky notes are too messy for me, and they dont remind me when I forget them.
I make a mental checklist every time I leave a location and mark it off mentally.
Id forget my own keys if I didnt leave them in my coat pocket the night before.

[Orange Wizard]

I have a notebook that I write in all the things I need to remember. The book also happens to be designed in a manner reminiscent of a North Korean passport, so that's pretty neat.

[SanDiego]

Memory is a funny thing. Sometimes I walk into a kitchen and forget what I wanted there. I am pretty bad with names. On the other hand I still remember that guinea pigs can't make their own vitamin C and bunch of other useless-but-interesting bits of trivia. I am also able to cram a large amount of knowledge into my head if I need to and I usually have no problem remembering some patients for a few days after I saw them. So, unless you find yourself standing somewhere with no recollection of how you got there, I would'n worry too much about it.

[alway]

Depending on how severe it is, it may be the case that the only unusual thing is that you're aware of it. Our brains pull this stuff all the time, though it's usually subconscious. The way you described long term memory triggering other things is essentially how memory works. Memories exist as these sort of fragmentary suggestions, upon which your brain attempts to build a coherent larger picture of things by looping in other fragmentary suggestions which in the past were related to them. And thus memory isn't really a recall of a specific event, but a bunch of compressed fragments and related things the brain mostly assembles under the hood into a seemingly coherent whole (though it is also able to cheat by influencing your perception of its coherence). This is also why things like the Method of Loci work so well.

Likewise, this is why simply trying to remember conversations or simple facts can be quite difficult. Without complex stimuli linking them together, there are less connections to what was said. The only way for your brain to get at those fragments of the conversation in the middle of it is to follow along the entire thing, with little in the way of external landmarks to guide you there. Or like when you can't find your car keys, but then after you find them suddenly remember putting them down there due to the objects around them triggering the related memory of the keys.

Though if there is a family history of dementia and such, then yeah, talk to a doctor about it. If not, it's probably within the bell-curve of normal.

[Illogical_Blox]

Memory is a funny thing. Sometimes I walk into a kitchen and forget what I wanted there. I am pretty bad with names. On the other hand I still remember that guinea pigs can't make their own vitamin C and bunch of other useless-but-interesting bits of trivia. I am also able to cram a large amount of knowledge into my head if I need to and I usually have no problem remembering some patients for a few days after I saw them. So, unless you find yourself standing somewhere with no recollection of how you got there, I would'n worry too much about it.

Me too!

[Drakasin]

I have a bad long term and short term memory, and I am getting worried.

When it comes to short term memory, I am just lost. Examples: I have to go around the apartment (if I am the last person leaving) four times to make sure that the gas is turned off, the windows are closed, there's no water running or a light on, etc. because everytime I check up on everything, I forget about some things and have to check on them again, etc. And when I finally leave the apartment, I have to turn back twice to maek sure I locked the locks. It's really frustrating. But it doesn't end there. Basically in many conversations I forget the things that had been said not thirty seconds after. If playing "silent message" (dunno what it's called in English), the one giving me the silent message has to repeat it thrice for me to remember it somewhat. I really don't remember much unless I make thewilling effort to do so or unless I am entertained/really interested while commiting something to memory, and even then...

Long term memory betrays me. Even when I make the hardest effort I can, I never seem to be able to remember names, dates, and faces. I made it a routine to tell anyone new I meet and know I'll meet again that I have a bad memory and won't remember them/recognize them, and that they shouldn't be offended because it's entirely my fault. Hell, I can't even remember when anyone in my family has a birthday. I barely know the names of those I meet daily, be it school or past acquintences. But that wouldn't really bother me so much. The problem is I can't remember anything. From the past seventeen years of my life, I only remember fragments. Whenever some asks me/tells me "Hey, do you remember when you and me-" or "Remember what happened there and then" etc. – yeah, no. I don't remember. Hell, I can't seem to remember the names of main characters in the books I read after I finished them, no matter how much I loved them. A month later I'll barely remember what they were about. I have problem learning stuff long term, because I just forget them most of the time, though something sticks, but not even a tenth of what other people remember.
I remember events, but not what transpired them, what was done during them. Short term I can remember details, like a week, max two, but they fade into obscurity quickly.

I feel like my life is slipping by, and I am looking at it from behind a screen. Of course there's a great deal of things I do remember. But that's great deals in my terms. For others, it would probably be only a small portion of their memories. I feel like I lost years of my life, and yet I am barely 18.

Should I be worried? Should I seek out help? I feel like no one will listen. My child doctor (still 17), from how much I know her, would just dismiss it as normal. Others are so used to it that they just consider it normal.

Sorry for the small necro, just needed to vent I guess.

[Prudent Viper]

I have a bad long term and short term memory, and I am getting worried.

When it comes to short term memory, I am just lost. Examples: I have to go around the apartment (if I am the last person leaving) four times to make sure that the gas is turned off, the windows are closed, there's no water running or a light on, etc. because everytime I check up on everything, I forget about some things and have to check on them again, etc. And when I finally leave the apartment, I have to turn back twice to maek sure I locked the locks. It's really frustrating. But it doesn't end there. Basically in many conversations I forget the things that had been said not thirty seconds after. If playing "silent message" (dunno what it's called in English), the one giving me the silent message has to repeat it thrice for me to remember it somewhat. I really don't remember much unless I make thewilling effort to do so or unless I am entertained/really interested while commiting something to memory, and even then...

See, I used to have that too. The trick is to find a visual/audio/physical clue to help remember. For  example, when locking the front door, I focus on the loud "click" it makes. That way if I forget if I locked it or not, I just remember the click.

Remembering how things "feel" is useful too. Again, I used to have to get up and check my possessions multiple times before I went to sleep each night. However, just touching and remembering the texture of these things would put my mind at rest.

By the way, the game you're referring to? It's called "Chinese Whispers" here. I do hope that's not a racial slur...