CHAPTER 21 Your Comprehensive Memory Program
One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.
— F. W. NIETZSCHE
BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ALL ASPECTS of the Memory Program before you decide which of these components you wish to employ in your own life. If you have reached this far in the book, you know that the Memory Program must be tailored to the individual.
Much of the material in this chapter follows directly from what I covered in earlier chapters. To reiterate, there is no magic memory pill, no silver bullet. To help preserve and even improve your memory, a comprehensive, multifaceted program is the right solution.
The Memory Program is intended to help two categories of people:
1. Those who currently have a normal memory and wish to preserve their memory during the aging process. If you’re in your forties or fifties, you probably fall into this category.
2. Those with mild memory loss who would like to reverse the process or at least prevent further decline. If you’re in your sixties to eighties, you may fall into this category. However, you can develop mild memory loss in your forties or fifties, especially if you have a specific, usually reversible, cause of memory loss such as depression, alcohol abuse, medication toxicity, or hypothyroidism.
If You’ve Developed Mild Memory Loss, What Does It Mean?
If you are in your forties to fifties, you are likely to have an identifiable, reversible cause of memory loss.
If you are in your sixties to eighties, memory loss due to either the aging process or dementia is much more common.
If there is a relatively rapid onset (weeks to months) of symptoms, a potentially reversible cause of memory loss is likely.
A fluctuating course of symptoms, with periods of clear memory and cognition intervening between episodes of confusion or memory loss, is more likely to be due to an identifiable, reversible cause.
A gradual dwindling in memory over many years, even decades, is typical of memory loss due to the aging process.
A steady decline, with mild symptoms progressing to severe symptoms of memory loss within a few years, suggests Alzheimer’s disease.
Early benign signs of memory loss due to the aging process include forgetting names, forgetting a few items on a shopping list, misplacing keys, or not recognizing someone you met a long time ago. Signs of severe memory loss include getting lost in a familiar place, losing your way when driving a familiar route, forgetting important appointments repeatedly, forgetting to turn off the stove on many occasions, repeating the same questions over and over again, coworkers’ pointing out that mistakes are increasing, and not knowing the date or time on several occasions.
If you have signs of severe memory loss, you need to see a doctor (neurologist or psychiatrist or primary care physician, preferably with a neuropsychologist’s input). For those of you with mild memory loss, or if you have a sound memory but wish to prevent future memory loss, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of the Memory Program.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
