FORGETFULNESS AND ITS MANAGEMENT
How may times you have gone into a room and wondered why you came there in the first place? Do you frequently "misplace" your keys or the spectacles?
This is a fact of life. you need not be old even young face such problems but with age it gets aggravated.
Given below are a few hints which will help you top concern forgetfulness:
- Make a place in your house to put those things you frequently misplace. Make it a point to always keep your keys, wallet, ration card, milk card etc. in that place.
- Though some things are better done by routine, try to do things differently, which will encourage the brain to work, and break the monotony. For example take a simple detour to reach the same place. Button your shirt from down to up. Read the newspaper from the last page.
- Starts using a note pad to jot down things you have to do, or phone numbers, details of bills and so on. Try to always carry this pad and a pen with you.
- Organise yourself and get into the habit of putting things in their places. For example if you use a pair of scissors and forget to put it back, you may have to spend a lot of time looking for it.
- Do not postpone anything that can be done just then. That way you will not have a chance to forget to do it.
- While doing something you need to remember later, repeat to yourself that you are doing it. For example if you have deposited a cheque in the bank, tell yourself more than once "I have deposited the cheque in the bank". Even if you have to do some thing you could say to yourself more than once "The electricity bill has to be paid tomorrow".
- If you have to do something important, remember to leave reminder notes for yourself in places you will not miss seeing.
- If you find yourself in a room wondering why you came there, try going back to the place where you came from. This usually brings back your memory.
Create a mental picture of what you have to do. For example if you have to pick up your grandchild from school, imagine the scene where you are picking him up and bringing him home. This kind of visualisation helps you remember.
Ways in which seniors can get over their forgetfulness:
Yes this is possible and you can prove it!
There are some simple ways to get over this problem.
There is evidence that stimulating the brain can actually reverse the process of mental deterioration. Though memory is known to fail with age, it appears that memory and other mental processes are improved by increasing physical and mental activity.
As people get older, especially after retirement, they tend to be less active, physically and mentally.
The less stimulated by the environment the less active the neurons or nerve cells become. In a sense the brain goes into hibernation. But it can be reawakened. If mental activity increases, new branch-like extensions called dendrites sprout in the neurons. These dendrites establish connections with other neurons, receiving information and forming networks that create strategies for problem-solving.
In other words, the brain benefits from exercise, almost as if it were another muscle. So, the more the mind continues to work, the greater the chances of retaining mental function. That is why one must stay intellectually engaged, be it a game of chess or community service.
The best way to avoid mental rigidity is by keeping an open mind about new and different ways to do things. Learning to use a computer, trying to do old tasks in new ways - the more the challenge the better will the memory become.
Above all, remember that there is great individual variation in the way mental function changes with age. Experts say that major deterioration is not built into the brain. The challenge is to find ways of compensating for whatever decline that does occur. And the first step is to cultivate those habits is to put your mind to work thereby create new dendrites.
