Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in the US, since they affect over 18% of the population. Despite this, many people lack information about the way these disorders work. Even if these issues affect you personally, you may not know that there is a strong link between anxiety and memory loss.
How Is Anxiety Connected to Memory Loss?
Anxiety makes it difficult to control what you want to focus on. Some people with anxiety can experience vivid memories of a stressful or embarrassing event that happened decades ago. At the same time, they may immediately forget new information, being unable to pay attention to it.
There is also a biological link between anxiety and memory loss. If you have an anxiety disorder, your brain will react to stress by releasing an unusual amount of cortisol. Cortisol causes memory problems, which is why people with anxiety may experience gaps in their recall.
When you have an anxiety disorder, your entire body is under strain. You may not be getting enough sleep, which is certain to cause memory issues.
What Can You Do?
If you can treat your anxiety, you might be able to improve your memory along with it. After all, anxiety doesn’t cause permanent damage to your brain, but just disrupts the way it works.
You have many ways to keep your memory sharp. If you have a good sleeping schedule and exercise your brain by learning new things, you can lessen the effects of anxiety.
Conclusion
Research shows that there is a link between anxiety and memory loss. Many people who have anxiety report that they can’t memorize new things because they have trouble focusing. The biochemical effects of anxiety disrupt your memory as well.
When you are facing this problem, your best option is to find a professional to treat your anxiety. Furthermore, keeping your body in a good shape can help combat memory loss and decrease your anxiety, too.
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Anxiety Can Cause Memory Problems. URL link. Accessed 11th November 2017.
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