Background:- I have two degrees and other qualifications, have a responsible job and run my own business as well and function well at work. What, do I hear you ask is the problem then? I hate to admit it but I just cannot remember people's names! I get very irritated with myself. Is this just me, or is anyone else out there having the same thing? Hang on, Who am I again?
2007-08-23 14:20:36 · 37 answers · asked by Yoda 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
Sylvia d got your e mail ta! have had probs with broadband and phone line.Rain I eat a very healthy diet and go to the gym 3/4 times a week and have no other health problems but thanks
2007-08-23 14:50:52 · update #1
Oh, hell..at my peak I could not remember names until I had "met" the person several times. In business, I take the time to write the name, rewrite the name when I should know the name. That is the only way I can even attempt to remember. And even then, it takes 3-4 times meeting for me to get it straight. Some people just have a knack for this, I never did...nor can I remember phone numbers. But ask anything science, geography, etc....and I am a whiz. I used to be a whiz at all thing trivia...not so much any more...at some point, we begin to prioritize things, and trivia falls into a very low priority.
Today, I find myself struggling for occasional words that I know I know well, a word that is the only word that works in its place, and I will be damned if I can find it! Very upsetting...but I suspect it will get worse before it gets better. That is just how it goes. At the same time, I can whip through a NY Times crossword in ink in 10 minutes flat. Very frustrating at times.
Trust that you are doing very well, you are in the same boat as many, and have no real problems. Relax and enjoy as you go along. Peace from Goldwing.
2007-08-23 14:47:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Aha!! Another person just like me...
I too have multiple degrees. Have done very scary and responsible things as part of my various job descriptions.
And yet if a name goes beyond one syllable, I have great trouble remembering it! And it is not something that has developed as I got old...I have been this way my whole life!!
If your name is Pam or Liz or Sam or Shan, I will have no trouble retaining it for easy retrieval. If however you have been named Emily or Margarita or Christopher, I have a real problem getting all those syllables lined up into my mind. No matter how hard I try that name just WILL NOT stick until I get really, really desperate (and frequently embarrassed).
I always assumed that it had something to do with my mild dyslexia, but that may just be a cop-out.
Anyway...please know that you are not alone. There ARE others of us out here that suffer daily these same afflictions!
2007-08-23 14:48:06 · answer #2 · answered by Susie Q 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You are not alone.
I've always had a problem remembering people's names.
When I meet someone new and we are introduced or introduce ourselves and start talking, I seem to get so absorbed in the conversation that I forget their names.
I can recall most everything the person has told me with the exception of their name.
I get irritated with myself as well.
I just hope people remember that I have always been bad with names and that this isn't a recent occurrence now that I am 60.
2007-08-25 17:23:49 · answer #3 · answered by chansenfam@sbcglobal.net 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not very good with names either. My consolation is - I've been like it all my life, my excuse is - I think in pictures.
It's not just names of people, it's things as well. Thank goodness for whatsname, whatsit and thingy, now those I can remember - most of the time!
Shame I can't attach a 'think bubble' to my 'pictures' with the name of the person or thing inside - I just never seem to remember!
2007-08-26 05:24:45 · answer #4 · answered by Florence-Anna 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a problem remembering names these past several years, too. And Senior Moments seem to occur more and more. I work with 2 men - one is 59, the other is 70. I'm 57. Can you imagine how comical it is? We can each hear each other when we get up from our office chairs groaning; and there have been many times when we find each other in the outer office, each one of us standing there wondering what we came out there for. I tell them we're getting pathetic.
2007-08-24 03:08:30 · answer #5 · answered by Lady G 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ha ha, Shan, I liked your closing question.
Somedays, my memory's good, other days I wander to a particular room, any room, for a reason, and when I get there I forgot what why I went there in the first place. And that's most annoying.
By the way, I do not include the bathroom in the "Why did I come in here?" memory lapse.
I do have trouble sometimes remembering names, but it's not that serious....yet.
2007-08-23 14:32:25 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
We all have unique facets of memory that we excel at. I can remember a lot of technical data but am terrible with names of movie actors.
I've heard when we meet someone our subconscious mind is preoccupied with evaluating the persons looks, clothing or mannerisms when we should be looking at the persons face and registering the name.
The worst opportunity to remember names is when everyone is wearing a name tag giving us a perfect excuse not to remember the name.
If you really feel your memory is becoming worse you should take Ginkgo. That's natures assist for blood circulation and memory. Or you can do what I do, when my short term memory fails me I ask the person to ask me again in a couple of days.
2007-08-23 15:17:53 · answer #7 · answered by Caretaker 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Don't you worry, you're just having what people call "Senior Moments". No biggie, it's common.
But what they don't tell you is that some people in their 20's and 30's and 40's have them too. They only hide it well, and when they are caught in the midst of one, deny it!
Actually, for us Seniors I think it's just that our brains are sometimes overcrowded with thoughts and experiences. Sometimes our "computers" don't want to throw out the excesses.
Have a great day!
2007-08-23 17:59:00 · answer #8 · answered by Cranky 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I will be the first to admit, that remembering names is often hard for me also. I have found that when hearing a person's name, I repeat it immediately when meeting someone, then it seems to help me remember it later or when I meet that person again.
2007-08-23 14:59:32 · answer #9 · answered by Shortstuff13 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I can never remember people's names. I remember faces and occasionally I remember which language they speak - applies mainly to people from Africa - French or English but names - not really.
This has nothing to do with age - I've always had the same problem.
I have a sneaking suspicion it's a bit egotistical, i.e. only my name is important - but please don't tell anybody.
2007-08-24 03:35:12 · answer #10 · answered by cymry3jones 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋