Why forgetting names

These are also signs of depression, so it is a good idea to talk with a doctor. Forgetting is something that everyone does from time to time; it is when it begins to affect your daily life or creates worries or concerns for ones safety that one must dig deeper. As previously mentioned it may be a medication interaction or stress induced.

In the end, if you are still concerned that you or a loved one may be suffering from some type of dementia, talking with your doctor or signing up for a memory clinic is recommended. Download PDF version of article. Interested In This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Forgetting is Not Necessarily a Sign of Dementia If you have trouble at times finding the right word that you want to say that is normal, but people with dementia find that they not only often forget simple words, but they substitute unusual words making their speech or writing hard to understand.

When should I be concerned about signs of dementia? People are unfortunately kind of hurt. But I forget names, too. In general, what seems to underlie that is we assume that people remember things that matter to them — and that is generally true. This is Jane. Keep doing it and keep stretching out the time. Do it maybe immediately, then maybe 20 seconds, and you could do maybe a minute after that. Two minutes after that.

Five minutes after that. And so, you can continue to carry on a conversation. But it turns out it really does help memory quite a lot. I mentioned before the experiment where they had undergraduates at the fake party.

As part of the experiment, the people who were told to use that strategy did a whole lot better in remembering names. September 01, Jane Kelly , jak4g virginia. The number of cases of dementia in the U. Dementia , which is not technically a disease but a term for impaired ability to think, remember or make decisions, is one of the most feared impairments of old age.

Incidence increases dramatically as people move into their 90s. Older people may worry about their own loss of function as well as the cost and toll of caregiving for someone with dementia. That figure, too, will no doubt rise, putting even more burdens on family, Medicare and Medicaid. Some voters have asked whether one or both candidates might have dementia. But, is this even a fair question to ask?

When these types of questions are posed — adding further stigma to people with dementia — it can unfairly further isolate them and those caring for them.

We need to understand dementia and the impact it has on more than 5 million people in the U. That number is expected to triple by First, it is important to know that dementia cannot be diagnosed from afar or by someone who is not a doctor. Sometimes, brain imaging is required. And, forgetting an occasional word — or even where you put your keys — does not mean a person has dementia.

There are different types of memory loss and they can have different causes, such as other medical conditions, falls or even medication, including herbals, supplements and anything over-the-counter.

Older people wonder and worry about so-called senior moments and the memory loss they perceive in themselves and others. I see patients like this every week in my geriatric clinic, where they tell me their stories. Details vary, but the underlying concern is the same: Is this dementia? As we age, we experience many physical and cognitive changes.