Hey guys welcome back to my blog post today i will be touching on research about the memory and mental health specifically the question Does memory and mental health affect each other? I also wonder if there is a specific type of mental health issue that results in progressive memory loss. I am someone who suffers from really bad anxiety and memory loss i do wonder if those two things are connected.
As I have said before I do have bad anxiety and at some point, I went to see a therapist, and I talked to her about my anxiety and my memory. She pointed out that anxiety triggers our flight or fight, and it was for millions or millions of years. It specifically originates in cave man years. When you think about it back then, it might have been useful, your gut senses that something is off and that something might be chasing you, so it kicks your brain into fight, flight or freeze. Although we are not being chased by a dinosaur our body still has that natural response. When our brain goes into this “mode” it pumps blood away from our brain into our vital organs. Making us be able to run or hear things better. But because we don’t need to do those things, it just takes away blood from our brains. This causes memory loss.
Obviously, I talked about this specifically revolving our anxiety, so I wondered if other mental health issues is quite similar in that sense. The one I found the most was depression. Researchers have found that depression has been linked to memory problems because it causes forgetfulness, difficulty focusing on work, decision making or unclear thoughts (1). They found that depression is specifically linked to short-term memory and procedural memory. Which is then how they concluded that depression could cause short term memory loss. Memory loss can also occur after a major, traumatic or stressful, (2) someone who suffers from PTSD might suffer from memory loss. Research has suggested that around 30-50% of people with PTSD experience significant memory impairments, particularly with declarative memory or memory-related difficulties, which can significantly impact their daily functioning and quality of life. (3)(4) Others have found that people with bipolar disorder suffer from memory loss too. The complexity with bipolar disorder is that there are many factors that could go along with it including manic episodes, depressive episodes and medications. Bipolar affects memory significantly. (2)
3) https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-022-00386-6
4) https://www.verywellmind.com/learn-ways-to-improve-your-memory-2797614