Allison Mao Week 14 Amnesia and Memories
I’m generally a pretty forgetful person, not pulling up my curtains one day and leaving my homework at home the next. Sometimes, however, this forgetfulness is an advantage since I could pretend that I forgot to do something that I did not want to do. Thinking about how I pretend to not “recall” something makes me wonder what it would be like to physically be unable to recall information.
In psychology class, we learned about multiple types of amnesia a few months back. One of the types of amnesia, retrograde amnesia, makes a person unable to recall their memories and is often triggered by illnesses, incidents, and other medical conditions. I can not imagine how difficult it must be to try to communicate with someone you know who cannot remember anything about their past or the relationship they had with you. Unfortunately, there are many people who have had to contend with loved ones no longer remembering who they were. I still remember watching a documentary in sixth grade detailing a Chinese village. Although many of the finer details of the production have escaped my mind, there were these two grandmas that I can still distinctly remember. It’s interesting how I haven’t thought about this documentary since I watched yet all those years ago and yet I still remember this scene so vividly.
The grandmas had completely lost their memories and their abilities to properly care for themselves, forcing them to have to rely on the help of the village people. This was difficult for their family members since the grandmas had been cherished loved ones with whom they had formed many fond memories. Now, they, unfortunately, were not able to function much more than a baby. I recall feeling greatly disturbed as I watched the documentary, wondering when it would come a time when I would become as crippled as they were by their declining health.
Memories are so important when it comes to living a happy life and maintaining good relationships. For instance, when I forgot what time my mom was coming home once and ate without her when she was planning on cooking a great lunch not only deprived me of an excellent meal but also hurt my mom since she thought I didn’t think it was important enough to remember her schedule. Even as I write this, one of my friends messaged me about something they had discussed with me a while ago. Unfortunately, I don’t remember a thing.
This begs the awful thought of “Do they think I forgot because I don’t care about them?” I could not imagine how much harder it would be to maintain a caring relationship if one party does not remember anything they other says. Although it may be difficult for me to stop forgetting things (and pretending to forget things), I can at least be thankful that I can remember those who I care about.
Hello Allison. I enjoyed reading this blog post because it explained the perspective of someone who is “pretty forgetful,” which I believe is quite different from my own perspective. Though my memory is in no way perfect, I find that I am able to recall obscure details from conversations long ago, and whenever I realize that I forgot something important, I feel terribly upset about it; as such, when people in my life forget about something I told them and try to brush it off with a small excuse, I can get upset at them (even though I know it is unfair of me to expect them to remember everything I tell them). However, reading this blog post has disproved my misconception that people who forget things do not care enough to remember them, and it has taught me that some people naturally just tend not to remember things. On another note, I can relate to your fears of old age and declining memory since I have met some of the elderly struggling with those issues and it filled me with nothing but pity and sorrow—as you said, the pain that those peoples’ families must experience is unimaginable. From now on, I will try to apply what I have learned from this blog post and be more empathetic towards people who forgot something.
ReplyDeleteHi Allison! It was so exciting to read your exploration of the effect of forgetfulness. I think it is clever how you incorporate your own forgetfulness not only as the article’s hook but also throughout the paragraphs, demonstrating the extent to which forgetfulness impacts our everyday lives. The mention of the documentary of two Chinese grandmothers contains the purposeful mention of your forgetfulness, and it also captures an extremely captivating viewpoint on the consequences of amnesia. I feel that this begs the discussion of the extent to which identity is intertwined with memory, as I believe that it is far greater than what many believe. In terms of a relationship, any previously established connections would be nullified, as if the past events were nonexistent. Memory is the essence of impact and growth, and if one were to be disconnected from them, how much of “themselves” would remain? The only evidence of their past selves would be physical, as well as a few deeply instilled behavioral patterns. Although this is tragic, I also appreciate how you bring up the point of whether our forgetfulness reflects how much we value someone. This is an entirely separate discussion, but interestingly, it also brushes on the same note of the worth of one’s character. To me, forgetfulness cannot be safely ruled out as an indication of the closeness of one’s relationship, as too many factors can affect how well that person remembers in their everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Allison! Thank you for sharing this personal and intriguing blog on forgetfulness. I appreciate you made your point through various types of evidence, ranging from personal experiences to documentaries you had watched on TV. Obviously, as you mentioned, taking the time to remember the important things about important people in your life is one of the best ways to convey your appreciation of them. However, as you also mentioned, it is difficult for some people to remember things. This creates difficult scenarios, that no matter how you look at them, appear to be one's where there are no good outcomes.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I have read that medical professionals are working hard to develop drugs and treatments that address the impacts of the conditions that cause memory loss. This is important because so many people, both elderly and young humans, suffer from various conditions that cause memory loss. Memory loss has so many horrible impacts, so it is great to see that researchers are focusing their energies and resources on addressing this.
I wonder how this will improve things in the future? One possible impact is that elderly people will be able to maintain stronger and more meaningful relationships with their children. This will allow them to feel as part of society, even if society is passing them by as the grow older. Once again, thank you for sharing this insightful blog, and giving me the opportunity to reflect on how people interact with each other, even without the most powerful human capability: memory.
Hi Allison,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts on this heartbreaking topic of amnesia. Over the past few years, I also notice how I can be forgetful of small things such as forgetting my homework at home, forgetting where I placed my phone, or even forgetting to study for an upcoming test. Of course, none of these are comparable to those who have medical conditions or prior trauma that has caused them to lose their memories. I always regret forgetting important dates such as forgetting to wish a friend on their birthday or forgetting to wish an extended family member for an anniversary, holidays, and more. The story of the two elderly grandmas from the documentary is devastating as I cannot even imagine what it is like forgetting so much about your past, your loved ones, and friends. I feel horrible if I forget a birthday or special event, but it is much more of an issue if you begin to forget all special memories of the past, and I fear that as we all get older, we might become more forgetful. Sometimes it comes with age, but still it is extremely worrisome to think about at this time. Thanks again for providing your views on this important subject.
Hello Allison! In your blog, you brought up an interesting point: amnesia. Amnesia is when an individual loses their memory and therefore forgets many things. There are stages to this illness which go from forgetting a few details to forgetting where you live and your name. In certain worse case instances, it can even go to forgetting everything about yourself. Unfortunately, there is no cure to this disease so it is important to take care of your brain and stay active as much as possible. Another fact about amnesia is the amount of people who have it. In fact, a lot more people that I expected have amnesia which made this illness a larger factor than I expected. It is definitely not the pleasure of having this illness as it is known that the information of the brain is dying and going to perish. Ultimately, thanks for sharing the blog! It brought light to topics many people ignore in their day to day lives.
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