What Causes Memory Loss?

Memory loss and impairment affects nearly 16 million individuals in the US. Although forgetfulness and difficulty in remembering is mostly attributed to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, this isn’t always the case.

Brain Tumors

Malignant brain tumors have the ability to invade the surrounding tissues. As a consequence, they can interfere with a person’s cognitive functioning while also impacting their memory and personality. 

Both malignant and benign tumors can trigger a series of symptoms such as seizures, nausea, and headaches. They may also cause slow memory loss resembling the signs of dementia, and bring about personality changes. If undetected and/or untreated for too long, the symptoms can escalate depending on the type and severity of the tumor. Combined with the other effects of cancerous tumors, a person may experience significant difficulty in remembering things which affects their overall quality of life.  

Grief​

Another reason for memory loss is grief. Grieving takes a huge toll on your mental, emotional, and physical energy. It can cause you to lose your ability to focus on things and situations around you, diverting your mind towards the grief-causing factor. Grief may be triggered by an acute loss or a specific situation.

To effectively manage your feelings of grief, you need to give some time to process your emotions. This may vary from person to person, and you may feel drained and exhausted (both physically as well as mentally) in this duration. Consequently, your memory is likely to suffer too as you lose focus.

Proper counseling and support can help cope with the memory loss. Some people repress certain traumatic episodes and memories, blocking them out from their mind. These can be recovered and explored in a healthy manner through psychoanalytic therapy.  

Depression

The causes of depression aren’t always explicitly known, and the mental illness can go undiagnosed and undetected for a long time. Individuals suffering from depression may feel uninterested in their surroundings or feel too tired to participate in social activities. They may also find it difficult to concentrate and stay focused, causing them to lose awareness gradually.

With the mind and emotions so heavily weighed down, the memory suffers as well. You may find it difficult to recall something, especially if it happened a long time ago or if it’s about something you weren’t closely paying attention to. Depression also affects your sleep patterns, which further exhaust the mind and make it more difficult for you to remember information. 

When memory loss coincides with depression, it’s referred to as pseudodementia. Cognitive testing can be used to determine if the symptoms are of potential dementia or of depression.

AvantGarde Senior Living & Memory Care is a memory care facility in Encino that provides senior housing, assisted living, and independent living services.  

Call them at (818) 881-0055 to learn more about their work!