Memory - short term and long term

[OnEdge]

Hey all,

I am interested in hearing what everyones memory is like as supposedly, for those on the spectrum, we have bad short term but good long term. This is definitely true for me as i barely remember yesterday unless i sit and really think about it. But i have memories from back when i was in primary school. My earliest memory is when i was in year 2 or 3 (aged 7 or 8).

I am wondering how or if this affects anyone, whether in their personal or work life.

For me it can get quite difficult at times, as i may prepare something in the morning that needs to be done when i get to work and by the time i get to work i have completely forgotten about. Sometimes i may get given a task to do, then get told what to do after that task when i still havent started the first one, this usually ends up with me forgetting that i had even been given that second task.

Look forward to hearing everyones responses.

 

[Lanastei]

Sometimes i may get given a task to do, then get told what to do after that task when i still havent started the first one, this usually ends up with me forgetting that i had even been given that second task.

I can absolutely relate to that. My parents have a habit of giving me several tasks at once, and often I manage to forget most of them, if not all

Something that happens often, is that I make myself a cup of coffee/tea and then I forget about it, and half a day later I see it standing somewhere. Or I open a window during winter and leave the room, only to come back 2 hours later to find that it is freezing.

I had a lot of troubles during school: our teachers would tell us the homeworks one after another, but I did not have the time to write everything down and thus often couldn't remember half of what I had to do.

 

[fairy_girl]

I have great long term memory if it's something that I like, but my short term memory is horrible. I'm always writing things down that I needed to remember during school and then I would either lose my binder or just throw it away accidentally. My parents are always impressed by my long term memory on TV shows or fixing any computer problems.

 

[clg114]

I have very bad short term memory, but I am older than dirt so that probably plays into it. My long tern memory is good.

 

[Chance]

Bad short term, excellent long term UNLESS I am being pressured or really tired, then it all goes into a blurry shutdown... After that I am back to normal...

Let me rephrase that... How about back to myself, because me and normal??? Normal... hmmm, I got nothing. I'm not normal according to this NT based reality, but in my reality its all good.

 

[ksheehan88]

Long term is very very good, short term is shot.

 

[Judge]

One thing I've discovered with my short term memory issues is how well it functions regarding information I truly need and use regularly, versus what is more or less useless or relatively unimportant stuff. I guess it's a good thing that I don't lose track of what counts.

As for not being able to recall what I had for lunch, does it really matter?

 

[kay]

My short term/working memory is terrible (23 or 28th, somewhere around that, percentile is how it tested.) Long term is pretty good, particularly if the memory involves food. More specifically cheese. I have some great memories involving foods with cheese on them. I've been told by a vegan that cheese is addictive, perhaps that is the reason for vivid cheese memories.

 

[Suzanne]

If I need to remember something immediately, I have to say it over and over again and close my eyes to visualise it; it sometimes works lol which means that most often it doesn't.

However, if I need to remember something from year's ago, all I need is a clue and I generally can then remember it all. So yesterday, my husband said: what were we doing on this day; he gave the day and date and to me, that meant nothing, but when he read ( a dairy), and said, we got our first chicken egg and that was it, I remembered everything from that "clue".

I do remember most of my childhood and teenage and young adulthood, as though it was just yesterday.

 

[Mr Allen]

Like I said on a similar topic last week, I can remember stuff from 30 years ago in vivid detail, but ask me what I was doing 10 minutes ago and I forget

 

[xudo]

Long term is fantastic (not always a good thing) but my short term isn't great. I'll forget what programme I'm watching during the adverts and I frequently forget why I went into a room.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

Long term is fantastic (not always a good thing) but my short term isn't great. I'll forget what programme I'm watching during the adverts and I frequently forget why I went into a room.

My great grandad said that if you forget so ething when you go into a room, go back to where you thought of it and you'll remember.

So that qualifies as a long term memory. He died when i was 2.

Although i cheated and asked my grandad about him,so he told me that

Short term :
Hopeless.
I make loads of reminders.... in google keep,evernote...

Now i have to try and find them.
Google inbox is a saviour, often 3 or 4 reminders appear on the day to remind me.

Obviously i forget ive made a reminder

 

[Gracey]

I can't remember whether or not my memory is any good !
(I'm joking)

This morning I went along for a C.B.T session. New therapist, new approach. I got her to explain in detail how to complete a particular worksheet (needed to understand exactly what was needed from me)
After she explained, giving a couple of examples for visual effect I thought "Yepp, I'll remember that"

Sitting at home, staring at a blank C.B.T worksheet, drumming my fingers on the desk and thinking "Nope, I haven't remembered that !!"

 

[Spencer Carr]

Oh God, my memory is a joke. Sometimes I have total recall of events that happened when I was 3 or 4 year old. But my memories of the recent past are this garbled mess of perception, reality, and what I wish had happened. Or I'll have memories fuse together.

I imagine it like coffee. Memories are these beans that I grind and try to process. Recall is pouring water off the grinds and getting out something that I think is what I'm looking for.

Short term memory is a toss up. Either I'm doing something I know, have long term roots for, and I can juggle four things at once. Or, it's a simple day to day task and my partner knows that I will always forget the last step

 

[saturn123]

I think I have pretty good long term memory. I can vividly recall many aspects of my childhood. I can remember when my younger sister was born, pre-school life, and even when I was around 1 year old. I don't know my exact age, but I remember walking across my grandparents' living room with my mom chasing me from behind. I remember this because I had a diaper on, and I remember how uncomfortable it felt. Back then, my grandparents' house was very very big (because I was so small). However, I don't have a good short term memory in things I am not interested in. I frequently forget where I left my phone or instructions.

 

[Kisa the tea]

I have bad memory in both departments. If i had to pick which one was better, I'd say long term though.

 

[HidinginPlainSight]

I have a rather unreliable (awful) short term memory, unless it's regarding something in sequence (as in a numerical pattern)

However, when it comes to long-term, I can still surprise my mother with things I can remember form an extremely long time ago. I'm 40, and I can remember things, (from all accounts) accurately, from before the age of 3. Things like the colours of my walls in the house I only lived in until I was 3. The names of the children and adults in that neighbourhood. The exact napkins used at my 4th b-day party and a number of other such details. I have very detailed memories of collections of various items I had growing up. Also dreams that I had from an extremely young age. Pillows and bed covers I can remember by age.

These memories are very vivid and unmistakable. Some have even been absolutely proved correct. The others, I just know are correct within my frame of reference.