Do you often misplace things and get frustrated looking for them?

[Rob]

I find my working memory is very bad in many circumstances. I will get ready for work or go into town but I often have to look for things like my keys or my bank debit card or my list of things to do and get frustrated looking for them, thinking they just disappeared from the face of the earth or walked off somewhere in a no-man's land.

Anyone here have similar experiences?

 

[Judge]

No. I keep my own immediate environment in good order so I know where everything is. I always put things back where they belong. My OCD isn't all about liabilities. Extreme organization is an asset most of the time for me.

However....

Going to places like a supermarket can quickly turn into a stressful nightmare if they move products or run out of them. Nothing worse than when I can't find something I depend on a monthly basis.

No doubt other patrons have probably thought I was nuts...standing at the same display shelf for several minutes desperately looking for what isn't actually there. When they the stores let me down in such a way, I don't take it well.

Now...all that said, do I occasionally forget where I carefully stored something in its proper place?

Yes...it happens. Not often though....

 

[StephF]

YES ! Everyday

 

[ASD_Geek]

Yes all the time. I recently picked up a device called Pebble Bee which is a round tag with the Bluetooth enabled chip that allows me to find my keys or any object that I attach one to. It connects to an app on my phone.

They are available at Target for $20.00 each or 3 for $50.00. I was unsure at first but sprung for one and like it. It also has a reverse feature where if you have your keys, you can find your phone.

Edited for clarity.

 

[capybara]

I misplace things very often, but I'm so used to it that I don't get frustrated anymore. I do get anxious, though, if it's something I really really need right then and there. Otherwise, I just wait it out, cause I know they'll turn up again, eventually. Usually, in my pockets.

 

[NateSean]

Misplacing my keys in my first apartment was the final straw that triggered my first massive anxiety attack as an adult. It was and still is the only time I have ever relied on a prescription from a medical professional to keep my feelings under control.

What really annoys is me when someone backseat drives when I'm trying to find something, as if their constant reminder that I've lost it is going to help.

I'll say, "I've got it, I'll find it."

They'll say, "Did you look X?"

Me: Yes, I looked there, I've got this.

"Are you sure you looked, X?"

Me: Yes, I definitely looked there.

"Are you sure? Because it could be there."

Me: But it isn't and it's not going to magically be there when I look a twentieth time.

"Are you sure?"

Me: If you ask me that one more time, I'm going to beat the crap out of you and then leave you bleeding in the place I looked so that you have definitive proof that it isn't there.

 

[Progster]

Yes, all the time. I lost my debit card the other day. Yes, it can be annoying when people try to help by making unhelpful suggestions or comments. "It must be around somewhere" Yes, of course it's around somewhere! No help at all.

 

[Laughingowl1975]

yes and I get annoyed by my family saying "it will be where you left it" how the hell am I meant to find it if I don't know where I left it, I usually end up making a mess and fearing the worst (especially with my house keys) and then find the damn things in an obvious place.

 

[EdR]

Yes, all the time. I lost my debit card the other day. Yes, it can be annoying when people try to help by making unhelpful suggestions or comments. "It must be around somewhere" Yes, of course it's around somewhere! No help at all.

How about the ever useful, "Where the the last place you had it?"

 

[On the Inside]

I am very disorganized, I have a block that prevents me from seeing a clear way to organize things. However, I have a very sharp memory, almost photographic, of objects and spatial relationships which gives me an uncanny ability to find things that weren't placed "where they are supposed to go". I can reliably trace my steps and go over where I have been.

I also have a strong ability to scan an area and find "lost" objects, even things that aren't mine and in spaces that I am not altogether familiar with. I recognize things that seem out of place, have a large mental catalog of what things look like and an ability to form an accurate picture of something if it is described to me.

On a car trip recently, we stopped to let the dog out and I walked him over to some tall grass near a stream, he ran all over the place, did his duty, then I picked it up and walked back to the car. I dropped the keys somewhere along the way. I retraced my steps, which zig-zagged all over and found them in the tall grass. The whole process took about five minutes. The secret is keeping your head and staying positive that you will find what you are looking for. We would have been SOL if I hadn't found them, we were in the middle of nowhere, 100's of miles from home

 

[watersprite]

I used to lose things at home on a regular basis. This caused several bad meltdowns. Over the course of 5 years I precribed and forced myself to have Official Places for all the important items. The amount of serenity this has added to my life is significant; just wish I had learned it a long time ago.
On the Inside - ^ I have never met someone who does this like me. Nice to meet another Finder.

 

[AsheSkyler]

OCD fixes most of my memory issues. Strange how I can remember how I categorized my room but can't remember where I put my comb elsewise.

 

[zurb]

Sometimes the orientation of the missing object can make a difference. For example, the day after I stood the toothpaste tube vertically on its lid, I couldn't find it anywhere, even though it was still in its usual place.

 

[Aspieistj]

I started getting very forgetful long before I was old. Stress, maybe? Now, at 71, I have had so many problems I am taking Nemenda, an Alzheimer's drug even though 2 brain MRIs show no plaque. The med does help. Also, for anyone with fibromyalgia, "brain fog" is a common problem. I have fibro, well controlled by several medications, and would prefer my memory problems are due to fibro rather than Alzheimer's. Then again, I have always been very emotional, depressed and distracted and that is what is blamed for my losing words when I try to make a point. All my grandparents went "senile" and some had diabetes. My mother died of cancer at the age of 52 and my father had a cerebral hemorrhage at 72. There are many conditions associated with forgetfulness that are part of the normal aging process. My brother is 75 and in pretty poor health--asthma, diabetes, severe arthritis-- as well as the fact that he and his wife are quite ignorant about many things and don't always make wise decisions. Modern medical science has not yet solved the issues of aging. The best thing we can do for our old age is make carefully chosen end of life choices while we are still sentient.

 

[Datura]

I lose things all the time. Usually I find them, but it is frustrating. The worst is when I lose an important item and it won't turn up. Just this past year I have lost my glasses twice. In both cases they had fallen off my night stand and found their way behind my bed, but I was not able to locate them until months after the fact.

Wenever something like that happens I am liable to become very frustrated. I will storm around the house becoming increasingly panicked. The problem is that the more agitated I become the more likely I am to overlook things. Thus begins a vicious cycle leading into bouts of rage and crying jags. Such incidences will even disrupt my sleep as I will obsess over the missing item. My frustration then turns in on myself. I wonder how I could be so stupid, why I never seem to learn, and begin to feel totally useless and hopeless. I feel that I will never amount to anything and that I don't even deserve to live. All of this because I have misplaced some small device or piece of paper. I am working on more positive self talk to counter such mental death spirals in the future.

I find it really does help to have specific places for items. It is simply a matter of forming the habit. In the case of my glasses I stopped putting them on my night stand and now place them on my dresser.

 

[SPEED RACER]

yes i am always misplacing things and get very frustrated.

 

[Mia]

Lost my reading glasses last year and wandered about looking for them, they are probably the most important thing I own. Without them I can't use the computer. I was puzzled, knowing at all times where everything is, as my spouse constantly forgets or misplaces things every day and relies on me to find them for him. So, I actually have to pay attention to where he places things (sometimes important documents, credit cards) and asks where there are several months later.

In effect I remember most things, where it is, where it was, or what's its in. My memory works in an odd way, if I can remember something from the day that I last saw the lost thing, something I did or said or saw, and can recreate the circumstances of that hour or minute when I last encountered the lost article, then I know where it is or where it can be found.

But back to my reading glasses, my spouse triumphantly danced around the room when he found them in the garage resting on a four by four, hastily placed there and completely forgotten.

 

[Nitro]

My image based memory does a pretty good job of remembering where items were placed. I have a touch of OCD as well. My Father is quite the same,remembering where he last saw something for decades.

 

[On the Inside]

Over the course of 5 years I prescribed and forced myself to have Official Places for all the important items.

While I am very disorganized, I have always had the special place to put the important things; wallet, glasses, keys, phone, etc. I have always had a table near the door to keep these things. I also have a secondary special place for when I forget to put things in the primary special place, so if it's not at the door, I know where to go next. Of course it still happens that I forget keys in a coat pocket, but that is where my memory kicks in: what was I wearing the last time I had the lost item?

Nice to meet another Finder.

I didn't know there was a term for this, thanks. I've often fantasized about being a sort of super hero with this ability, The Finder!

I tend to fix things; take them apart, replace faulty widgets so things work again. Almost every time I do this, some small part will fall on the floor, or go flying across the room. I am always able to find the wayward object, but it takes time. If I were organized, I would have a clean area to work in, and little bins to keep things in order, and this sort of thing wouldn't happen so much.

I do believe that there are fairies and elves sneaking around misplacing things just to mess with people. I was canoeing with friends, and we stopped for a snack, the woods where we stopped was kind of a magical place, moss covered ground, beautiful birch and cedar trees. I went on a little ramble. Ducking under tree limbs and stepping over logs, a branch caught my sunglasses and pulled them off my head. I searched and searched around the area, unable to find them. After I took a breather, I looked down and there were my sunglasses, folded up neatly and sitting on the moss at the base of the tree I was standing under.

 

[clg114]

I started getting very forgetful long before I was old. Stress, maybe? Now, at 71, I have had so many problems I am taking Nemenda, an Alzheimer's drug even though 2 brain MRIs show no plaque. The med does help. Also, for anyone with fibromyalgia, "brain fog" is a common problem. I have fibro, well controlled by several medications, and would prefer my memory problems are due to fibro rather than Alzheimer's. Then again, I have always been very emotional, depressed and distracted and that is what is blamed for my losing words when I try to make a point. All my grandparents went "senile" and some had diabetes. My mother died of cancer at the age of 52 and my father had a cerebral hemorrhage at 72. There are many conditions associated with forgetfulness that are part of the normal aging process. My brother is 75 and in pretty poor health--asthma, diabetes, severe arthritis-- as well as the fact that he and his wife are quite ignorant about many things and don't always make wise decisions. Modern medical science has not yet solved the issues of aging. The best thing we can do for our old age is make carefully chosen end of life choices while we are still sentient.

I can certainly identify with this. Between my failing eyesight and worsening shot term memory, I am always losing things. I haven't talked to my doctor about this yet, but I think I will. My problem is that I do not see myself as being old enough to have these kind of problems, but at 69 I could have a issue with this. Thank you for the information.