Am I Losing My Mind?
H. says definitely not. Staring vacantly into the fridge for minutes at a time, forgetting everyone’s birthday and not being able to figure out the manual for the new dvd player, worse, not even wanting to figure it out are, according to him, the results of a busy, busy, overstressed, too-much-going-on life.
My doctor said the same thing when I ever so casually brought the subject up during a consultation about something else but she was prepared to do some easy tests there and then if I was worried. WORRIED? ME? No……I’ll go with the busy, overstressed life thing.
My doctor said the same thing when I ever so casually brought the subject up during a consultation about something else but she was prepared to do some easy tests there and then if I was worried. WORRIED? ME? No……I’ll go with the busy, overstressed life thing.
But the trouble is…I can’t. I can not actually believe that 10 years ago when I was juggling part time work with the management of the home, running everyone’s lives, and I knew the children’s school timetables off by heart; that time when I had a memory and could reach the end of a sentence without my mind veering off into greener pastures, I simply can not believe that I was less busy and less stressed then than now.
Frankly, the first time I reached into my mind for my mobile phone number and found myself staring into black nothingness I was terrified but, strangely enough, you become accustomed to writing things down, to having a calendar in every room and to making lists.
And the most amazing thing is that if you do dare to share it you’ll find that most of your female friends are secretly wondering if they're going mental and they’ll understand when you forget their birthdays…
14 comments:
I think we all go through moments and periods like that regardless of how busy we are... I think it's a state of mind we sometimes just pass through. I've been overstressed lately with no one to to care of but myself and I keep getting those blancs, like the brain pressed the pause button, I'm distracted and keep on being very clumsy!!
And for the phone numbers, I don't know about you but I have one french mobile number, one italian, and one norwegian. Impossible to remember them all!!
Oh Angela, how I understand! You know how it is the morning after the night before, when you drank too much? (or perhaps you don't - I tend to think everybody is as debauched as myself)...well, it's like that on a permanent basis for me. I just can't remember where I've put things, if I've done things, what I've told people. I lose important papers like my Carte Vitale, my legal documents and my insurance papers. I can never find my reading glasses or my handbag...I've even missed appointments! I'm turning into a doddering old woman and I'm not even 50 yet :-(
I'm told it's peri-menopause and stress...and here's me thinking I was losing my mind...
I'm there too. If I don't write something down, I'm hopeless.
Here's the info Iused to put a photo in my headrer. You have to prepare the photo first usining something like photoshop. All of this I am not very good at, but was able to follow these directions.
http://testing-blogger-beta.blogspot.com/2006/09/adding-graphic-to-your-blog-header.html
Good Luck
Thanks Meredith for that...I've been wanting to put a picture in my header for ages and I couldn't work out how!
I just fiddled a widget and voilà!!
Here we go......
Angela
My goodness, you've hit a chord there. Snap, snap and double snap. I think we all worry we are getting Alzheimer's but I don't believe I know anyone over a certain age who doesn't have this problem - but hey, it's normal - apparently! I'm sure (she said confidently!) it's down to overload - Internet, television, books, newspapers, not to mention our daily crazy lives. Funnily enough I was writing much the same for a future blog. So snap again.
love Jilly x
How about when asked for your phone number, you do as I did recently--give out one from three residences back? And having the recipient of the information look at you, until you realized what you had done, as if you were slightly unhinged? (Why would my mind retain and spit out that number anyway, when it should be remembering much more important things??)
My book about women at a "certain age" soothingly tells me such things are "perfectly normal."
Ang, I am sorry I smiled I feel like that also and have for a while kinda funny but scary. Funny only to ben who laughs at me writing lists and forgetting to take it scary because you just not sure. xxx
Astrid: brain hit the pause button. That descibes it perfectly.
Gigi: the glasses thing? I do it all the time..
Meredith: thank you so much for the info..
Jilly: do write about it because the more we talk about it the less frightening it becomes.
Tut-Tut: I've done that too (and sometimes on purpose!)
Shaz: but it is funny too. Now H. writes the list for me...in case I forget!
I'm so glad it's not just me!
I thought mine was down to 'mud fever', it's like cabin fever but messier
Uhh. don't worry about it honey. I forget things all the time. I call it my spaceyness! :)
Oh Angela, Welcome to the club...I have been told by dear friends and relatives that this too will pass...but what kind of state will we be in before that? hahaha. I was putting ingredients away in the cupboard and the fridge after making a birthday cake (yesterday) and afterwards I couldn't find my glass of water. A couple of hours later I was filling the pepper grinder and there was my glass of water, in the spice cupboard! Oh dear, oh dear. Love the Blog and your pics.
Well thank you for visiting my blog. I appreciate it and I am happy that you enjoyed seeing some of our flat country. I hope you are doing OK now.
You know it's a common symptom of menopause. No one is quite sure but there is a definite estrogen memory link. I've heard it gets better....
I'm thinking of you!
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